National Coalition for Literacy

The National Coalition for Literacy will be presenting several interactive public policy advocacy sessions at the US Conference on Adult Literacy (USCAL) in Houston, Texas, November 2-5, 2011. We hope you will join us! Come share your experiences and recommendations in advocating for adult and family literacy and have a voice in strengthening NCL’s advocacy nationwide. Leave armed with resources for strategically developing your advocacy campaigns.

Add a preconference to your schedule: Register today for our day long preconference on Effective Advocacy Strategies. Early registration has been extended until October 21. Register here.

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By Washington Partners

Budget and Appropriations

The best 4th of July fireworks in Washington this year might just be under the dome of the U.S. Capitol versus on the National Mall. The inability of the Congress to come to consensus on a plan to raise the federal debt ceiling has led to fiery remarks and partisan sparks all week.

In his first news conference in months, President Obama compared the slow progress on negotiations to kids unable to finish their homework. He soundly criticized Republicans for drawing a line in the sand…

by Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, 2010-2011 President of NCL

This blog post is cross-posted on Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s FemChat blog. See more women’s news there.

Women make up more than 50% of the adult ed population; in ESL classes, they are more than 60% (NRS tables, 2008-2009). How much are we taking the unique concerns of women learners into account in our programming and teaching? In March, Women’s History Month, I was able to attend several events focused on women immigrants and the role and challenges…

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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—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

Many irons in the fire, but will Congress get it all done before November? Updates this month include appropriations, WIA, ESEA, and TANF reauthorization, immigration reform, House resolution for dedicating Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2010, advocacy for Even Start and for including adult education in the National Education Technology Plan.

Appropriations:

Despite the fact that adult education serves approximately two and a half million of the ninety-three million adults in need each year, adult education has been nearly flat funded for almost a decade,

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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…

This workshop will highlight the demographic trends and policy developments leading U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to encourage civic participation by providing tools and resources for immigrants and communities that serve them to facilitate the naturalization process and celebrate citizenship.

Wednesday, March 17, 2:45 – 3:35 pm

Northwest Seven (Lower Level)

Presenter:

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

Handouts:

• Power Point Presentation (pdf)
• National Coalition for Literacy’s English Language Learning Policy Principles (pdf)

Please share your comments on this session or this topic in the Comment Box below; click…