Hello from New Orleans,
 
I am Manon Pavy, the former Program Coordinator for YMCA Educational  
Services (YES!), an adult literacy program in New Orleans.  I am one  of the 
panelists for this discussion. Rachel Nicolosi, a fellow panelist, has  posed the 
following questions to me.  I know the clock is ticking on our  discussion, so 
I'll attempt to answer her questions to the best of my  abilities.  

How have the content offerings or  instructional approaches changed, if at 
all, post  Katrina?
 
The most striking change in the YES! adult literacy program has  occurred 
because of the scarcity of GED programs in our area,  post-Katrina.  There are 
only a handful of GED programs now in operation in  Orleans Parish.  Most 
notably, the large adult education program run by the  public school system (and 
which, I believe, received funding from the LA State  Department of Education) 
has not reopened since the storm.  This void has  created pressure on smaller, 
independent programs, such as YES!, to address  an increased demand (while 
seeking adequate funding to do so.)
 
Traditionally, the YES! mission has been to help adult learners gain basic  
reading and writing skills. Post-Katrina, YES! is maintaining its service  
policy of working with adults (17 years or older) with grade levels  below 9th 
grade (based on TABE scores). Because of the constant demand  for "GED," 
especially from youth, YES! has started identifying itself as a  "pre-GED" program (as 
well as a "literacy" program to those few who don't  mention the GED!) This 
pressure to remain meaningful in terms of "GED" has  changed the YES! 
curriculum significantly.  YES! instructors used to focus  primarily on strengthening 
reading skills, with improvement in reading as a goal  in itself, for life, for 
job.  With a new "pre-GED" track (for those  learners who state this as their 
goal)  lesson planning is greatly  driven by/correllated to TABE scores 
(weaknesses and strengths in given areas);  lessons now usually include math, and 
there is an emphasis on  developing test-taking strategies.  The "pre-GED" 
students often seek  frequent reassurance/explanation as to "why" this or that 
activity will help  them get their GED, how long it will take, when will they be 
ready for the  test... 
 
Thus, post-Katrina, YES! is absorbing learners who probably would have  
attended mainstream GED programs.  They would have been told that they were  
studying for their GED but placed in the lower-level/remedial classes. By  using the 
term "pre-GED" on a regular basis, for the first time in its 30-year  
history, YES! is both adapting for survival but it is also being responsive and  
realistic.  Are these changes good?  I have mixed feelings. I  believe retention 
will be increased because YES! is responding to  the wishes of participants. I 
also believe it is a fundamental  show of respect to value the goals of 
learners, despite misgivings about  motivation.
 
On the other hand, I know that the coveted GED hinges  upon decent, if not 
strong, reading skills. Among the 200 students I  evaluated in the past two 
years, only a dozen were at a GED (i.e.high  school) reading level (and were then 
referred to a  GED program).  This tells me that there is a LITERACY crisis in 
New  Orleans and that the GED-seekers will not meet their goals until they 
can  improve their reading. I think there is also a crisis in  the marketing of 
the GED.  Rather, there is only marketing and no  content. This is something 
for another discussion.  But the  GED has come to be understood as a goal in 
itself and a goal that  somehow does not involve reading!.  I hope that one day 
LITERACY will be  understood as a positive word. 
 

Has the need for volunteers in all lines of  work, taken away from the pool 
of typical volunteers as adult literacy  tutors?
 
At YES! we recently held a volunteer tutor training, in early August,  and 
had a very healthy turnout.  I believe that the adult literacy field  attracts a 
special type of volunteer, with a particular interest in this  area, usually 
a passion for education, reading,  and/or social justice... I  don't think 
there will ever be a shortage of literacy volunteers.  At every  training I've 
conducted, there's always been folks who have wanted to be  literacy volunteers 
for a long time, even years, and have just been waiting for  the ideal 
opportunity.  
 
That said, during the first year after the hurricane especially, we would  
get requests from diverse volunteer groups who wanted to volunteer at the  YES! 
Learning Center -- for 3 weeks usually -- as part of their New Orleans  
volunteer "experience."  This was met by a resounding if polite NO!... we  didn't 
want our learners to be part of the NOLA "devastation  tour."



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