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<TITLE>March news from the National Institute for Literacy</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>The March issue of e*literacy is now available online at: </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/eliteracy/02_03_01.html" TARGET="_blank">http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/eliteracy/02_03_01.html</A>. The table of contents and first few articles are posted below.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>*************************************** </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Welcome to e*literacy, a monthly electronic newsletter with the latest news from the National Institute for Literacy.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>______________________________________________________________________</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Tribute to Susan Green, 1944 - 2002</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Susan Green, writer and editor at the Institute and long-time advocate for literacy, on February 25th. Susan's career included nearly a decade at the National Institute for Literacy, 12 years with the Follow Through early literacy program at the U.S. Department of Education, and four years at the White House as First Lady Barbara Bush's literacy expert. Mrs. Bush said of Susan: </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>"Susan Green was one of my mentors in literacy. She was there with me in the beginning, when few people were really paying attention to literacy. She was passionate about it, and would have personally taught every single man, woman, and child in America how to read if she could have. She was a dear friend, a warm and loving person. She will be missed by me and all who knew her."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>A Susan Green Memorial Fund is being established to benefit at VALUE (Voice of Adult Literacy United for Education). Susan was a central and irreplaceable part of the National Institute for Literacy, and is deeply missed. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>_______________________________________________________________________</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>HEADLINES</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>1. NAULC HOSTS ANNIVERSARY EVENT FOR THE INSTITUTE ON CAPITOL HILL</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>2. INSTITUTE LAUNCHES FIRST LIVE WEBCASTS</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>3. SEATTLE TRAINING TO FOCUS ON WELFARE RECIPIENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>4. LINCS FEATURES ANTARCTICA LEARNING ACTIVITIES</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>5. EQUIPPED FOR THE FUTURE (EFF) MOVES FORWARD WITH ASSESSMENT </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>6. INSTITUTE STAFF ON THE ROAD</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>7. NEW PUBLICATIONS</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>8. LITERACY IN THE NEWS: FROM BUSINESS WEEK: "THE ILLITERACY TIME BOMB" </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>9. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>10. CALENDAR</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>****************************************************************************</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>1. NAULC HOSTS ANNIVERSARY EVENT FOR THE INSTITUTE ON CAPITOL HILL</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>As part of its annual meeting in Washington DC, the National Alliance of Urban Literacy Coalitions (NAULC) will host a 10-year anniversary celebration - complete with cake and ice cream - for the National Institute for Literacy on Capitol Hill on March 7th. Invited speakers include former President George Bush, who signed the National Literacy Act into law, Barbara Bush, and Congressional sponsors of the National Literacy Act, including Senator Edward Kennedy, Rep. Tom Sawyer, former Senator Paul Simon, and former Rep. Bill Goodling. NAULC is a coalition of about 40 urban literacy programs from across the U.S. that work together to create literate communities and enhance the quality of life and the vitality of cities. For more information about NAULC or its annual meeting, go to: <A HREF="http://www.naulc.org" TARGET="_blank">http://www.naulc.org</A>.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>2. INSTITUTE LAUNCHES FIRST LIVE WEBCASTS</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Beginning in March, the Institute will have the capacity to webcast events on LINCS. This will include both live webcasts and archives that can be accessed at any time. The first live webcast will take place on March 13th from the Seattle Academy. (See next article for details.) It will feature a presentation on guidelines for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs by Shirley Jackson of the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>On March 15th, the Institute will webcast a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-National Institute for Literacy technical assistance workshop in Houston, Texas for potential applicants for $3.8 million in funds for adult and family literacy research. Featured speakers include Dr. Peggy McCardle of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Dr. David Francis from the University of Houston, and Dr. Fred Erikson from the University of California-Los Angeles. The workshops are designed to assist those interested in responding to the recently published research solicitation, "Research on Adult and Family Literacy," which is available online at: <A HREF="http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-02-004.html" TARGET="_blank">http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-02-004.html</A>. For information about the webcast, see LINCS (<A HREF="http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/index.html" TARGET="_blank">http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/index.html</A>) and for registration information, contact Esther Roberts at NIH at: eroberts@hq.row.com.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>3. SEATTLE TRAINING TO FOCUS ON WELFARE RECIPIENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>The second Bridges to Practice Seattle Academy will be held March 11th -15th. The Academy will train trainers who can work with staff in their own state's Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) welfare programs, and in one-stop centers. The training will focus on how to screen TANF recipients for learning disabilities (LD) and how caseworkers can help clients improve their employability by using an LD diagnosis to obtain accommodations and/or assistive technology. The Academy will also include an overview of disability laws and federal TANF guidelines. The Academy will launch an evaluation that will collect data in 12 states about TANF clients and disabilities, which will be reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) before Congress reauthorizes TANF later this year. More information on Bridges to Practice is available at: <A HREF="http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/ld/bridges/" TARGET="_blank">http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/ld/bridges/</A>.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>4. LINCS FEATURES ANTARCTICA LEARNING ACTIVITIES</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>A new literacy learning activity accessible through LINCS is a website by a team of scientists from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) who visited Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula in January and February. They were accompanied by Susan Cowles, an Oregon adult basic skills instructor, former Institute Literacy Leader Fellowship recipient, and coordinator of LINCS' Science and Numeracy Special Collection (<A HREF="http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/" TARGET="_blank">http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/</A>). Susan traveled with the team to study the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Antarctic and posted daily reports about her experience online at: <A HREF="http://literacynet.org/polar/pop/html/journal.html" TARGET="_blank">http://literacynet.org/polar/pop/html/journal.html</A>.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>5. EQUIPPED FOR THE FUTURE (EFF) MOVES FORWARD WITH ASSESSMENT </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>The EFF Assessment Consortium (a partnership between SRI International and the Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee) recently conducted the first round of technical review panels for performance continua for three EFF Standards: Convey Ideas in Writing, Speak So Others Can Understand and Listen Actively. Panels were composed of experts in the content of the standard, Adult Basic Education (ABE), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), policy, and assessment. A second round of panels will be held later this spring. For more information, contact Brenda Bell (bsbell@utk.edu or Regie Stites (regie.stites@sri.com).</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>6. INSTITUTE STAFF ON THE ROAD</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Upcoming presentations by Institute staff are listed below.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>MARCH</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Put Reading First! and Policy Panel Discussion </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>March 3 and 4, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Christy Gullion</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>National Center for Family Literacy annual conference, Albuquerque, NM</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Evidence-Based Principles and Practice for Adult Reading Instruction</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>March 4, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Sandra Baxter</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>National Center for Family Literacy, Albuquerque, NM</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Tools for Working with Adult New Readers: A Closer Look at Evidence-Based Principles and Practices for Adult Reading Instruction</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>March 5, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Sandra Baxter</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>National Center for Family Literacy annual conference, Albuquerque, NM</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Bridges to Practice and Increased Awareness about Learning Disabilities in the Adult Basic Education Program</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>March 8, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>June Crawford</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>National Alliance of Urban Literacy Coalitions Annual Meeting, Washington, DC</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Update on NIFL's State Policy Activities</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>March 8, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Alice Johnson </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>National Alliance of Urban Literacy Coalitions Annual Meeting, Washington, DC</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Public Policy Trends: What You Should Know and What You Can Do</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>March 14, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Christy Gullion and Alice Johnson</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Washington State Workplace Basic Skills Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Overview of the Research Funding Partnership and RFA HD-02-004-Research on Adult and Family Literacy</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>March 15, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Alice Johnson</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Adult and Family Literacy Technical Assistance Workshop, Houston, TX</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Beyond Bridges to Practice: A Two-Part Training Session </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>March 18, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>June Crawford </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Correctional Education Association Leadership Institute, Baltimore, MD</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Policy Panel Discussion</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>March 18, 2002</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Christy Gullion</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Correctional Educational Association, Baltimore, MD</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>TO CONTINUE READING E*LITERACY, INCLUDING INFORMATION ON NEW INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS, LITERACY IN THE MEDIA, THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND THE CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS, PLEASE GO TO : <A HREF="http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/eliteracy/02_03_01.html" TARGET="_blank">http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/eliteracy/02_03_01.html</A> </FONT></P>
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