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e*Literacy

Volume 2, Issue 3 March 1, 2002
Welcome to e*literacy, a monthly electronic newsletter with the latest news from the National Institute for Literacy.

Tribute to Susan Green, 1944 - 2002

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:

"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."

A Susan Green Memorial Fund is being established to benefit 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.

CONTENTS

NAULC Hosts Anniversary Event for the Institute on Capitol Hill

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. More information about NAULC or its annual meeting.

Institute Launches First Live Webcasts

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.

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. For information about the webcast, see LINCS and for registration information, contact Esther Roberts at NIH at: eroberts@hq.row.com.

Seattle Training To Focus on Welfare Recipients with Learning Disabilities

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.

LINCS Features Antarctica Learning Activities

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. 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.

Equipped for the Future (EFF) Moves Forward with Assessment

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).

Institute Staff on the Road

Upcoming presentations by Institute staff are listed below.

March

April

New Publications

To join the Institute's mailing list, visit: //nifl/join_mailing_list.html.

Literacy in the News

Business Week: The Illiteracy Time Bomb by Aaron Bernstein, February 15, 2002. This article reviews a new ETS study that finds that the U.S. ranks 10th out of 17 industrialized countries in terms of adult literacy. The U.S. also has the largest gap between highly and poorly educated adults. Read the article.

Legislative Update

Budget -- On February 4th, President Bush released his FY 2003 budget proposal for adult education and family literacy programs. In his State of the Union address, the President indicated that his budget proposal would include cuts in domestic programs to pay for national security and homeland defense. Through his FY 2003 budget proposal, the President plans to terminate 35 Department of Education programs that he feels have not proven effective. The President further proposes funding decreases for other programs he views as marginally effective. According to the President, this "budget seeks to redirect funds from lower-performing programs to higher-performing or more-effective programs." Learn more about the President's FY 2003 budget proposal.

Welfare Reform -- Earlier this week, President Bush released his proposal to reauthorize the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), commonly known as the welfare reform law of 1996. The President's proposal intends to strengthen work rules to ensure that all welfare families are fully engaged in work and other meaningful activities -- such as training and education -- that will lead to self-sufficiency. This proposal will allow states to count certain activities as meeting the work requirement for limited periods of time. Learn more about the President's proposal.

Congressman Ben Cardin (D-MD) has also proposed a welfare reform measure. His measure would require that every recipient's employability be assessed -- considering such factors as limited proficiency in English. New resources would be provided to improve employment outcomes and federal restrictions on promoting educational opportunities for welfare recipients would be relaxed to allow individuals to gain the skills and receive the services needed for employment advancement. His bill would eliminate the 30 percent cap on the number of recipients who can be enrolled in vocational education or high school and count towards a state's participation requirement. Learn more about Congressman Cardin's proposal.

Congressional Briefing on Corrections Education -- The Corrections Education Association and the National Institute for Literacy will host a Congressional briefing on corrections education on March 19, 2002. During this briefing, panelists will provide information on emerging research related to corrections education and recidivism, and highlight promising practices in corrections education. For more information, contact Christy Gullion at cgullion@nifl.gov or Steve Steurer at steurer1@aol.com.

Calendar

Be sure to check out LINCS' calendar of upcoming events, including conferences, seminars, and training sessions.
March 2002 events include:

March 3-5
11th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy
Albuquerque, NM

March 6-9
National Council of Teachers of English Spring Conference
Portland, OR

March 7-9
National Alliance of Urban Literacy Coalitions: Annual Member Meeting
Washington, DC

March 16-19
Network Consortium One-Stop Workforce Development Conference
Chicago, IL

March 17-19
Correctional Education Association Leadership Forum
Baltimore, MD

E*literacy is published monthly by the National Institute for Literacy. The National Institute for Literacy is an independent federal organization leading the national effort toward a fully literate nation in the 21st century. The Institute's mission is to improve the national adult and family literacy system by building capacity and improving quality through strategic public-private partnerships at the state, regional, and national level.

Editor: Alice Johnson (ajohnson@nifl.gov)

For more information, contact:
National Institute for Literacy
1775 I Street, NW
Suite 730
Washington, DC 20006-2417
202-233-2025
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