I agree with you, Bruce.  High-quality instruction in a supportive environment is key and has many components.  We may have to re-define success for funders but for students feeling successful NOW is a key element of persistence.  We evaluate every activity and every class.  All students should leave every class with a feeling of success.  I try my best to have students leave, even the first class, with something they can use now.

Nicole B. Graves
South Deerfield, MA
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Bruce Carmel 
  To: specialtopics at nifl.gov 
  Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 12:25 PM
  Subject: [SpecialTopics 91] Persistence Strategies


  Dear John,
  I've been working in adult literacy since 1989, and student persistence (and retention) has been a challenge in every setting I have known. Students' dropout or irregular attendance makes educational gain difficult and really frustrates teachers. I learned a lot when you and I worked together on the Wallace Funds project, where we focused on persistence among library literacy students.  There are two main strategies I have found helpful:
  1) Offer high-quality instruction in a supportive environment (There are many components of this.)
  2) Re-define success. Accept that students are going to attend classes in a way that fits into their lives and satisfies their needs.  This might not fit into staff's concept of intensity and duration of instruction--so staff have to accept a new, irregular, sporadic model of participation. 

  What do you think?  What do you think are the key issues, strategies, suggestions for programs and staff struggling with student persistence?

  From Bruce Carmel
  Turning Point
  Brooklyn, NY 



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  -------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Special Topics mailing list
  SpecialTopics at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/SpecialTopics
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/specialtopics/attachments/20060710/51ff517c/attachment.html