March, 2003
Helping Local Programs
Grow, March 21, 2003
Ten
Myths of Reading Instruction, March 21, 2003
America’s
Literacy Directory—Help Please, March 20, 2003
House Markup
Tomorrow--Webcast, March 19, 2003
Health Day Postponed
Welfare and
Educational Attainment, March 7, 2003
State
Assessment Policy, Guidance, and Models, March 6, 2003
Congressional
Hearing--Report and Replay, March 6, 2003
More
Details on the Upcoming Health Literacy Webcast, March 5, 2003
House
Hearings WebCast Tuesday, 3/4/03, 2pm EST, March 3, 2003
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 21, 2003
Helping Local Programs
Grow
WIA gave us what we have been
asking for; fewer regulations and more flexibility. All we have to do is
continually get better at what we do. With this new found freedom, why don’t
local programs change?
This article from today’s
Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast finds that
program manager procrastinate waiting for 1) more buy-in from the staff, 2) more
training for the staff, and/or 3) stronger staff relationships to develop.
Perhaps this article can give you some strategies to help your local programs
become more action oriented. Remember the Consortium’s Going to Scale Guide
provides a structure and process that might help. Here is the abstract and the
website for the report.
PROCRASTINATION
CAN KILL EVEN THE BEST SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS
Rarely do
administrators consciously choose to procrastinate, reports Rick DuFour. More
typically they delay and defer in the belief that there is one more prerequisite
that must be fulfilled before they can begin to implement the concept under
consideration. Three qualifications often used to justify inaction are the need
for greater buy‑in, more training, and stronger relationships. DuFour is more
convinced than ever that leaders of effective professional learning communities
are action‑oriented. They turn aspirations into action and visions into reality.
Not only do they act, they are unwilling to tolerate inaction. They recognize
that learning always occurs in a context of taking action, and they value
engagement and experience as the most effective of teachers. Even seemingly
chaotic activity is preferred to orderly, passive inaction. The Chinese proverb
advises that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The
journey to improve a school will not truly begin until its leaders are willing
to take that first step ‑‑ to move beyond discussion and study and insist that
the school and those within it begin to act in new ways.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/jsd/dufour241.html
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 21, 2003
Ten Myths of
Reading Instruction
I found this report in
Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast today. It
relates to teaching reading to children, but I think there are lessons to be
learned for adult educators too. The myths are provocative and could stimulate
meaningful discussions regarding reading instruction and teacher preparation.
Here are some tidbits followed by the abstract and the web site for the full
report.
Tidbit #1. Once again, we see that the right answer is the
hard answer (see Myth #3); the solution for helping struggling readers to become
successful readers is to cultivate a population of teachers who are very
knowledgeable about how children learn to read, and who are adept at applying
their understanding of reading acquisition to the assessment and instruction of
individual children. (I imagine the same is true for adults.)
Tidbit #2. A curriculum is too often confused with a
recipe - creating proficient readers is not as simple as mixing ingredients in
correct proportions. Teaching a complicated skill such as reading to a diverse
group of students requires a great deal of flexibility and creativity on the
part of the teacher.
Tidbit #3. The strength of the teacher plays a very large
part in determining the reading success of a student. A strong teacher can help
every one of her students develop advanced reading skills. A weak teacher can
have the opposite effect. The importance of providing good professional
development to engender a population of highly qualified, diagnostic reading
teachers is paramount, and every child will benefit. It's not easy, but anybody
who tells you there is an easier solution to the mounting problem of illiteracy
is trying to sell a myth.
The Abstract and Website:
TEN MYTHS OF READING INSTRUCTION
It has long been argued that
learning to read, like learning to understand spoken language, is a natural
phenomenon. It has often been suggested that children will learn to read if they
are simply immersed in a literacy‑rich environment and allowed to develop
literacy skills in their own way. This belief that learning to read is a natural
process that comes from rich text experiences is surprisingly prevalent in
education despite the fact that learning to read is about as natural as learning
to juggle blindfolded while riding a unicycle backwards. Simply put,
learning to read is not only unnatural, it is just about the most unnatural
thing humans do. In this article, Sebastian Wren details ten common myths of
reading instruction.
http://www.sedl.org/reading/topics/myths.html
Keep up the good work. Let me
know when we can help.
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 20, 2003
America’s
Literacy Directory—Help Please
America’s Literacy Directory
enables prospective students, businesses, and other partners in your state to
locate the nearest adult education and literacy program. NIFL, DOE, DOL, and
Verizon are collaborating on the development.
They need your help
in critiquing the online data information form your local programs
will fill out to add themselves to the directory. If you prefer, please feel
free to forward this request to staff, contractor, or practitioner.
Please respond by March 28 to
Chuck Hunter, the ALD Project Manger, at
Chuck.Hunter@ed.gov.
Attached you will find 1) a
letter with the details
and 2) the draft online data information form
file:///N:/13 newsletter/2003/March/031903 Core Fields form 2.doc.
Thanks for your help.
Keep up the good work. Let me know when we can
help.
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 19, 2003
House
Markup Tomorrow--Webcast
The House Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness (our subcommittee) will
markup the HR 1261 “Workforce Reinvestment and Adult Education Act” (formerly
WIA) tomorrow, Thursday, March 20, 2003 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The markup will be
webcast at
http://edworkforce.house.gov/committee/webcast.htm so feel free to tune in.
Keep
up the good work. Let me know when we can help.
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 19, 2003
Health Day Postponed
Earlier in the month I sent you
a notice of a upcoming health literacy awareness event. Please see the
postponement notice below:
Due to
anticipated military events, we are postponing the Day of Understanding and
associated events. We expect that the events will be rescheduled for a date in
early May and we will let you know as soon as a date is set. Additionally, you
can visit www.askme3.org and sign up to be notified as soon as a new date has
been set for the event. Please let us know if you need more information in the
meantime. We very much appreciate your continued interest in this important
public health issue.
Please refer
additional questions to Courtney Davis at
davisco@fleishman.com or (202) 828‑8878.
Keep up the good work. Let me
know when we can help.
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 7, 2003
Welfare and
Educational Attainment
Even though it seems obvious,
it is helpful to have research to support your arguments. This study verifies
that teenagers who live in welfare families are more likely to drop out of
school.
DOES
WELFARE MAKE KIDS DUMBER?
No, that is
absurd. But two researchers argue in the latest issue of the journal Demography
that the average school‑age child who lives in a family receiving welfare
doesn't go as far in school as a child living in an equally poor household
supported by a paycheck. There was no relationship between welfare and
educational attainment in the preschool years.
http://www.prb.org/cpipr/cpiprnewsrelease8.html
see also:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/06/politics/06CND‑WELF.html
Source: Public Education Week
Keep up the good work. Let me know when we can
help.
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 6, 2003
State
Assessment Policy, Guidance, and Models
Do you have state
assessment policy, guidance and/or models that you are willing to share with
others?
One of the State Staff
Workgroups is working with the NIFL LINCs Assessment Special Collection to add
State assessment policy statements, guidance, and models to that web site and
link it to ours. Once these resources are up, you will have some examples as
references for reviewing and revising your assessment resources.
Please send electronic copies
of
1. State
Assessment Policy Statements,
2. State
Assessment Guidance, and/or
3. State
Assessment Models
to me (lmclendon@naepdc.org)
with the “subject: State Assessment Resources” and I will compile them and send
them on to the workgroup.
Thank you for your help. We
will send you a note when we have the first round on the web.
Keep up the good work. Let me know when we can
help.
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 6, 2003
Congressional Hearing--Report and Replay
In case you missed the Webcast
of the House Adult Education hearings on Tuesday, March 4, you have two
resources.
- Below is a report on the
hearing
-
http://edworkforce.house.gov/hearings/hrgarchive.htm is the web site for
the archived committee hearing webcast. You can watch it there.
Report:
COMMITTEE
ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
March 4, 2003
CONTACT:
Alexa Marrero or
Dave Schnittger (202) 225‑4527
Witnesses
Emphasize Need for Literacy Education, Improved Results in
Preparing
Workers for the 21st Century
Washington, D.C.
‑ The House Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness
heard testimony
today on the need for an increased emphasis on literacy and
other basic
skills in adult education programs designed to provide workers
with the skills
necessary to enter the workforce. These adult education
programs, funded
under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, are
critical in
helping adults with low‑literacy and basic skill levels, as well
as those with
limited English proficiency, and provide them with the tools
and training
necessary to enter the 21st Century workforce.
"Increasing the
focus on strengthening skills in basic reading, math, and
English
acquisition is an important first step for adults who need those
skills," said
Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R‑CA), chairman of the 21st
Century
Competitiveness Subcommittee. "They are, after all, the gateway
skills to a
better job and a more secure future."
Dr. Carol
D'Amico, assistant secretary for vocational and adult education at
the U.S.
Department of Education, testified on methods to improve
accountability
for academic results while ensuring the flexibility necessary
to help adult
education participants receive the services they need most.
"To meet the
economic imperative of equipping our low literate and basic
skills deficient
workers for the demands of the workplace and in order to
prepare
residents with limited English proficiency for work and civic
participation,
federal legislation must address the quality of the
educational
services paid for with taxpayers' money," said D'Amico. "The
federal
government, as well as the states, must take a leadership stance in
better focusing
and coordinating complementary resources to more effectively
enhance the
literacy skills of Americans and provide better opportunities in
the labor
market."
Beth Buehlmann,
executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center
for Workforce
Preparation, echoed the need for a skilled workforce, saying
that, "In every
industry sector, businesses large and small face many of the
same challenges,
including recruiting, training, retaining and advancing
employees.
Business quality, productivity and profitability depend on
qualified
workers who can perform on the job today and adapt to the new
demands of
tomorrow. Unfortunately, many American workers do not have the
basic skills
required to excel in modern workplaces."
Ann‑Marie
Panella, director of human resources for MCS Industries, Inc. in
Easton,
Pennsylvania, discussed her experiences partnering with adult
education
programs to help employees develop much‑needed skills, saying
that, "By
addressing the educational needs of the workforce, we can move
away from manual
production and bring more employees into the automated
computer age."
Providing basic skills is the fundamental first step toward
this goal, she
noted.
Accountability
measures in these programs will help ensure results for
workers seeking
the basic skills necessary to enter the workforce. Dr.
Randy Whitfield,
associate vice president of academic and student services
for the North
Carolina Community College System, stated that, "Besides
supporting the
broad purposes of our programs, state directors also strongly
support
accountability. We not only worked closely with the Department of
Education to
help develop accountability measures, but we also have worked
with them to
strengthen these measures."
Workforce
development, including programs to improve basic skills such as
reading, math,
and English acquisition, are critical in the new,
knowledge‑driven
economy. Effective adult education programs will help
ensure America's
workforce is prepared to meet the demands of the 21st
Century.
# # # # #
Keep up the good work. Let me know when we can
help.
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 5, 2003
More Details on
the Upcoming Health Literacy Webcast
Experts estimate that inadequate patient literacy skills increase
national health-care costs by $75-100 billion per year.
The negative effects on the health of undereducated adults and
their children are beyond cost estimates.
What an excellent opportunity to partner with your state and
local medical associations and help them with their health literacy issues.
Please pass on
the announcement below to your local programs and encourage them to participate
in this webcast.
INCREASING HEALTH LITERACY,
PROVIDING CLEAR HEALTH COMMUNICATION
NATIONAL WEBCAST MARCH 20
9:00 am ‑ 3:00 pm at
www.AskMe3.org
Please join the
Partnership for Clear Health Communication on March 20 for a webcast briefing on
the issue of low health literacy, its impact on the nation's health, and an
introduction of the first solution‑oriented program to tackle the problem
head‑on.
The Partnership
is convening in Washington DC to launch a national action agenda designed to
raise awareness and advance the issue of low health literacy (the ability to
read, understand and act on health information).
At this
"National Day of Understanding," the Partnership will share the first solution
set of patient‑based tools ‑ Ask Me 3, a new education program designed to
promote communication between health care providers and patients.
Participation in
the webcast is free and open to any interested parties.
To view the
Webcast ‑ Technical Guidelines
To view the
webcast log on to The webcast on
www.AskMe3.org (the site will be available on March 19). The webcast will
include live video from the briefing, PowerPoint slides, and a live text
transcript. To properly view the webcast, we recommend connecting to the
Internet via a high‑speed connection; however, you will be able to view the
webcast on a 56k modem as well. You will also need Microsoft's Internet
Explorer (version 5.0 or higher) as well as the Windows Media Player 6.4 or
higher. Questions can be submitted via the webcast platform throughout the day.
Suggestions for
Local Execution
While the
webcast can be viewed by individuals from their desktops, our recommendation is
that organizations and individuals come together to view the webcast briefing in
a group setting such as a conference room where the Webcast could be displayed
via an LCD projector. While the webcast can be viewed by individuals from their
desktops, our recommendation is that organizations and individuals come together
to view the webcast briefing in a group setting. Should you be interested in
implementing group participation at the local level, we have a number of
suggestions, including:
·
Inviting your own local experts to speak after the webcast is complete
·
Organizing a healthcare provider roundtable to provide a local perspective on
the issue
·
Inviting a local literacy group/health care group to join the webcast in your
conference setting
·
Coordinating your own local Q & A session, perhaps during the breaks or after
the webcast concludes
Briefing Agenda
9:00 a.m. ‑
12:15 p.m. American Medical Association Foundation Briefing for
Media and Other
Interested Gatekeepers and Opinion Leaders
An in‑depth
overview of the scope and economic impact of low health literacy, patient
perspectives, cultural competency issues, and the patient‑physician
relationship.
12:30 p.m. ‑
2:00 p.m. Presentation of the Partnership for Clear Health
Communication
Action Agenda and Ask Me 3
Information
about the Partnership's four‑pronged Action Agenda (education, solutions,
research and advocacy) and the Ask Me 3 education program
2:00 p.m. ‑
3:00 p.m. Health Literacy Principles Training Session
A session
designed for the media and other communications specialists with hands‑on
support for applying approaches to clearer health communication.
Please check
www.askme3.org after March 19 for a more detailed agenda.
Additionally,
for those who cannot participate live, an archived version will be available for
viewing after the Day of Understanding.
Background
Health literacy
is the ability to read, understand and use basic medical instructions and
information. Low health literacy can affect someone of any age, background or
education level. Studies show that:
· In
the United States, limited literacy skills are a stronger predictor of an
individual's health status than age, income, employment status, education level,
and racial or ethnic group.
· The
health of 90 million people in the U.S. may be at risk because of the difficulty
some patients experience in understanding and acting upon health information.
The Partnership
for Clear Health Communication is an unprecedented coalition of national
organizations that are working together to promote awareness and solutions
around the issue of low health literacy and its effect on health outcomes.
The primary
function of the Partnership is to leverage the thinking and individual health
literacy efforts of member organizations and to raise awareness around the scope
and impact of low health literacy. Additionally, the Partnership will provide
knowledge and practical tools to health care providers, patients and caregivers
that can help them bridge gaps in understanding, ultimately improving health
outcomes.
For more
information about the Day of Understanding, please contact Courtney Davis at
davisco@fleishman.com. For technical information about the webcast, please
contact Anne Reisinger at reisingea@fleishman.com
Keep up the good work. Let me know when we can
help.
NAEPDC
News, Views, and Clues
March 3, 2003
House Hearings WebCast Tuesday, 3/4/03, 2pm EST
On Tuesday, March 4, 2003 at
2:00 pm EST the House Adult Education Reauthorization hearings--"Improving
Adult Education for the 21st Century"-- will be webcast. Check the house web site at
http://edworkforce.house.gov/schedule.htm, and find the committee hearing
announcement heading (Subcommittee
on 21st Century Competitiveness –
Webcast) and click on the Webcast button to set up your
computer to view it live. Your Chair, Dr. Randy Whitfield, will
be testifying.
Speakers include:
Panel I
Dr. Carol D’Amico
Assistant Secretary
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education
Washington, DC
Panel II
Dr. Randy Whitfield
Associate Vice President of Academic and Student Services
Basic Skills Department
North Carolina Community
College System
Raleigh, NC
Dr. Beth B. Buelhmann
Executive Director
Center for Workforce Preparation
Washington, DC
Ms. Anne Marie Panella
Director of Human Resources
MCS Industries, Inc
Easton, PA
Ms. Hermelinda Morales
Herrera
Adult Education Participant
Aurora, CO
Keep up the good work. Let me know when we can
help.
