[NLA] Urgent Action: Help Preserve NIFL's Adult Ed Focus!

Tue Sep 17 16:33:47 EDT 2002

NLA Colleagues,

I hope many of you are ready to act on behalf of NIFL to preserve its 
adult education focus.   I believe there is a good chance that the 
administration may appoint a permanent director who does not have a 
commitment to, and experience in, adult literacy.  

So far, response from the field to Congress about preserving the Adult 
literacy focus of NIFL has been weak.  If you care about the National 
Institute for Literacy maintaining its focus on adult literacy, now is 
the the time to act.  I think this is an issue worth fighting for.  Jon 
Randall -- in his message below -- has explained how.

Please take the four action steps Jon lists..  And then do one more 
thing.  E-mail me <DJRosen at theworld.com> when you have contacted your 
Congressperson and the Secretaries of Labor, HHS and Education, .  Tell 
me who you faxed, and when. I will post a message to the NLA list at 
then end of each of the next three weeks indicating how many people have 
e-mailed me that they have faxed their Congresspeople and mailed the 
Secretaries. In my message I will list which Congresspeople have been 
faxed, and by how many people from the field. Then we will all know if 
the field is taking action to preserve NIFL's adult education focus.

David J. Rosen
NLA List Moderator

Jon Randall wrote:

>Urgent Action: Help Preserve NIFL's Adult Ed Focus!
>
>SUMMARY ... We must ensure that the permanent director of the National
>Institute for Literacy (NIFL) knows the adult literacy field well. Our
>friends in the House are helping us by making such a recommendation to the
>Secretaries of Labor, HHS, and Education, who will decide on the director.
>We need your help in getting as many Representatives as possible to cosign
>this recommendation letter. We must do this NOW!
>
>ACTION NEEDED
>
>1. Fax a letter to your Congressperson asking them to cosign this House
>recommendation letter.
>2. Mail copies of your letters to the Secretaries of Labor, HHS, and
>Education
>3. Call your Congressperson 3-4 days after you send your fax. Ask if they
>have co-signed the recommendation letter.
>4. Urge others in your program to do steps 1-3.
>
>TIMING
>
>Since the Secretaries may act before the end of September we must gather as
>many co-signers as possible NOW for this House letter. Your Congressperson
>must have agreed to sign the letter by Sept. 30th. That means you must fax
>your letters now and follow up by phone within the next two weeks.
>
>We will ask for you help with a similar letter in the Senate within the next
>week or so. However, at this time we don't have a Senate Republican lead
>cosponsor for the letter. We can't afford to wait any longer -- we've held
>up the House letter mobilization for 10 days already.
>
>In advance, thanks for your quick action on this issue! The future direction
>of the NIFL - and its support for our field or lack thereof - hangs in the
>balance.
>
>BACKGROUND
>As you are probably aware, the Administration has recommended to the Senate
>a new Advisory Board to the NIFL. The recommended appointees have impressive
>educational credentials but very limited experience with adult education,
>giving rise to a concern that the NIFL may turn away from its statutory role
>to serve as a national resource for adult education and literacy programs.
>
>If the Senate approves the slate of nominees for the NIFL Advisory Board
>shortly after Labor Day as expected, the new board could meet right away and
>recommend someone who also has very little knowledge of our field. This
>could be done in a matter of weeks after Labor Day if the Secretaries of
>Labor, HHS and Education quickly approved the Board's recommendation.
>
>Admittedly, this is a worst case scenario based on conjecture. However, only
>if we start now will we have the time needed to prevent something like this
>from happening.
>
>SAMPLE LETTER
>
>Please use this letter as a guide in writing your own letters. Ideally, your
>letter should be a little different than this one, so it doesn't look like
>you simply signed a form letter.
>
>Here's the sample letter ...
>
>September 17, 2002
>
>The Honorable [full name of your Congressperson]
>U.S. House of Representatives
>Washington, DC  20515
>
>Dear Mr. or Ms. [your Congressperson's last name] :
>
>Please help ensure that the unique mandate of the National Institute for
>Literacy is preserved as a new director is selected.
>
>As you may know the President has nominated an entirely new slate of
>Advisory Board members. These new board members have impressive
>qualifications in early childhood education and post-secondary education.
>However, as a group their expertise in the area of adult education and
>literacy is very limited.
>
>One of the first duties of the new Advisory Board will be to forward
>recommendations for a new director to the Secretaries of Education, Labor
>and HHS. As members of the Interagency Group responsible for the
>administration of the Institute, the Secretaries will be asked to approve
>the selection of the agency's director.
>
>I feel it is critical that the new permanent director of the Institute have
>adult education and literacy expertise in order to direct the only agency
>charged with serving as national resource for adult education and literacy
>programs like mine.
>
>Therefore I urge you to co-sign a "Dear Colleague letter" to Secretaries
>Paige, Thompson, and Chao. The letter is being circulated by the office of
>Representatives Thomas Sawyer (Amy Boyle, LA) and James Walsh (Martha
>Carmen, LA).
>
>Thank you for helping us.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>[Your name]
>[The address from which you are registered to vote] (to show you are a
>constituent of his/her district)
>
>CC:	The Honorable Elaine Chao, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
>	The Honorable Roderick Paige, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
>	The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and
>Human Services
>
>FAX NUMBERS
>
>To obtain the fax number for your Congressperson, please check the following
>web site: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
>
>If a fax number is not listed, you will need to call their office and
>indicate that you are a constituent who wants to fax a short letter.
>
>SEND COPIES OF YOUR LETTER
>
>Please send a copy of your letter to each of the following people. By
>receiving a copy of your letter, these officials will see just how many
>people care about this issue.
>
>The Honorable Elaine Chao, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
>Attn: Emily Stover DeRocco, Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training
>Administration
>200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room S-2307
>Washington, D.C. 20210
>
>The Honorable Roderick Paige, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
>Attn: Beth Ann Bryan, Senior Advisor to the Secretary
>400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Room 7W205
>Washington, D.C. 20202
>
>The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and
>Human Services
>Attn: Wade F. Horn, Assistant Secretary For Children & Families
>370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., Suite 600
>Washington, DC 20447
>
>
>RECOMMENDATION IN HOUSE LETTER
>
>Here's what the National Coalition for Literacy asked our friends in the
>House and Senate to recommend:
>
>We urge consideration of the following factors as the new director of the
>Institute is selected:
>? The National Institute for Literacy is a unique national resource
>established in law to support the system of adult literacy and language
>learning and
>? The National Institute for Literacy is a primary information source to
>Congress about literacy and language need, current services, and impact and
>? The National Institute for Literacy plays a crucial role in national
>efforts to promote research, to identify and disseminate effective practices
>and to coordinate policy and
>? The National Institute for Literacy has a unique mandate to foster, and
>encourage collaboration among, literacy-related activities that contribute
>to the missions of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and
>Education and its offices of pre-K-12, post-secondary, adult, and vocational
>education
>
>Consequently, it would be advantageous for the National Institute for
>Literacy's Executive Director to be:
>* Conversant in adult education issues, research, and the diverse array of
>providers that comprise the delivery system
>* Passionate about building an adult learning system that integrates
>services
>* Knowledgeable regarding the variety of models and collaborative
>arrangements, and articulate in describing how adult literacy/language
>education enhances pre-K-12, post-secondary, and vocational education; job
>training; health care; welfare reform; economic development; and post-prison
>success
>
>
>#   #   #
>
>
>Jon Randall
>Public Policy Committee Chair
>National Coalition for Literacy
>www.natcoalitionliteracy.org
>
>NCL policy efforts are supported in part by funding from ProLiteracy
>Worldwide
>
>FedStrategics, LLC
>strategic advocacy & public affairs consulting
>to charitable organizations
>www.FedStrategics.com
>
>8413 Park Crest Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20910
>Tel: (301) 588-5304   Fax: (301) 588-5353
>jrandall at FedStrategics.com
>
>
>
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