Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id i2QJ1nm23479; Fri, 26 Mar 2004 14:01:49 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 14:01:49 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <20040326163925.19750.qmail@web11003.mail.yahoo.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Ujwala Samant <lalumineuse@yahoo.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:10108] Re: Leaving NIFL- a message from Sondra Stein X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Status: O Content-Length: 6230 Lines: 215 Sondra's departure is a great loss for NIFL. Her EFF work is fantastic. Good luck Sondra! regards, Ujwala --- jaleh.behroozi@nifl.gov wrote: > > Dear Friends and Colleagues: > > I am writing this letter to let you know that March > 31st will be my > last day at the National Institute for Literacy. > > It has been an extraordinary 12 years. I was a > strong advocate for > the creation of NIFL. When I was invited to join the > staff early in > 1992 as a special advisor to the first interim > director, I felt > greatly honored to have the opportunity to help > shape the direction of > an institution that represented so many hopes and > dreams for the > literacy field. During the startup period I worked > closely with our > first Presidentially-appointed Advisory Board (made > up of national > leaders from across the adult literacy field, > including Sharon > Darling, Benita Somerfield, Jinx Crouch, and Jon > Deveaux), with a > wonderful group of colleagues from labor, education, > and health and > human services representing our Interagency > Management Group, and with > my dear friend Susan Green, who joined the staff in > early 1993. > Together we shaped the institute's first > initiatives: the center for > learning disabilities, and two interagency > initiatives, one focused on > professional development, the other on > accountability and continuous > improvement. Soon Jaleh Behroozi joined the staff, > to coordinate the > design and development of what has become NIFL's > LINCS system. > > We all took seriously the mandate from Congress to > be an interagency > institution, and to work closely with partners in > and out of > government to improve the quality and reach of adult > and family > literacy programs all across the country. This > vision of the > Institute.s mission was shared by Andy Hartman, our > first Director, > and the other new program staff who joined the > Institute in 1994 -- > Carolyn Staley and Alice Johnson. All of us worked > to build an > institution that could serve as a powerful voice for > the literacy > field, inspiring and leading a national effort to > assure that adults > in every part of the country had the opportunity to > improve their > literacy skills and thus enhance their lives. > > As part of our effort to strengthen the quality and > accountability of > the adult literacy system NIFL launched Equipped for > the Future - a > collaborative, standards-based system reform > initiative. And - for me > - the rest is history. Working on EFF these past 10 > years has been an > extraordinary gift and (as my family will tell you) > a magnificent > obsession. I have had the opportunity to work with > a group of > dedicated, reflective, and creative educators, > researchers, and > policymakers - a true community of learners, in > whose company I have > learned much and grown enormously as an educator and > leader. > > Working together we have accomplished so much. We > have developed a > set of adult learning standards that define the full > range of skills > and knowledge that adults need to be successful in > their roles as > workers, citizens, parents and family members. We > have developed and > refined a standards-based approach to instruction > and assessment that > helps teachers focus more sharply on student goals > and the skills and > knowledge students need to achieve them. We have > developed a training > certification system that helps states integrate > these new tools into > their own professional development and program > improvement systems. > And we have created an assessment framework for the > standards that > promises to lead to a new generation of assessments > that really help > us measure what students know and can do. In > December, we produced a > work readiness profile that will be the basis for > our new work > readiness assessment tool. And just last month we > hosted a meeting of > EFF states and assessment publishers to encourage > the development of > assessments aligned with EFF standards. > > In 1996 when we began the standards development > process we estimated > that by 2004 the development work would be > completed, and we would be > ready to turn our attention to implementation of > system reform. Thanks > to the commitment and investment of time and > resources of all our > partners we have actually achieved that ambitious > goal. We really do > have a set of field-developed, standards-based tools > that programs and > states can use to improve the quality and results of > our adult > learning system. I am amazed and exhilarated at > what we have > accomplished together, and the ways in which these > accomplishments > have already helped us move forward. I can.t wait > to see what's next! > > While I am leaving NIFL, I'm not quite ready to > leave EFF. Next month > the states that are partners with NIFL in the > creation of an EFF Work > Readiness Credential will take over management of > the project from > NIFL, and they have asked me to continue to work > with them until the > credential is completed in 2005. I also expect to > stay involved in an > advisory capacity with the EFF Center for Training > and Technical > Assistance, which now has a very strong independent > base at the Center > for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee. > > Most of all, I hope to have a little more time to > tend to my garden > and my husband, to travel for pleasure instead of > work, and to take on > new projects. > > I look forward to continuing to work with you. > Starting April 1, 2004 > you can reach me at my home email sondragay@aol.com > <mailto:sondragay@aol.com> or at 202-271-7163. > > Sincerely, > > Sondra > > > > Sondra Stein, PhD. > National Director, Equipped for the Future > Senior Research Associate, > National Institute for Literacy > 1775 I St NW, Suite 730 > Washington, DC 20006 > Ph: 202-233-2041 > Fax: 202-233-2050 > www.nifl.gov/lincs/collections/eff/eff.html > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Dec 23 2004 - 09:46:43 EST