I think I share this confusion. So far, it seems that we’re defining community literacy as partnerships that focus on building a shared priority of literacy development. Another way to view it is literacy in service to the community. Years ago, we experimented with partnerships between individual classes and community organizations doing work on issues of interest to the students. These included partner organizations working on housing discrimination and day labor issues. The classes developed their language and literacy skills as they learned about and worked on those issues (resulting in a bilingual video about housing discrimination and a community survey on labor issues – data used to supplement policy papers). Is there a connection between this approach and the kinds of community literacy you’re discussing? 

Andy Nash
World Education



>>> "Isserlis, Janet" <Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu> 06/25/07 9:27 PM >>>

Are we talking about what community literacy is, as viewed through a provider's lens, and/or are we exploring what it is that community literacy - however broadly it may be defined - does for people in communities?

It seems that the key - or a key - to the conversation has to do with access - to information, understandings of systems, decision making and power.

Janet Isserlis