Hi Lester. Thanks so much for sharing the many advantages of community college partnerships. Many of the partnerships we studied involved community colleges. The community college partners we spoke with also described the win/win you so clearly articulated. We wrote an article for the Community College Journal that summarized what we learned about the many roles of community colleges in the community partnerships we studied. A copy is attached. Thanks again.

Kathy

On Wednesday, June 27, 2007 12:01 PM, omar james <jamesomar at hotmail.com> wrote:

>

>

>Hi Kathy:

>I'm late getting into the discussion. I teach ESOL and GED

>through one of the City University of New York (CUNY) community

>colleges in Manhattan- BMCC. We get funding from a city agency

>called the Department of Youth and Community Development

>(DYCD). I am not totally sure of the nuts and bolts of funding

>since I'm just a classroom instructor, however, if you can

>collaborate with a community college I think it provides a

>win/win best of both worlds situation for everyone. Students

>like being on a college campus and the college gets funds for

>each educational gain that students make on the BEST Plus or

>the TABE test. Also, the students seem more willing to commit

>to being in these types of programs than community based

>literacy programs because their peers and associates who are in

>college tell them about the remedial classes that they are

>taking that are often comparable to what is being taught in the

>literacy programs. DYCD also pays the college if students get

>jobs or get a higher paying job or transition off of public

>assistance or their PA grant or food stamps are reduced.

>Having taught in several types of adult literacy programs I

>have found that the community college partnership is the best

>not only for the reasons listed above, but also because we have

>our own cross campus professional development staff who are

>quite accessible and very attuned to quality in the classroom;

>they're an added layer of teaching support (they're the ones

>who told me about this discussion). That extra level of support

>helps tremendously in such an emerging field. The best thing

>about this type of partership is that CUNY adult literacy

>programs can demand that students across the board develop

>critical thinking skills through the implementation and use of

>theme based curricula. One of the big challenges I have found

>in adult literacy, especially with GED and pre-GED students is

>that there is often a need to develop critical literacy and

>problem solving skills apart from just doing drill and practice

>exercises, which are what students often say they need. I have

>found that the community college "college prep" style of

>program has been the best environment for getting students

>ready for the GED exam because it gets them to think about

>bigger issues besides test prep. I've also found this to be

>true with ESOL students and like I mentioned above in this

>model of program students have been willing to attend for

>several years because they see it as a bridge to higher education.

>Lester Lambert

>ESOL/GED Instructor

>Borough of Manhattan Community College Center for Adult and

>Continuiung Education and Workforce Development

>Adult Literacy Program

>

>

>

>From:  "Katherine G" <Kgotthardt at comcast.net>

>Reply-To:  specialtopics at nifl.gov

>To:  "Kathy Chernus" <kchernus at mprinc.com>,<specialtopics at nifl.gov>

>Subject:  [SpecialTopics 376] Re: models of successful collaboration? Question

>Date:  Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:42:05 -0400

>>Hello Everyone--

>>

>>I am sure I missed this somewhere, but does anyone here have experience with

>>Community Colleges working as collaborators for community literacy?  I know

>>there are sometimes low-cost ESL programs offered, but I am not sure how

>>students are referred or what a college's relationship with these other

>>programs might be.

>>

>>

>>Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt, ESOL Distance Education Instructor

>>Prince William County Public Schools

>>Adult Education

>>P.O. Box 389

>>Manassas, VA 20108

>>work 703-791-8387

>>fax 703-791-8889

>>

>>

>>-----Original Message-----

>>From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov

>>[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Kathy Chernus

>>Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 3:14 PM

>>To: specialtopics at nifl.gov; Wrigley, Heide

>>Subject: [SpecialTopics 363] Re: models of successful collaboration?

>>

>>

>>Hi Heide and everyone.  You’ve clearly articulated some of the challenges of

>>partnering we found when we visited twelve communities that have come

>>together to support adult and family literacy a few years ago (Darlene’s

>>Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition was one of the partnerships we

>>visited). I’ll respond to David’s question about what community literacy

>>means separately, but I think true partnerships mean real collaboration and

>>these types of partnerships have the potential to create a system of adult

>>and family literacy within a community.

>>

>>When we began searching for promising partnerships, we looked to the

>>literature to identify characteristics of successful partnerships and

>>expanded these after the site visits.  Examples of these include:

>>-Strong leadership

>>-Putting  the needs of the community first

>>-Broad participation from the community (including adult learners)

>>-Mutual respect and trust among the partners

>>-A willingness to give up turf issues

>>-Open and frequent communication among the partners

>>-Flexibility to meet the changing needs of their communities

>>-Collaboration on many levels, among the leadership and staff

>>-A diverse funding base

>>

>>In addition, the partners recognized that the partnerships have to serve the

>>partners as well as the community (one partner described it as “mutual

>>self-interest”).

>>

>>One result of many of partnerships we studied was increased community

>>awareness of and support for adult literacy.  For more details about how and

>>why these partnerships work, you might want to look at Commitment Comes in

>>All Shapes and Sizes, a report that summarizes our findings

>>http://www.c-pal.net/profiles/synthesis.html.

>>

>>It would be hard to select just one example from these partnerships.  They’

>>re all so different. Some focus on the needs of immigrant and refugees

>>(Heide you might be particularly interested in the Juntos partnership and

>>the Cedar Riverside Adult Education Collaborative), some are part of  a

>>statewide initiative, one is library-based, some are business-driven, some

>>focus on correctional education, and some offer family literacy programs.

>>Some include one provider and others include several (publicly funded as

>>well as community-based non-profits).  Some are the hub of multiple

>>partnerships (like Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition), and others involve

>>a single partnership.

>>

>>To view a list of the partnerships that includes brief descriptions and

>>links to the full reports see http://www.c-pal.net/profiles/index.html

>>

>>

>>Thanks.

>>

>>Kathy

>>

>>

>>On Monday, June 25, 2007 8:20 PM, Wrigley, Heide <heide at literacywork.com>

>>wrote:

>> >Hi, Kathy! Nice to see you on-line.

>> >

>> >Kathy is there a particular community that stands out in your

>> >study as having a particularly successful collaboration? I'm

>> >knee deep in issues around immigrant integration and I wonder

>> >what particular approaches create a win-win situation for all

>> >community partners.

>> >

>> >I'm aware of partnerships that are in name only, as everyone

>> >gets together ostensibly to collaborate but then nothing much

>> >happens beyond talk. As a panelist at the Spokane conference on

>> >transitions mentioned (and I paraphrase)"agencies often want

>> >others to collaborate but are unwilling to give on turf issues.

>> >The message sent is - we'll be happy to use your money to do

>> >something special, but we need all of our monies to do what we

>> >are already doing. Partners need to realize that on some issues

>> >you come out ahead in a collaboration and in others you don't."

>> >

>> >The question is of course for the entire list: What does it

>> >take to build successful partnerships around a common goal and

>> >what are examples of partnerships that work because there is

>> >significant "value added" through the collaboration that

>> >results in better opportunities for community members.

>> >

>> >Cheers

>> >

>> >Heide

>> >

>> >Heide Spruck Wrigley

>> >LiteracyWork International

>> >Mesilla, New Mexico

>> >

>> >-----Original Message-----

>> >From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov

>> >[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kathy Chernus

>> >Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 12:53 PM

>> >To: specialtopics at nifl.gov

>> >Subject: [SpecialTopics 341] Re: Community Literacy Discussion

>> >Begins

>> >

>> >Hi everyone. David, thank you for convening this discussion and

>> >inviting me to participate.

>> >

>> >In the Community Partnerships for Adult Learning (C-PAL) study

>> >of community partnerships that support adult education, we

>> >found that community literacy looks quite different from

>> >community to community (see

>> >http://www.c-pal.net/profiles/index.html).  For example, there

>> >are a variety of types of organizations that partner and may

>> >include one or several providers; they may serve a specific

>> >population or anyone in the community with adult literacy or

>> >English language and literacy needs; some have formal

>> >agreements but others have no infrastructure. That said, they

>> >share a common commitment to adult learners in need of literacy

>> >services. Many recognize the connections between adult

>> >literacy, workforce development, and economic development.  The

>> >purpose of these partnerships is to increase the availability

>> >and quality of adult education and other literacy services.

>> >

>> >In the partnerships we studied, the partners who come together

>> >to support adult literacy include: adult education providers

>> >(local school systems, community colleges, libraries,

>> >community-based and faith-based organizations, public housing

>> >facilities, correctional facilities, etc.), businesses, state

>> >and local government, workforce development and social service

>> >agencies, public housing facilities, and other community

>> >organizations.

>> >

>> >Hope this is helpful.

>> >

>> >Kathy Chernus

>> >

>> >

>> >On Sunday, June 24, 2007 7:29 PM, David J. Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>

>>wrote:

>> >>

>> >>Dear Community Literacy Discussion Colleague,

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>On Monday we begin a discussion of adult and family community

>> >>literacy. First I would like to thank our guests: Margaret

>> >>Doughty, Carl Guerriere, Petrice Sams- Abiodun, Darlene

>> >>Kostrub, Jeff Carter, and Kathy Chernus. You can learn more

>> >>about them by going to http://tinyurl.com/23nvye )

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>Here's how the National Institute for Literacy Special Topics

>> >>discussion list works:

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>* A discussion opens and a few days later it closes.  Between

>> >>discussions there are usually no messages posted until the next

>> >>discussion is ready to begin.

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>* A discussion is carried on by e-mail. As a subscriber all of

>> >>the messages will be sent to your e-mail.  These might include

>> >>information, questions, replies to questions, comments and

>> >>expansions, further explanations, requests for more detail,

>> >>comments on other perspectives, and more. Sometimes a

>> >>discussion with guests consists of just questions to the guests

>> >>and their answers, but I will try to encourage real discussion,

>> >>especially since we have other experts in community literacy

>> >>among our participants.  

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>* You will probably get a lot of e-mail from the Special Topics

>> >>discussion list each day for the next five days!  You might

>> >>decide to skim the messages, read through the ones that

>> >>especially interest you, and save the rest to read later.

>> >Every message is also archived at 

>> >>http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/specialtopics/2007/date.html  

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>* You can get all the day's postings in one message each day,

>> >>in "digest format".  To find out how you can set your subscription to do

>>that, go to

>> >>http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/help/help_mailman.html#digest

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>* When you want to send a message, email it to

>> >>specialtopics at nifl.gov and it will go out to everyone who has

>> >>subscribed. Please check before you send it that the Subject

>> >>line of the message is correct for your message, that is, if

>> >>your message is a continuation of a discussion strand, leave it

>> >>as is; however, if you are introducing a new topic or strand,

>> >>then give it a Subject title that concisely and accurately

>> >>reflects the new content area of your message.

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>We have several hundred people who are subscribed for this

>> >>discussion, so we won't do introductions of participants. The

>> >>bios at http://tinyurl.com/23nvye are your introductions to our

>> >>guests.  We have a lot of questions to discuss this week -- and

>> >>you may want to post more questions -- so we'll get started now

>> >>with the questions below to our quests.

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>We'll begin by discussing what Community Literacy is.  There

>> >>will be many variations on the definition, of course, and 

>> >>definitions in this discussion will focus on adult and family

>> >>community literacy, not just schools reaching out to engage

>> >>parents in the literacy of their children.

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>I would like to ask our guests to address the following

>> >>question from their experience, from research,  and/or from

>> >>their professional wisdom:

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>What is Community Literacy?

>> >> 

>> >>* What does community adult and family literacy mean?

>> >> 

>> >>* What are the purposes and goals of community literacy?

>> >> 

>> >>* Why is community literacy important?

>> >> 

>> >>* Typically, who are the key community literacy stake holders?

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>On Tuesday we will go on to this question:  How are Community

>> >>Literacy Coalitions Developed and Sustained?

>> >>I will also post subscribers' messages from Monday with their

>> >>thoughts about what community literacy is. 

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>David J. Rosen

>> >>Special Topics Discussion Moderator

>> >>djrosen at comcast.net

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>

>> >>-------------------------------

>> >>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

>> >>Email delivered to kchernus at mprinc.com

>> >>

>> >

>> >-------------------------------

>> >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

>> >Email delivered to heide at literacywork.com

>> >

>>--

>>Kathy Chernus

>>Director, Adult Education and Literacy

>>MPR Associates, Inc.

>>2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

>>Suite 410

>>Washington, DC 20037

>>202/478-1027 x 102

>>www.mprinc.com

>>

>>-------------------------------

>>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

>>Email delivered to kgotthardt at comcast.net

>>

>>-------------------------------

>>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

>>Email delivered to jamesomar at hotmail.com

>

> Like puzzles? Play free games& earn great prizes. Play Clink

>now.

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