Act Now to Dedicate Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2010!

Date: June 28, 2010

Update and Thanks!

Dear Adult Literacy Advocates:

Thank you to all who contacted their Members of Congress in response to alerts on this issue. Your calls made a difference!

Special thanks to advocates in Colorado for their advocacy work with Congressman Polis. Congratulations to advocates in New York, Arizona, Texas, California, Maryland, Kentucky, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Maine, DC, Minnesota, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Tennessee and the Northern Mariana Islands who cinched commitments from House members to co-sponsor the resolution (H. Res. 1472).

If your House Member co-sponsored the resolution, now is a good time to follow up with a note of thanks.

The resolution passed the House on a vote of 369-0. Congressman Conyers-Michigan, Guthrie-Kentucky and Loebsack-Iowa also spoke in favor of the resolution during the floor debate last night. More information will be posted here in the NCL Advocacy Blog. Resources will be made available to you soon that may help you plan celebration activities. They will be posted in the NCL Advocacy Clearinghouse and Toolkit.

You’ll find a press release here. Please share the good news, and plan celebration activities during September 13 – 17, 2010 to commemorate the event.

Jackie Taylor

Update

Dear Adult Literacy Advocates:

Thanks to all who have requested that their House Member co-sponsor H. Res. 1472. So far, we have 20 co-sponsors to dedicate National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week for the week of September 13, 2010. Good work!

And good news! Because Congressman Polis is on the House Education and Labor Committee, he was able to usher the resolution through without the 25 needed co-signers. So H.Res. 1472 is scheduled for the House floor for a vote today! It is scheduled under “suspension of the rules” which means it will require a 2/3 vote to pass. So get ready — if it passes then a press release will be issued by NCL shortly.

Action: None at this time.

Dear Colleague Letter

H. Res.1472

List of co-sponsors thus far:

Rep McIntyre, Mike [D - NC] (to be added)

Rep Chu, Judy [D - CA] (to be added)

Rep Wamp, Zach [R-TN] (to be added)

Rep Lewis, John [D - GA] (to be added)

Rep Peterson, Collin C. [D - MN] (7/15/10)

Rep Pingree, Chellie [D - ME] (7/15/10)

Rep Michaud, Michael H. [D - ME] (7/14/10)

Rep Scott, “Bobby” [D - VA] (7/13/2010)

Rep Sablan, Gregorio Kilili Camacho [D - CNMI] – (7/13/2010)

Rep Snyder, Vic [D – AR] – 7/13/2010

Rep Sestak, Joe [D – PA] – 7/13/2010

Rep Kildee, Dale [D – MI] – 7/13/2010

Rep Holmes Norton, Eleanor [D – DC] – 7/13/2010

Rep. Maffei, Dan [D-NY] – 7/7/2010

Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [D-NY] – 7/1/2010

Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ] – 6/24/2010 *

Rep Hinojosa, Ruben [D-TX] – 6/24/2010 *

Rep Honda, Michael M. [D-CA] – 6/24/2010 *

Rep Sarbanes, John P. [D-MD] – 6/24/2010 *

Rep Yarmuth, John A. [D-KY] – 6/24/2010 *

Last year, the House made a one-time dedication for National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. This was a highly successful effort in raising awareness nationwide of the importance of adult education and family literacy.

Thanks for all you do,

Jackie Taylor and Marsha Tait

Public Policy Committee Co-Chairs

Dear Colleagues,

Last year, the House made a one-time dedication for National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. This was a highly successful effort in raising awareness nationwide of the importance of adult education and family literacy.

This year, Representatives Polis, Honda, Grijalva, Hinojosa, Yarmuth, and Sarbanes are co-sponsoring House Resolution 1472 to dedicate the week of September 13, 2010 as National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. However, in order to have the resolution brought to the House for discussion and approval, we need at least 20 more co-sponsors by mid-July.

House recess is scheduled for July 31 – September 12; thus, our goal is to obtain 20 signatures so that the resolution can be approved before the House goes on recess.

Requested Action:

Ask your key adult education contact(s) in each Congressional District to call the Washington office of the House Member this week. Speak with the staff person over education and ask that the House Member co-sponsor the resolution. Have your person to follow up in a few days to learn of the Member’s decision, and let us know the outcome. We are only contacting House Members.

Here are copies of the Dear Colleague Letter and H.Res. 1472. The letter contains the information your House Member’s staff person will need in order for your Member to co-sponsor the resolution.

Contact Information: Locate your House Member’s contact information using ProLiteracy’s or TESOL’s interactive map.

Email Jackie Taylor (jackie@jataylor.net) should you have questions or feedback from your House Member’s office. Use the comments box below to share updates on your efforts to have your House Member co-sponsor H.Res.1472.

Thanks for all you do,

Jackie Taylor and Marsha Tait

Public Policy Committee Co-Chairs

Tags: action alert, Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, AEFL Week, contact Congress

Comments RSS TrackBack 13 comments

Emily Ellison

in June 29th, 2010 @ 10:09

Jackie Taylor asked for me to post this email that we sent to Georgia Congressman John Lewis. We are also circulating a letter that can be signed by any interested students & staff and will be faxed to the congressman’s office in DC.

Dear Congressman Lewis:

As you likely know, there are more than 800,000 adults in metro Atlanta who are functionally illiterate. At Literacy Action, the oldest & largest community-based adult literacy program in Georgia, we partner with other nonprofit, for-profit, & governmental agencies to address this growing problem and to provide research-based, state-of-the-art programming to low-income, low literate adults. Functional illiteracy in America continues to be one of our “dirty little secrets” and prevents families from moving to self sufficiency and leading productive lives. At Literacy Action, we are doing everything possible to raise awareness of this issue and provide the best quality services to our clients. One way that you can help this effort is to support House Resolution 1472, which will co-sponsor the creation of National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week the week of September 13. We are hopeful that you will join Representatives Grijalva, Hinojosa, Honda, Sarbanes, and Yarmuth and endorse this resolution.

Also in September, a Literacy Resolution that has been signed by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (as well as the students and staff of Literacy Action) and by mayors and program participants from across the country, will be presented to President Obama at the White House. This is another way that we are working to raise public awareness of low literacy levels in the US that prevent our country from having the skilled and educated work force to remain a global competitor. We hope that you will join us in our critically important efforts to increase adult literacy levels in Georgia. And please do consider supporting House Resolution # 1472 as well as supporting federal funding for literacy programs such as ours.

With gratitude,
Emily

Emily Ellison
President and Executive Director
Literacy Action, Inc.
100 Edgewood Avenue
Suite 650
Atlanta, GA 30303
404.818.READ (7323)
Direct: 404.818.7330
http://www.literacyaction.org

[Reply]
John Segota

in July 6th, 2010 @ 17:50

TESOL has launched an Action Alert on this issue, and has posted an Alert through its U.S. Advocacy Action Center.

You can view the Alert and complete the form to contact your own member of Congress at http://capwiz.com/tesol/issues/alert/?alertid=15207081.

[Reply]
Toni Borge

in July 7th, 2010 @ 12:21

I have contacted my US Rep. John Tierney using the TESOL capwiz. Very easy to do.

[Reply]
mltait

in July 7th, 2010 @ 15:10

Congressman Dan Maffei (NY) has signed on!

[Reply]
Marie Bruno

in July 7th, 2010 @ 15:16

Congressman Vic Snyder (D) Ark. 2nd District, has signed on. Thanks to my oldest stepson, Richard Bruno of Portland, Ore., who is interning this summer with Congressman Snyder, for helping shepherd this through. And, thanks, Congressman Snyder!

[Reply]
Jackie Taylor Reply:
July 7th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Marie, All,

Marie, that’s fantastic news! Thanks to you and Richard for your work. I’ve added Congressman Snyder to the list in the blog posting above.

Does anyone else have updates for us?

Jackie
Jim Whitbeck

in July 7th, 2010 @ 15:50

I requested Rep. Roe’s support today. I added a couple of short paragraphs instead of the suggested talking points so it would not appear to be a “canned” form letter.

The CapWiz e-mail form made it quick and easy.

[Reply]
Jackie Saindon

in July 12th, 2010 @ 15:16

Jackie,

Thanks for putting this out on the list. I just want to highlight how easy it is to go to the TESOL website and send a letter. The website will find your representative and gives you a letter from which you can cut and paste the parts of it you think important.

I sent one to Paul Broun the other day, adding to the form letter, my background as a school board member and how essential it is to have educated parents to help their children if education is to succeed. I have no illusions that Paul Broun will support this bill, but at least he knows about it.

I urge others to use the CapWiz on TESOL. I got an immediate auto response with a promise by Paul Broun to read it. So that’s worth something.

Jackie Saindon

[Reply]
Woody Woodcock

in July 12th, 2010 @ 15:19

Jackie, Collegues,

I sent the email to Congressman Mike Rogers of Alabama, District 3 and received an automated acknowledgement. This is my first contact with him asking for something definite in support of adult literacy, so we’ll see what happens. This should be easy to pursue.

The email was great. Just pick the points. add a personal summary, and send. Thanks to the people who did the work that made this effort so easy.

Best….”Woody” Woodcock
Literacy Volunteer
Central Alabama Laubach Literacy Council
Montgomery, Alabama

[Reply]
Helen Brown Lukow

in July 14th, 2010 @ 17:30

I asked Congressman Brown from the 1st District to support this as a co-signer, but he is unable to do that because of some language in the bill which does not differentiate between illegal and legal immigrants. He said he would vote for it when it comes to the floor. Thanks.

Helen Brown Lukow
Berkeley Adult Education
843.820-3824
Fax 843.820-3826
lukowh@berkeley.k12.sc.us

[Reply]
Cathy Newell

in July 15th, 2010 @ 12:34

We are delighted to have both Congressman Mike Michaud and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree signed onto the resolution. Both are fans of adult education and were happy to do this. Maine is a small state and I am in frequent touch with both of them, both on the congressional office and the campaign side. I emailed my contact in the local office and asked them to push this with the DC staff.

[Reply]
Jackie Taylor Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Cathy,

This is fantastic news!! Thanks for your efforts – they paid off! Thanks for sharing your strategy for making this work as well. Something others may want to try — have the local legislative staff contact the DC office and push it on your behalf.

Others? Updates?

Jackie
Letty Naranjo

in July 15th, 2010 @ 13:59

I just sent an e-mail to our Representative, Ben R. Lujan (D-NM 3rd). I’ll keep you posted!

Many thanks,
Letty

[Reply]

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Act Now to Dedicate Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2010!

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Comments RSS TrackBack 13 comments

Emily Ellison

John Segota

Toni Borge

mltait

Marie Bruno

Jim Whitbeck

Jackie Saindon

Woody Woodcock

Helen Brown Lukow

Cathy Newell

Letty Naranjo