National Coalition for Literacy

—Education Advocates Stay Vigilant, Engaged

By Washington Partners and Jackie Taylor

ESEA Reauthorization

With the House of Representatives in recess, Capitol Hill was relatively quiet last week. Before leaving town for a district work period, House Education and the Workforce Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Chair Duncan Hunter (R-CA) introduced the first installment for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which would make good on one of the first Republican promises regarding reform of this law—making it smaller and less costly. The bill repeals the authorizations…

—A Budget, Appropriations, and Advocacy Update

By Jackie Taylor and Ellen Fern

FY2011 Appropriations

Congressional leaders agreed late Friday to a compromise that will keep the federal government funded for the remainder of the fiscal year—averting a government shutdown less than an hour before it was set to start. They also passed a short-term resolution that would fund the federal government through Friday, April 15.

By passing  a new, one-week extension, both chambers were given the time to work out the legislative language for a final agreement to cut an…

The Commission on Adult Basic Education and the National Coalition for Literacy are pleased to bring you the Public Policy Advocacy Strand, hosted at the national COABE Conference, San Francisco, CA, April 17-21, 2011.

To add a preconference to your existing registration,  modify your registration or contact the COABE office if you need assistance (888-442-6223 or info@coabe.org).

Presentations and handouts will be posted here as they are made available.

Effective Advocacy Strategies

Sunday, April 17, 2011

PreConference 8:30 – 11:30 am

Presenters:

• Kathi Medcalf, Past President, Maine Adult

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Even Start’s funding was eliminated as part of the CR that ended last Friday, March 18, 2011. Even Start has often been widely misunderstood and inaccurately reported as ineffective. Below is a letter from Barbara Van Horn, Reading Co-Director of the  Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy and Board Member with the National Coalition for Literacy, who sets the facts straight about Even Start Family Literacy.

Action Request: To add Even Start back to the full year FY2011 Continuing Resolution, a congressional champion must advocate and negotiate for it as part of the FY2011 long-term CR negotiations. [ Read More → ]

By Della Cronin, Washington Partners

As the March 4th expiration date for the continuing resolution (CR) approaches, Members of Congress are finally getting down to the business of writing a budget for FY 2011. Though the Senate remains in a “wait and see” mode, Republican leaders in the House announced that overall spending for the fiscal year that began on October 1, 2010 will be reduced by $43 billion– 9.3% below the previous year. The new allocation for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education budget is slightly better—a cut of 7.3% below the amount…

By Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

Dear All,

I want to start by saying how disheartened I am about the tragedy in Tucson, my former home base. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Congresswoman Giffords, her family and staff, and all those touched by the tragedy. Congresswoman Giffords is a dedicated supporter of adult and family literacy, visiting southern Arizona programs often and speaking out about the power of literacy for informed citizenship.

I had the honor of participating in the digital stories project at Pima College Adult Ed to which Giffords contributed, ( [ Read More → ]

By Jackie Taylor with Washington Partners Ellen Fern and Ellin Nolan

I am pleased to welcome Washington Partners Ellen Fern and Ellin Nolan as public policy consultants with the National Coalition for Literacy. Not only will they bring much needed information and strategic recommendations to the Coalition for advancing adult education, they are also well-known and respected in education circles on the Hill.

Washington Partners has provided the budget and appropriations update below. Read it carefully. Several key factors are coalescing in Congress that will critically…

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By Heidi Silver-Pacuilla with Elizabeth Lower-Basch of Center for Law and Social Policy, Kevin Miller of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Mev Miller of WE LEARN, Gloria Mwase of Jobs for the Future, Margaret Patterson of GED Testing Service, and Heide Spruck Wrigley of Literacywork, International

—What is the role of literacy and education on women’s economic contribution?

December 2010 was a banner month for advocates and scholars interested in this question.

The National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) and the Institute for Women’s Policy…

By Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

Welcome to Washington Partners, joining our team as NCL policy consultants. After a search for a policy consultant which generated many fine and qualified applicants, the search team agreed that the Coalition would be best served by this firm with its depth and breadth of experience in education policy and reputation for high quality service.

Washington Partners is a full service firm, offering government and public relations services, policy research and analysis, grassroots organizing and advocacy, as well as strategic advice and planning. We are looking forward to learning from their…

By Jackie Taylor

We have the important task ahead of us for 2011 in educating a new Congress, protecting adult education and family literacy funding at the federal level, and advocating for the priorities we want to see included in a new WIA reauthorization bill.

Here are 11 ways you can recommit to adult education advocacy for 2011. Take our poll in the right column (scroll down) to select your top three:

1. 5 Minutes, 5 Alerts: Commit to responding to 5 alerts on adult education issues in 2011. The

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By Kevin Talley and Jackie Taylor

The House and Senate are finalizing a short term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through March 4, 2011. A more conservative 112^th Congress will make the funding decisions to finish out the FY11 program year. Many of these Members were elected on promises of slashing spending. This leaves adult education and family literacy funding in a vulnerable and uncertain state. In particular, Even Start (ES) historically has been targeted, among other small education programs, for cuts.

You can take the following steps now to elevate the…

By Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

Hello All, we are heading into the end of December, so I’ll start with happy holidays and a wish for a safe, healthy, and more equitable and peaceful 2011.

This has been a busy month for the Coalition.

The elections brought surprises, recounts, and an upset in the newly formed House Adult Literacy Caucus. Follow the fall out of the elections here. We are also monitoring Congress closely to stay on top of shifting funding arrangements that may greatly impact our programs.…

—A Public Policy Update on Adult Education and Literacy

By Jackie Taylor

Adult education and literacy impacts a host of critical issues that face our nation: jobs and the economy, health care, immigration, poverty, families and children’s education, to name just a few. We can help change these issues for the better by advocating for more effective public policies that support adult education and literacy.

As the lame duck session nears a close, I’ll share public policy advocacy updates in parts.

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Part I of V: Jobs and

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By Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

The final version of the National Ed Technology Plan (NETP) was released November 9, 2010.

This spring, during the call for input, the National Coalition for Literacy coordinated an adult education response to the draft. That document attempted to articulate the role that technology could play in adult education for teaching, learning, and program infrastructure. The document was subsequently adopted by NCL as a policy position.

The final version of the NETP preserves the main categories presented in the draft version:…

Thank you for attending today’s workshop on Effective Advocacy Strategies, held at the COABE Regional Institute in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We are happy to be here with you and we look forward to hearing from you on what’s needed to improve advocacy for adult education locally and nationwide.

Please post an introduction in the Comment box below. Tell us your thoughts on one or more of these questions:

• How do you plan to begin or improve advocacy efforts for adult education locally?
• What’s needed to improve advocacy for adult education in your state or nationwide?
• How might you better incorporate

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Arkansas Advocates!

Thank you for attending today’s symposium on Building Effective Local Partnerships and Collaborations here in Little Rock, Arkansas. We are happy to be here with you today and we look forward to exploring how we can work together to build partnerships in advocating for adult education and literacy.

Our speakers include State Director Jim Smith, newly elected NCL President Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, Senator Shane Broadway, Dr. Charles Allen, Senator Tracy Steele, and many local panelists and presenters. We are looking forward to an outstanding day packed with valuable…

A Public Policy Forum on Women’s Education and Economic Opportunity: The Role of Literacy will be held in Washington, DC, Wednesday, December 1, from 9:00am – 2:00pm jointly sponsored by the National Coalition for Literacy and the Institute on Women’s Policy Research.  There is no cost and lunch is provided. Continental breakfast will be provided starting at 8:30am.  Plan to stay for informal networking till 3:00pm.

This Forum will bring together advocacy organizations, policymakers from Congress and federal agencies, and researchers to share what we know, what we still need to know, and what…

—Update and background on preserving NIFL resources

Update: With the closing of the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) September 30, the Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) is moving to the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE).

A new LINCS website—live October 1—will offer an array of new, final publications from NIFL; the LINCS Resource Collections (online subject-oriented collections of high-quality instructional resources); archives of all NIFL webcasts; and a continuation of popular resources such as the news items and discussion lists.

Background: In May 2009, the National Coalition for Literacy conducted a NIFL…

By Jackie Taylor

Many supporters celebrated National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week September 13 – 19, 2010. Thank you to all who participated, making it such a huge success!

“This week was an opportunity to elevate adult education and family literacy nationwide with policymakers, the media, and the community,” said Spiros Protopsaltis, Senior Policy Advisor with Congressman Polis, during the NCL Literacy Leadership Awards reception on September 15.

Congressman Jared Polis led the US House of Representatives in dedicating this week for two consecutive years. Each year, the House must repeat the process to dedicate the week for adult…

—An NCL WIA Reauthorization Priority

Article by Heidi Silver-Pacuilla

Consider these statistics about how U.S. adults are using technology in 2010 and whether adult education programs are prepared to take advantage of these trends:

Broadband. 74 % of adults have broadband access at home, and 67% consider themselves as users of that access in the home. The main dividing lines for access are along socioeconomic dimensions such as income and education:

46% of adults whose highest level of education is a high school degree are broadband users at home;

• 82% of adults who have attended or graduated from college

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—An NCL WIA Reauthorization Priority

Article by Art Ellison,  Policy Committee Chair,  National Council of State Directors of Adult Education

An annual federal appropriation of at least $1 billion for adult education would represent the lowest possible figure that would indicate a serious commitment to the needs of undereducated adults in this country. The state grant appropriation level of $614 for FY11 contained in the budget submitted to Congress by the Obama administration would need to be increased by Congress to $386 million in order to reach the $1 billion level for next year.

A [ Read More → ]

By Marsha Tait and Jackie Taylor

National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week—Thank You Congressman Polis!

June and early July have been deceptively busy in the public policy arena!

For the second consecutive year, Congressman Jared Polis has led the U.S. House of Representatives in passing bipartisan legislation (H Res. 1472) supporting the designation of the week of September 13, 2010 as National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. The resolution, authored by Congressman Jared…