Not that I was the most regular blogger here to begin with, but now that the Literacy Alliance has a facebook page, a twitter account and an e-newsletter, I have to say I feel fairly challenged to keep everything au currant.

For example, I always find myself writing this blog the day before the monthly provider meeting, so I hope you already have it on your regular calendar for the first Wednesday of the month, 9am, at Loyola University, Lindy Boggs Center.  This is a meeting for people who are running adult education and literacy programs, those who are starting new programs, and Literacy*AmeriCorps supervisors.  We talk about current issues that are common to many programs and try to solve problems in the same way.

Tomorrow, we'll be talking about our recent regional GED Graduation featuring over 100 graduates from 11 different programs.  Each year it gets a little more smoother, but it never loses its excitement.  My favorite aspect is watching the invited public officials faces while the graduate student speakers do their testimonials.  You can tell even in the quietest face that they are moved by the struggles and triumphs of the graduates' lives.  Fairly soon, I hope to have a video slideshow with some of the text from the speeches on the website.

Advocacy Update: 

The bills to move the administration of the primary source of federal and state funding for adult education from the Department of Education to the Louisiana Community and Technical College System have been making their way without problem through each step of the process.  Of course, the implementation of all of this starts July 1 (of this year!) so the work has only just begun to make this a smooth transition.  This is what I use the Twitter account for - advocacy updates.  You don't have to sign up for twitter, you can just bookmark the Literacy Alliance page and check in periodically.

We are still struggling with some TANF funding that was being used by 7 programs in 3 parishes (including Baton Rouge) that just got taken by the DOE for another program.  My main concern is that it takes so long to build capacity for literacy programs, almost a year or more.  The programs that are going strong will have to stop services or close doors and we're that much further behind in addressing the program.  It's just wrong, but we haven't been able to solve it yet.

There are a few other bills we have been watching, you can read about these on our front page piece on the website.

Thanks to Entergy Community Partnership Grants for funding our Literacy Start Up Toolkits - more about this in the future.  Continuing thanks to the Greater New Orleans Foundation Community Impact Fund for funding our advocacy work this year!

See you out in the Social Media world!

Learning Always,

Rachel

Really, thanks to everyone who came out for Adult Education Awareness Day at the Capitol last week.  It is so wonderful to see adult learners blossom before your eyes when they come face to face with an elected official who really wants to hear their story.

And on the other side of the rope, you can see in legislators' eyes and faces that they really don't know who is in adult education programs, what their lives are like, and why these programs are so important to the citizens in their districts.

I tried to tweet during the day, but kept getting sidetracked by the actual activities happening instead of writing about what was happening!  www.twitter.com/literacyla

This is just the beginning - to really make a difference, we need to get policymakers into our programs so they can see with their own eyes the beauty and the wealth that exists in adult literacy programs that make it more than worth their time and investment!

Learning Always,

Rachel

We're getting ready for our Day at the Capitol this Wednesday, April 14.  Please see our front page for details and information.  If you are in the New Orleans area, there is a bus with available seats heading up.

It's an inspirational time here in Literacy Land.  Finally we have a chance and an opportunity to talk about the importance of adult education without the conversation being only about the money.  The proposed move of the major source of funding for literacy (although major = meets 5% of the need) from Education to the Technical Colleges; this has moved the conversation about adult basic education to a higher level.  I for one am glad of it.

I also had the chance to meet over 300 AmeriCorps members who are serving in a variety of ways in this city and their leadership.  Lead by our AmeriCorps Coordinator, Sarah Fischer, the 10 or so organizations came together and planned an incredible day of workshops that spoke right to the heart of what our members are going to need as they finish up their year of service.  The speakers were all volunteers as well, giving their time and expertise, the Red Cross lunch was one of the best I've had in awhile, and the facility at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church was exceptional in space and amenities.

Our incredible AmeriCorps members also started their own art show this weekend at the 3 Ring Circus Gallery on Clio Street near St. Charles Avenue and the overpass.  I haven't been yet, but plan to drop by sometime this month.  I hope you have a chance to see our members' talents as well.

After the crunch of this weeks' events pass, please look for information about our upcoming Regional GED Graduation Ceremony - it's our third year and it keeps getting bigger and better.  You won't want to miss it; if you have to miss it, please be sure and find a way to support it.  There are still plenty of volunteer opportunities to make this day an exceptional one for our exceptional graduates.

Learning always!

Rachel

Okay, so all of my national advocacy partners have been drilling into us the need for an increased presence in the social media to keep the word about the great works of the literacy field up front and not forgotten.

I'm blogging from the COABE ProLiteracy Community Literacy Conference in downtown Chicago on Day 2.  I am at a Caribou Coffee behind the hotel as the Hilton wireless rates are ridiculous!  Here's what I've learned so far.

National Legislation:  Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization - will probably be delayed again another year.  Although it was promised for this year, the delay in passing the health care act has pushed it off the plate. 

Next up is the ESEA - Elementary and Secondary Education Act - there are several adult education related priorities listed in the Federal Register, but this bill has not been introduced yet either.  Things to look for - the I3 - which partners K-12 with nonprofits; Promise Neighborhoods like the Harlem Children's Zone, and PACE - Parents And Children Engaged.

National Trends:  communities in tough economic times are going deeper instead of wider.  We learned about Literacy Zones which concentrate on single neighborhoods or zip codes in the cities of Tucson, Utica, Memphis and Buffalo.  These presentations will be uploaded to the Literacy Powerline website soon.

NIFL:  It is closing its doors in September.  IMPORTANT:  Please look at their website - www.nifl.gov and order as much of their printed materials as you can handle.  They are free and they will be shredded in about 30 days.  (ps - I think we should protest this.)

NPR:  There is talk about a PBS series called "Literacy in War and Peace" based on our old friend, Tom Sticht's collection of literacy history.

The cities selected for the Great Cities Initiative were announced.  This an unusual and brand new partnership between the US Department of Education and city coalitions - selected were Chicago, New York, Miami, Houston and Los Angeles - congratulations!

That's all for now - I also started a twitter account for our new statewide advocacy initiative.  Follow us to stay involved.

www.twitter.com/literacyLA

Learning Always, Rachel