Dear List Members,

All this and COABE too!  What a week for resources!  I purposely didn't
hold any resources back this week since I will not be putting out a list
of resources on Thursday next week.  I will still be monitoring the
discussion list next week, even though I will be out of the office, so
feel free to send messages. Enjoy!

Donna

Donna Brian, Moderator
Workplace Literacy Discussion List
djgbrian at utk.edu


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>From the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/

Dropout Prevention 
	This review of dropout prevention examines secondary school
(middle school, junior high school, and high school) as well as
community-based interventions designed to help students stay in school
and/or complete school. 
http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/Topic.asp?tid=06&ReturnPage=default.asp

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>From Workforce3 One http://www.workforce3one.org/ Webinar Invitation:

The Workforce Innovations Network Initiative: Intermediaries Support
Regional Economic Development, Building Critical Alliances, and
Marketing to Business
	A major challenge for workforce professionals is to bring all
the regional stakeholders together and then forge a working partnership.
A unique approach is to use an organization that is well known in the
community and is generally respected by all. This first of two Webinars
demonstrates the powerful success of employing intermediaries to bring
together business and the public workforce system. Hear how these
business organizations built critical alliances and successfully market
services to business. These models are replicable and useful in any
regional economy. 
Presenters:  Mike Smeltzer, President, Manufacturing Association of
South Central Pennsylvania
		Eric Parker, Executive Director, Wisconsin Regional
Training Partnership
		Chuck Sturgeon, Arlington (TX) Chamber of Commerce
Moderator:  Stacey Wagner, Managing Director, National Association of
Manufacturers, Center for Workforce Success
Date:  03/29/2007
Time:  2:00pm Eastern (1:00pm/Central, 12:00pm/Mountain,
11:00am/Pacific)
Length:  90 minutes
http://www.workforce3one.org/public/skillbuilding/webinar_info.cfm?id=18
5

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>From Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) http://www.ppv.org/ 

Call to Action: How Programs in Three Cities Responded to the Prisoner
Reentry Crisis Call to Action chronicles how individuals, community
organizations, faith institutions, businesses and officials mobilized to
build partnerships to address escalating numbers of ex-prisoners
returning to their communities. The three cities highlighted in this
report, Jacksonville, FL; Memphis, TN; and Washington, D.C., were
pioneers in responding to the nation's prisoner reentry crisis. They
developed impressive programs and eventually joined Ready4Work.
http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/211_publication.pdf

Mentoring Ex-Prisoners in the Ready4Work Reentry Initiative 
	Promoting successful reentry for ex-prisoners is a critical
issue facing individuals, families, communities and governments across
the country. Ready4Work participants who met with a mentor remained in
the program longer, were twice as likely to obtain a job and were more
likely to stay employed than participants who did not meet with a
mentor. The report's authors conclude that while mentoring alone is not
enough, supportive relationships-which can be fostered through mentoring
programs-should be considered a core component of any reentry strategy.
http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/212_publication.pdf

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"Grants to Fund Participation in High-Quality Professional Development"
	NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership Grants support public
school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty
and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of two
purposes: grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality
professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or
action research; grants to groups fund collegial study, including study
groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for
faculty or staff new to an assignment. Maximum Award: $5,000.
Eligibility: public school teachers grades K-12; public school education
support professionals; or faculty and staff at public higher education
institutions. Deadline: June 1, 2007.
http://www.neafoundation.org/programs/Learning&Leadership_Guidelines.htm

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New website: Jobs to Careers: Promoting Work-Based Learning for Quality
Care is an initiative that seeks to support partnerships to advance and
reward the skill and career development of incumbent workers providing
care and services on the front lines of our health and health care
systems. The project is a national initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, in collaboration with the Hitachi Foundation. It supports
partnerships of employers, educational institutions, and other
organizations to expand and redesign systems to: create lasting
improvements in the way that institutions train and advance their
frontline workers; and test new models of education and training that
incorporate work-based learning. JFF serves as the national program
office for Jobs to Careers: Promoting Work-Based Learning for Quality
Care. http://www.jobs2careers.org/

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>From MDRC http://www.mdrc.org/

Implementation and First-Year Impacts of the UK Employment Retention and
Advancement (ERA) Demonstration
	This report presents findings on the implementation and early
effects of Britain's Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA)
demonstration, which is being evaluated though a large-scale randomised
control trial. Aimed at helping low-income individuals sustain
employment and progress in work, ERA offers a combination of job
coaching and financial incentives to participants once they are working.
The initial results, covering individuals' first 12 months in ERA, are
encouraging. Despite early operational difficulties, ERA has had a
number of positive effects. Across various types of people and places,
it increased the receipt of services and training for working customers,
increased participants' average earnings, and produced some reductions
in their benefit receipt. Still, it is much too soon to draw firm
conclusions about ERA's effectiveness. Progression in work is a gradual
process that can take several years to unfold. Furthermore, many ERA
customers were just entering or preparing for work during the first
follow-up year, and none could have yet taken full advantage of the
programme's offer of up to two years of in-work guidance and incentives.

http://www.mdrc.org/announcement_hp_119.html

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