Reply to:   Re: [NIFL-PLI] Program Improvement Models
Hi David and Nifl participants,

I think Pennsylvania does have a good example of this program improvement model that is both top down and bottom up.  I have been working with Family Literacy programs in Pennsylvania doing program improvement in the SEQUAL Project (it was the sequel to the EQUAL program improvement project for adult education) and it stands for  Statewide Educational Quality for Family Literacy.  The programs send a small team (3 or 4 staff) that represent the various roles in a family literacy program (from administrators to early childhood and adult educators), to the SEQUAL training in the Fall and December.   This program improvement team is then asked to collect their data portfolio and examine it as a team for areas of improvement.  There is a five year cycle where  the programs begin by concentrating their program improvement efforts on the areas listed below:
Year 1:  Strengthening Collaboration and Partnerships
Year 2:  Program Performance Standards (with a focus on one family literacy component)
Year 3:  Increasing the Intensity and Duration of services
Year 4:  Improving the Parent and Child Assessment
Year 5:  An area identified through the Family Literacy Self-Assessment Guide. Whether a program is in Year 1 or Year 5, there is a continual effort for each program to examine their own data and make program improvement decisions based upon their data and to do this in a team setting with administrators, practitioners, and support staff, serving as members of this team.
As an activity, each program completes a Program Improvement Action Plan and no two programs have the same action plans. Below are  some action steps taken from a mixture of action plans;

Set up monthly meetings with the Early Head Start staff.
Implement an incentive program with specific emphasis on achievement of adult ed. goals.
Research the use of alternative assessment tools.
Write a mission statement with our partners.
Establish a referral process with our major partner.
Develop a workshop to help students identify their "official " sponsors and support structure. Invite guest speakers from various "official" sponsor agencies to address the group.   
I think the use of the program's data, the combined efforts of a team approach (including the top and bottom ), and the sharing of decisions, assignments, and action plans among other family literacy programs at the statewide meetings have all been benefits to their program improvement efforts.  Others in Pennsylvania can write about the program improvement efforts that began before SEQUAL as a result of Cheryl Keenan's leadership in this area. Thanks for asking.
Trish Link
Lancaster Lebanon IU 13
1110 Enterprise Road
East Petersburg, Pa. 17520
trish_link at iu13.org

David Rosen wrote:

>Jan and others,

>

>I think program improvement works best -- and I believe Pennsylvania is >a good example of this -- when it is both top down and bottom up.  A >top down demand or requirement from the state adult education director >that programs chose (a) program improvement goal(s) and use data to >monitor progress is needed.  Bottom up (program level) decision-making >about which goal(s), which data -- and once the data are clear -- what >to do to improve, is also needed.

>

>I would like to see more federal resources available for program >improvement, and would like to see all state adult education directors >working with program directors in their state to develop and implement >a state program improvement model.

>

>Perhaps our Pennsylvania colleagues would like to add to this >discussion, to describe how their program improvement model works, what >the opportunities and challenges have been in implementing it, and what >the results have been from a program and State Education Department >perspective.

>

>David J. Rosen

>djrosen at comcast.net

>

>On Wednesday, March 24, 2004, at 08:39 AM, Jan Gallagher wrote:

>

>> Cheryl Keenan's message notes that program improvement works both >> bottom-up

>> and top-down and invites us to participate in the bottom-up side of the

>> process. Do list members have hopes for the ways in which program >> leadership &

>> improvement might influence policy at the federal or state level?

>>

>> Jan Gallagher

>> Director of Communications

>> Literacy Assistance Center

>> www.lacnyc.org

>> voice 212.803.3332

>> fax 212.785.3685

>

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