Hi Heide. Appreciate your raising this important issue. One of the partnerships we studied, the Cedar Riverside Adult Education Collaborative in Minneapolis, addressed the issue of immigrant integration. The Collaborative provides English language instruction, family literacy services, and other support services to Cedar Riverside, a community near downtown Minneapolis. Most of the immigrant and refugee families in the neighborhood live in Riverside Plaza, a public housing facility that houses approximately 3,500-4,000 residents within one square block. Seventy percent are immigrants and refugees from East Africa -- most are from Somalia. The other 30 percent are mainly of Asian descent, with a small percentage of African Americans.  For many, Riverside Plaza is their first home in America. Most come from refugee camps, and they generally stay only two to three years before they move to other residences. 

The partnering organizations that serve Cedar Riverside include:

-Minneapolis Public Schools Adult Basic Education, which coordinates state and federal funds, provides English literacy and citizenship instructors and materials for the partnership and professional development for all partnership instructors.
 
-The Riverside Plaza Tenants’ Association (RPTA) Resource Center, which administers the English literacy and computer literacy program, hires instructors, maintains a computer lab and supplied administrative as well as classroom space. The owners of the housing project provide additional classroom space and financial support.
 
-The Brian Coyle Community Center, a non-profit community-based organization, which provides classroom and office space, literacy and citizenship courses, employment training, job placement, computer classes, and other support services for community residents. 
 
-Fairview University Medical Center, which addresses community health and education issues and conducts free health education classes for local residents.  

-The Family Opportunities for Living Collaboration (FOLC), a grassroots alliance of immigrant, refugee, and American-born individuals who work together to find solutions to neighborhood problems, assesses the needs of the community and advocates for education and support services for the immigrants and refugees. 

FOLC was founded in 2000 by a partnership among the Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals, Augsburg College, the Coyle Community Center, RPTA, the Confederation of Somali Communities of Minnesota, Cedar Riverside Children's Home Society, Fairview University Medical Center, and two local churches. FOLC strives to include residents in every aspect of its operation and constantly seeks ways to involve them. Community elders sit on the advisory council that leads the organization.  FOLC was created in response to a comprehensive survey of residents’ needs that was designed by immigrant and refugee leaders.  FOLC staff said that they didn’t even know what questions to ask to determine the needs of the community, so they went to the residents and asked them how to ask the right questions.  They found that residents wanted to learn to speak and write English, find employment, participate in job training, secure childcare, and locate housing. 

In response, FOLC created six work groups to address these issues. The purpose of the work groups is to help residents adjust to life in America, Minneapolis, and the neighborhood.  The groups focus on self-reliance, quality-of-life issues, children, youth and parent relationships, transportation, and health and wellness. RPTA, Brian Coyle Community Center, and Fairview University Medical Center, along with many other neighborhood organizations, are members of the work groups.

One focus of the Self-Reliance work group is providing English literacy, GED, and computer instruction and job-skills training opportunities in the community.  Another is “navigating and surviving in America.”  The Self-Reliance group created the New Neighbors Network, Cedar Riverside’s “Welcome Wagon.”  The goal of the Network is to orient new arrivals to the community, city and state services, and resources.  

The Self-Reliance group members meet with each new arrival to discuss emergency contacts, food storage and safety, home fire hazards, lead exposure, crime prevention, dressing for the Minnesota winter, pedestrian safety, cleaning techniques, nutrition, and immunizations.  They also accompany newcomers to such neighborhood sites as the RPTA Resource Center, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the supermarket, the hospital, and the public library.  The Network is designed to be a neighbor-helping-neighbor support group. 

Learners come to instructors for help navigating our system. They not only teach their students English and other academic subjects, they also help them master the day-to-day challenges of life in America. The partners are sensitive to the cultural differences of the learners and accommodate their customs and traditions in their classes. For example, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, teachers avoid food-related projects and refrain from giving tests, knowing that learners perform better when they are well fed.  At the Riverside Plaza Resource Center, a private nonprofit, they provide a place for learners to pray. 

When we asked the Cedar Riverside partners what advice they had to offer to other community partnerships serving large populations of learners in need of English literacy services, they said: 
-Be respectful of learners and partners.
-Address learners’ needs in a way that is consistent with the population you’re serving.
-Involve the people you’re serving in the development of the program.
-Listen more than you talk.
-Make sure everyone feels that they’re contributing.
-Remember that “all stakeholders need to own the stakes.” 

More information about this very interesting community and how it strives to meet the special needs of this population (including software teachers developed for non-literate English language learners)  is available at http://www.c-pal.net/profiles/minnesota.html.

Kathy



On Friday, June 29, 2007 7:32 PM, Wrigley, Heide <heide at literacywork.com> wrote:

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>

>Thanks Kathy (and others) for laying out some of the key

>components that make collaborations work while at the same time

>posting links to additional resources. I think having access to

>key information right there in a post and then getting the

>opportunity to read more and go deeper into a report is such a

>benefit of being part of this list.

> 

>I also appreciated Janet Isserlis, Andy Nash and others pushing

>us toward looking at the literacy part of community literacy.

>Before we all fold our tents, I wanted to encourage thinking

>about one last aspect of community literacy, namely issues related to immigrant integration.

> 

>Coalitions where mutual assistance agencies and other ethnic

>serving CBOs can work with more mainstream organizations (and

>in fact the entire community) to facilitate integration and

>community strengthening are very much needed, particularly in

>the new gateway cities and "non-traditional" immigrant states.

>Such coalitions can help dispel fear and xenophobia by (1)

>recognizing that immigration can indeed put a stress on an

>established community and (2) finding ways of facilitating

>change on both sides (the side of the community and side of the

>newcomers.)  I like the idea that Andy Nash mentioned on taking

>on community wide issues such as housing or health and wrapping

>literacy around these issues (my term, not hers).

> 

>A few years ago, the 3 year New American Community Initiative

>(funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement) looked at some

>of these collaborations in Lowell, MA; Nashville,TN and Portland, OR.

> 

>The Initiative stressed that integration is a two-way street

>(with both communities and immigrants and refugees needing

>support) and that resources must be focused on integration

>focused interventions, since integration is not likely to happen on its own.

> 

>I57;m wondering then, if any of you involved in community

>literacy collaborations have addressed issues of immigrant

>integration head-on and what your experience has been.

> 

>All the best

> 

>Heide Wrigley

>Non-resident fellow

>Center for Immigrant Integration Policy

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

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

> From: Kathy Chernus [mailto:kchernus at mprinc.com]

> Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 1:14 PM

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

> Subject: Re: models of successful collaboration?

> 

>Hi Heide and everyone. You57;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 (Darlene57;s Palm Beach County

>Literacy Coalition was one of the partnerships we visited).

>I57;ll respond to David57;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 as60;mutual self-interest61;).

> 

>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.  They57;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

>