Hi Rene,

We could first consider the cost of not having 100% literacy.  In the UK 
they reckon that up to 12 million out of the 30-40 million work force have 
inadequate literacy, and it is costing the economy/business at least $20 
billion annually, i.e. 1% GDP (about $2 trillion).  However that does not 
take into the social cost of crime and unemployment, etc., which could 
easily double that figure.  I believe you have similar percentages in the 
US.

If one had 100% literacy in schools, then this problem would largely 
disappear.  Unfortunately 20% never learn to read adequately, so the 
government is changing the method of teaching with a new "Letters and 
Sounds" framework (actually based on systematic/synthetic phonics).   This 
is at zero additional cost to the education budget.  However the cost of 
teaching adults to read, who as children were taught by unsuccessful 
methods, is going to be significant.  A possible solution would be to have 
groups of adults in the community, streamed according to their reading level 
and/or particular reading problem, and taught by volunteers (e.g. retired 
people), who would need to be trained in successful literacy 
teaching/remediation methods - which is where the cost would be.  Such a 
system could pay for itself in a year or two, if you took into account the 
long-term benefits of literacy to the economy, as estimated above.   The 
social benefit would be incalculable - unless somebody can put a value to 
happiness!  (BTW I'm reading a book about that.)

Cheers from Chiswick,

John


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rene Greer" <rene at brchamber.org>
To: <doughtyhrc at aol.com>; <specialtopics at nifl.gov>
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 4:57 AM
Subject: [SpecialTopics 392] Re: Additional questions to consider


Margaret,
Even though nobody is tracking unified data, it might be beneficial if I 
could point to some gains that have been made in other communities when 
there is sustained funding support, at least until the Coalition has an 
opportunity to develop the kind of portfolio that qualifies it for most 
national and international funding programs.  For example, has any Coalition 
seen a measurable drop in crime, unemployment, etc. that might be attributed 
to its success (impact), the support of the community (funding/ROI) and the 
impact of providers that it is supporting?

Our vision of literacy is 100% (as you know we are at aout 35% population 
below basic skill level.)  I was approaching a funder to renew their funding 
commitment for another year last week and he asked me how much money it 
would take to get to 100% literacy.  I'm new to this, but even so that seems 
like a complex question considering all the types of literacy, etc.  He was 
primarily talking about bringing those with below basic skills to basic.

Anybody know?

-----Original Message-----
From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] 
On Behalf Of doughtyhrc at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 5:07 PM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 389] Re: Additional questions to consider

Hi All - in response to the various comments related to evaluating community 
literacy impact this is a challenging issue.  From my work with coalitions 
it is clear that it is easy to track and measure discreet items:
Marketing and Outreach
Funding and ROI
Learner gain by fundibg stream
Training and PD
Advocacy
However, the long term impact related to the data collected is difficult to 
asses.  Most coalitions try to measure both organizational progress as well 
as progress of member programs.  But we cannot at this point measure apples 
and apples across any community wide effort.  Indeed we end up with apples, 
bananas, plums, grapes and pomegranites!   There are two pilots that have 
been funded to begin to address this issue - in Cleveland and in Baton Rouge 
but they are in the very early stages.

I was invited to present with Dr. Ray Hart, to the NIFL board this month to 
share some ideas about community literacy and the opportunties for central 
tracking systems.  I'd be very pleased to hear any ideas you may all have. 
One project that I worked on provided a stipend to all the commuity partners 
to encourage them to share data.  Are there other good ideas you may have?

Margaret
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

-----Original Message-----
From: DSKostrub at aol.com

Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:44:02
To:specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 374] Re: Additional questions to consider


In a message dated 6/25/2007 12:06:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
margeryfreeman at yahoo.com writes:
In response to Margery's question, we are making an attempt in this 
direction during the coming year by forming:

A Haitian Advisory Panel
Hispanic Advisory Panel
African-American Advisory Panel
Faith-Based Advisory Panel

These will meet at least twice a year. We will share with these Panels what 
we and the providers are currently doing and then mainly listen to them to 
understand what they see as the real needs, in which areas, best ways to 
meet those needs, etc. We want them to direct our efforts.

We have an Adult Learner Leadership Board with learners nominated from about 
28 literacy programs. This board meets several times during the year. The 
learners develop further leadership skills and they provide a valuable focus 
group to let us(and providers) understand how to better serve them.

Darlene Kostrub
www.pbcliteracy.org <http://www.pbcliteracy.org>

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