Tweet Up and Blogging from the 2010 COABE/ProLiteracy Conference

Date: March 6, 2010

Did you go to Conference? Share what you learned on public policy and advocacy so other adult literacy advocates can benefit from your ideas. Advocacy is a team effort! Tell your colleagues who stayed home to bookmark this space and watch for updates.

If you did not go to Conference, this Blog offers a way you can benefit from the conference afterwards. Session handouts you can download are now available! Just click on the title of the session that interests you and you will find the handouts linked there. Share your comments/questions for any of the sessions listed below.

The National Coalition for Literacy, in cooperation with COABE and ProLiteracy, brings you the public policy sessions hosted at the first ever COABE / ProLiteracy National Conference.

Blog and be eligible for one of three $50 gift certificates from New Readers Press!

Gift Certificate Winners:

David Greene

Jody Angelone

Nell Eckersley

NCL conducted a random drawing of bloggers who posted to the NCL Advocacy Blog between March 8 – 24, 2010. Bloggers were to contribute a substantive comment — for example: Post a reflection on what has stood out to them with respect to policy or advocacy, share what they learned in a policy or advocacy session, or comment on an interesting idea they’d like to implement.

Names were entered into a drawing for one of three $50 gift certificates from New Readers Press. The drawing was held on Wednesday, March 24. Winners will be notified by email.

Please continue to explore the policy and advocacy issues on the blog! Some reflection prompts to get you started:

What did you find most interesting, persuasive, or controversial?
Did what you learn align with what you thought before?
What beliefs were reinforced, changed, or broadened as a result of the public policy or advocacy session(s) you attended?
What’s one idea you plan to use when you return home?

To Post Comments: See the list of sessions below. Click the title of the session you attended or wish to discuss. A new blog article will appear, specific to that session. Then enter your reflections in the Comment Box and click Comment.

Tweet Up at Conference! Meet your online colleagues in person!

We announced the meet up location and time on our Twitter feed.

Follow NCL on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NCLAdvocacy

To see what useful information was shared by conference participants via Twitter:

Go to http://search.twitter.com/
Enter the “hash tag” #chgo10 or #adulted into the search field (including the #) and click Search. All the tweets that were tagged with that “hash tag” will appear.

COABE/NCL/ProLiteracy Public Policy Strand

March 15-19, 2010

PreConferences:

Federal Legislative Update

Monday, March 15, 8:30 – 11:30 am

Boulevard C

Panelists:

Jeff Carter, Policy and Government Affairs Director, ProLiteracy

Art Ellison, NH State Director; Public Policy Committee Chair, National Council of State Directors of Adult Education (NCSDAE)

David Harvey, President and CEO, ProLiteracy

Tony Peyton, Senior Director of Policy and Government Relations, National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL)

Andy Tyskiewicz, President, COABE

Moderators: Marsha L. Tait and Jackie Taylor, NCL Public Policy Co-Chairs

Pathways and Advocacy: Building the Grassroots Base

Monday, March 15, 12:30 – 3:30 pm

Boulevard C

Panelists:

Brenda Brown, Vice President, Adult Education, Middle Georgia Technical College

Dorothy Ferguson, Coordinator, Adult Education, Middle Georgia Technical College

Art Ellison, NH State Director, Public Policy Committee Chair, NCSDAE

Emily Ellison, President and Executive Director, Literacy Action, Inc.

Jon Engel, Past Chair, Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, Austin, TX; Director, Community Action Adult Education Program, San Marcos, TX

Moderators: Marsha L. Tait and Jackie Taylor, NCL Public Policy Co-Chairs

Debate:

Public Policy Debate

Tuesday, March 16, 2:45 – 5:00 pm

Continental Ballroom B and C

Participants:

Sharon Bush, Senior Program Officer, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Chicago IL

Faye Combs, President, Voice of Adult Learners United to Educate (VALUE)

Gloria Cross Mwase, Program Director, Jobs for the Future

Rita Daniels, Executive Director, Literacy Volunteers and Advocates

Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Jeffrey A. Fantine, State Director of Adult Education, Maine Department of Education

Moderator: David Harvey, President and CEO, ProLiteracy

Workshops:

Implementing the Vision: Initiatives and Resources to Foster Integration Through the Naturalization Process

Wednesday, March 17, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

Northwest Seven (Lower Level)

Presenter:

Rachael Shaw, Management and Program Analyst, Office of Citizenship, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Lakeside Chat with Cheryl Keenan, Part I

Wednesday, March 17, 2:15 – 3:15 pm

Blackstone Hotel, Crystal Ballroom (4th Floor)

Presenter:

Cheryl Keenan, Director of Adult Education and Literacy, Office of Vocational and Adult Education

Lakeside Chat with Cheryl Keenan, Part II

Wednesday, March 17, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

Blackstone Hotel, Crystal Ballroom (4th Floor)

Presenter:

Cheryl Keenan, Director of Adult Education and Literacy, Office of Vocational and Adult Education

The Next Dimension * Career Pathways

Thursday, March 18, 8:00 – 9:00 am

Blackstone Hotel, Crystal Ballroom (4th Floor)

Presenter:

Lennox McLendon, Executive Director, National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (NAEPDC)

Strategic Partnering in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Context

Thursday, March 18, 10:30 – 11:30 am

Blackstone Hotel, Inspiration Studio (5th Floor)

Presenter:

Jeffrey A. Fantine, State Director of Adult Education, Maine Department of Education

Key Elements of Effective Advocacy

Thursday, March 18, 9:15 – 10:15 am

Northwest Four (Lower Level)

Presenters:

Jackie Taylor, NCL Public Policy Committee Co-Chair; Advocacy Co-Chair, Tennessee Association of Adult and Community Education (TAACE)

Marsha L. Tait, NCL Public Policy Committee Co-Chair

WIA Update

Thursday, March 18, 1:45 –2:45 pm

Continental Ballroom B (Lobby Level)

Presenters:

Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary, Office of Vocational and Adult Education

Cheryl Keenan, Director of Adult Education and Literacy, Office of Vocational and Adult Education

Moderators: David Harvey, President and CEO, ProLiteracy

Shifting Gears: Shifting State Adult Education Policies to Support Postsecondary Success

Thursday, March 18, 3:00 – 4:00 pm

Boulevard A (2nd Floor)

Presenters:

Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Jennifer K. Foster, Senior Director for Adult Education and Family Literacy/State Director for GED Testing, Illinois Community College Board

National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy

Thursday, March 18, 4:15 – 5:15 pm

Boulevard B (2nd Floor)

Presenter:

Gary Podschun, Manager, Community Outreach and Cultural Competence Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations, American Dental Association (ADA)

Stabilizing and Strengthening the Adult Education Workforce

Friday, March 19, 8:30 – 9:30 am
Continental Ballroom B (Lobby Level)

Panelists:

Jackie Taylor, NCL Public Policy Committee Co-Chair

Mary Ann Corley, Principal Research Analyst, American Institutes for Research

Richard Tariff, Director of Adult Services, EASTCONN

Andy Nash, World Education; MA Coalition for Adult Education (MCAE) Working Conditions Committee Co-Chair

Moderator: Jane Greiner, ProLiteracy; Chair, AALPD

Critical Keys for Successful Health Literacy Partnerships

Friday, March 19, 8:30 – 9:30 am

Northwest Two (Lower Level)

Presenters:

Carol Gabler, Consultant, Health Literacy Advancement, LLC

Sue McIntyre, Consultant, Health Literacy Advancement, LLC

Comments RSS TrackBack 9 comments

Jackie Taylor

in March 8th, 2010 @ 16:04

Hello!
You might be leading a session related to public policy or advocacy that is not listed in the above Public Policy Strand. If so, feel free to post your session information here! Let’s take advantage of this opportunity to network on advocacy-related issues.

Jackie Taylor

[Reply]
Rachel Nicolosi

in March 9th, 2010 @ 16:10

Hi Everyone – I invite you to attend the advocacy workshop I am hosting that will be a conversation on aspects of advocacy that have kept our field on the sidelines, including stigma of the issue and lack of infrastructure in the field. I believe we have a lot in common with fields of mental health and HIV and have invited people from those areas to share with us what they have done regarding overcoming stigma and and talking to policymakers about their issue. I will also share what I have learned about advocacy in post-disaster New Orleans.

**NOTE: SCHEDULE CHANGE – I asked to move my presentation time slot when I learned last week about the public policy debate scheduled for the same time – so what is in the program will be different from the time here below.

Thursday, March 18 – 10:30am – 11:15am – Fourth Floor, Room 4A

Presentation Title: Community Literacy: A Conversation on Getting Past Our Own Boundaries for Community Prosperity
Presentation Abstract: This interactive conversation will attempt to get to the heart of why the adult literacy field still struggles on the sidelines after years of advocacy and public campaigns and what we can do to move beyond our own boundaries to true community literacy.
Lead Presenter: Rachel Nicolosi, Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans

[Reply]
Jackie Taylor Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Hi Rachel!
I regret that I missed your session. As you know, I was providing technical support (with Marsha) on the various strand sessions listed here. However, I’d love to hear how your session went. Will you (and others) tell us about it? What was attendance like? What resonated with folks? Etc.

Also, are there resources you shared in your session that you could share with us here on the blog? (feel free to email me any files that are not online and we can post them here.)

Thanks, and it was good to see you at conference!

Jackie

Jackie Taylor Reply:
April 6th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Hi All,

Here’s a URL to Rachel’s handouts from her session:

http://blog.ncladvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/COABE-presentation-2010.doc

Thanks, Rachel, for sharing your materials with us.

Best…Jackie
David Greene

in March 10th, 2010 @ 23:14

It’s time for the literacy community to call for a massive literacy campaign in the United States. Adult students and potential students in communities across the country should be at the center of this movement which should address the need for functional, financial, environmental, health and other literacies. As these literacies are fundamental to survival and success, inadequate and tenuous funding for programs should be brought to public attention.

Initiating adult education classes and workshops for advocacy and organizing of students, teachers and communities needs to be made a priority, integrated with
academic and skills education. The current political situation for adult education and literacy is untenable, but the potential
for leadership development and social change is inspirational.
It’s time to be bold and not accept business, as usual.

[Reply]
Jackie Taylor Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Hi David,
Thank you for your compelling message. I agree with you! I’m wondering, did you attend sessions where you noticed that leadership potential being cultivated? What do we need to do better in terms of cultivating this leadership at local, state, and national levels — that’s not being done now?

I look forward to your thoughts,

Jackie
Brenda Keisler

in March 18th, 2010 @ 17:47

This is the 5th COABE / 2nd ProLiteracy Coference in a row that I have been privileged to attend. Most of the sessions have been wonderful (one or two so-so). What do you do with the knowledge you obtain at these conferences? Just to share an idea that we practice at our Adult Ed center: When you return home and while all of this brain-overload is still fresh, organize your materials and share your new knowledge with your co-workers! Our boss sets up an in-service time for us to share, thus giving our department more ROI (Return on Investment). Try it!

As for “advocacy” – this blog is a great way to spread the word! Be sure to share this website with your legislators on the state and federal level. Thanks NCL!

[Reply]
Ochieng Khairalla

in March 24th, 2010 @ 08:43

Public Policy and Advocacy are instructive imperatives of social change as they express in very profound ways, the collective aspirations of society. They are rooted in shared values and principles and constitute desired means to the desired ends.

[Reply]
Tristan Pendergrass

in March 24th, 2010 @ 18:56

Hi Everyone,
I’m Tristan Pendergrass and I did the drawing for the three gift certificates. Jackie Taylor has three prizes for three persons right now:

Nell Eckersley
David Greene
Jody Angelone

Jackie Taylor will email you.

Bye.

[Reply]

National Coalition for Literacy

Categories

Polls

Links

Meta

Sign up for NCL Updates

Tweet Up and Blogging from the 2010 COABE/ProLiteracy Conference

Leave a comment

Comments RSS TrackBack 9 comments

Jackie Taylor

Rachel Nicolosi

David Greene

Brenda Keisler

Ochieng Khairalla

Tristan Pendergrass