Community Literacy 8
From LiteracyTentWiki
[SpecialTopics 437] Re: models of successful collaboration?
Kathy Chernus
kchernus at mprinc.com
Sat Jun 30 23:23:25 EDT 2007
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
[SpecialTopics 438] Re: Are our community collaborations thriving or in crisis?
Kathy Chernus
kchernus at mprinc.com
Sat Jun 30 23:28:58 EDT 2007
Hi Heide. Thanks for sharing the descriptors to measure the strength of a community. It would be very interesting to look at the California Community Development Matrix, the Central Texas Sustainability Indicators, NCFL's Literacy Life Span Matrix and Literacy Program Self Assessment Tool, and the Community Partnerships for Adult Learning Self-Assessment Tool (which includes indicators of effective partnerships drawn from a scan of the partnership literature and what we learned from the community partnerships we studied), along with Tom Sticht's and John Coming's comments, suggestions, and cautions, to see if together they might be the basis for further discussion about how to measure the impact of community-based literacy.
The C-PAL Self-Assessment Tool indicators are organized by these topics:
-Selecting the right partners -Managing the partnership -Leveraging resources -Coordinating services -Communicating and marketing
The tool can be completed online or downloaded as a pdf file (for partnerships that want input from all partners before completing the online version). Users who complete it online receive a profile that graphically depicts where their partnership is on the indicators and provides some suggestions for resources they might want to review that are available on the C-PAL website. The tool is available at http://www.c-pal.net/assessment/index.html.
Thanks to all.
Kathy
[SpecialTopics 439] Re: Day Three: Developing and Sustaining Community Literacy Coalitions
Kathy Chernus
kchernus at mprinc.com
Sat Jun 30 23:31:21 EDT 2007
Hi everyone again. Wanted to add to my previous response by providing these questions that are part of the Community Partnerships for Adult Learning Self-Assessment Tool, http://www.c-pal.net/assessment/index.html. These were developed after scanning the partnership literature and synthesizing what we learned from the partnerships C-PAL visited. Hope they further clarify what "selecting the right partners" means.
Thanks to all. Kathy
I. Selecting the Right Partners
I.1. Does the partnership include all organizations/individuals necessary to carry out its goals?
I.2. Do the types of partners align with the central mission of the partnership (i.e., business partners are key members of partnerships focused on workforce development)?
I.3. Do all partners share a high level of commitment to adult learners and a client-centered approach to service?
I.4. To foster stability and continuity in the partnership, does the partnership include a mix of large stable organizations and smaller, more flexible ones?
I.5. Are partners able to set aside their own agendas, when necessary, to respond to the needs of the learners and the community?
I.6. Are partners open-minded and willing to consider different approaches to accomplishing their tasks?
I.7. Do partners respect and trust each other?
I.8. Are partners’ roles and responsibilities clearly defined and accepted by all partners?
I.9. Do partners strive to be flexible and entrepreneurial so they can adapt to changes in the economy, workforce demands, funding, and leadership?
I.10. Are partners represented by individuals with the authority to speak for their organizations?
I.11. Are the leaders of partner organizations committed to the partnership to the extent that they secure buy-in from their staff and dedicate staff time to partnership activities?
I.12. Does the partnership build on the strengths and resources of partners and established relationships in the community?
I.13. Are community members who will be served by the partnership involved in the development of programs and services?
[SpecialTopics 440] Re: [Special Topics 402] Fifth Day of Community Literacy Discussion
Kathy Chernus
kchernus at mprinc.com
Sun Jul 1 22:17:20 EDT 2007
Hi everyone. Re: David's question #4, "What is the relationship of community literacy to workforce literacy, workforce development, 'healthy communities' initiatives, and transition to higher education?"...a few thoughts before our discussion comes to a close for now.
I think community literacy is closely linked to workforce literacy, workforce development and economic development, and postsecondary education. We saw these connections in many of the communities we visited. For example, the Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy (WAGE), through partnerships with South Arkansas Community College, the One-Stop Center, the Workforce Investment Board, the state departments of employment security, human services, and economic development, the Chamber of Commerce, and local employers, provides employment-related education to learners and upgrades the skills of incumbent workers. WAGE blends best practices from adult education, workforce training, and economic development. WAGE awards employability certificates recognized as “a ticket to a job” by participants and “an inspection sticker” by employers. For more information on the WAGE partnership, see http://www.c-pal.net/profiles/arkansas.html.
Two other examples of partnerships driven by explicit workforce and economic development concerns are the Houston County Certified Literate Community Program in Houston County, GA, http://www.c-pal.net/profiles/georgia.html, and the Midlands Literacy Initiative (now the Education, Jobs & Life Skills Community Council of the United Way of the Midlands) in Richland, Fairfield, Lexington, and Newberry Counties, South Carolina, http://www.c-pal.net/profiles/full_profiles/sc_index.html.
Jefferson County Public Schools Adult and Continuing Education in Louisville, KY, is a lead partner in Louisville's Workforce Education Initiative (the WE Initiative). Its ambitious mission is "to increase the skills and education attainment levels across the board, from GEDs to PhDs, of the people in our community." It has the involvement and support of the Kentucky Adult Education, the state Council on Postsecondary Education, leaders and representatives from local government, businesses, faith-based organizations, community agencies, and workforce development organizations. WE's goals include building a workforce development system capable of responding quickly to the needs of employers locating or expanding in the greater Louisville area and to "deliver a quantum change," rather than incremental improvements, in Louisville's educational attainment levels.
Understanding clearly that no one institution can take on the task alone, they see collaboration as the way to achieve their goals and develop a stable infrastructure capable of surviving inevitable funding and leadership changes. They believe that the WE Initiative "has the potential to help create a true workforce development 'system' that is responsive to the needs of individuals—rather than the 'patchwork quilt' of opportunities" that exists now. For more information on the WE Initiative, see http://www.c-pal.net/profiles/kentucky.html.
As Daphne suggested, I hope we have an opportunity to continue this discussion and address this question and many others that we didn't get a chance to talk about in more depth. I agree with Daphne's conclusion that "community literacy may be the way to finally get the type of attention so many of us in the field seek from policy makers and funders."
Best to all and thanks again for a great discussion.
Kathy
[SpecialTopics 441] Re: [Special Topics 402] Fifth Day of Community Literacy...
DSKostrub at aol.com
Mon Jul 2 07:48:36 EDT 2007
We work in partnership with the school district and provide instruction on site to local businesses to provide English, reading and basic skills customized to the needs of the employer and employees. Literacy is good business....
Darlene Kostrub
Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition
www.pbcliteracy.org
[SpecialTopics 442] Re: change in social indicators as a measure of community literacy
Linda Hayes
LHayes at ClinchValleyCAA.org
Mon Jul 2 11:45:10 EDT 2007
The scale Heidi is talking about it the community action ROMA scale that moves from in crises to thriving. Here is a link to some one of the scales in ROMA, this one used by Massachusetts. http://www.roma1.org/room4a.asp
Linda Hayes
Head Start/Adult Literacy Director
Clinch Valley Community Action, Inc.
P.O. Box 188
North Tazewell VA 24630
www.clinchvalleycaa.org
276-988-5583
Fax: 276-988-4041
[SpecialTopics 443] Re: Community Literacy Discussion Wrap Up
Jeff Carter
jcarter at dclearns.org
Mon Jul 2 09:58:39 EDT 2007
On Jun 30, 2007, at 12:15 PM, Daphne Greenberg wrote:
< I would like to thank David for organizing this discussion, and to
< Margaret, Kathy, Darlene, Carl, and Jeff for helping lead the way
< as we try to organize communities to mobilize and work together
< towards literacy goals. I do hope that this discussion can continue
< at some point. As David noted, it was a lively and very informative
< discussion, and yet, much still needs to be discussed and in
< greater depth. I think that issues of how to get coalitions
< started, how to assess progress, how to apply for and share funding
< sources are all critical topics that need a public forum such as this one.
I agree with you -- we haven't had a lot of time to get into many of the subjects introduced. In re-reading the discussion this morning, we seemed to have tied a lot of loosely-related issues under the umbrella of community literacy.
A couple of final thoughts/responses:
On Jun 28, 2007, at 9:11 AM, Janet Isserlis wrote:
< In other words, does the fact that service providers/community workers might
< proactively utilize plain language (because plain language, like universal
< design, is just good for everyone), multiple languages (brochures,posters, etc.)
<and otherwise might be thinking about literacy and communication issues
< -- does all of this indicate a sense of communities' literacy abilities AND
< a sense of the critical need to be mindful of literacy/communication across
<service provision areas?
I think that's a really interesting and potentially more fruitful approach, because then you have the potential to engage key community partners at the same time.
Daphne also wrote:
< I am pleased that NIFL hosted a community literacy summit, I am
< pleased that there is a community literacy journal, and I am
< pleased that there was a special topics discussion devoted to
< community literacy. What about next steps? I am wondering if an
<annual community literacy conference hosted by NIFL would help?
<Perhaps a NIFL discussion list devoted to community literacy? I think
<that a momentum is slowly being created, I think that the time is right,
< and I think that community literacy may be the way to finally get
< the type of attention so many of us in the field seek from policy
< makers and funders. I really hope that there is a next step!
There is an organization, Literacy USA, that has provided a network for coalition-building nationally for over ten years. Carl Guerierre and I both serve on the national board of directors. As the only national organization that historically has tied together the coalition work going on around the country over the years, I think that Literacy USA has the potential to move some of those things you mentioned forward, particularly if it works in partnership with NIFL and other national organizations. Resources, as always, is the big challenge.
I want to close with a word of encouragement to those reading this discussion who are new to developing coalitions or community partnerships, or perhaps frustrated in their efforts to pull one together. It's been mentioned a few times times last week that coalition-building is hard work to do and to sustain, but it's worth mentioning that again. It really isn't very easy, and if you are struggling, don't let the success stories here fool you into thinking otherwise. For one thing, in order to sustain such efforts over the long haul, I think you have to have the community, the public sector, and the business sector all engaged, involved, and on the same page. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, it doesn't work, but that doesn't mean you are necessarily doing something wrong in your approach. When the conditions are right, it will.
Many of the very strong coalitions and partnerships you have read about during this discussion have had their share of struggles starting out, and many probably still struggle at times. And some of the great models I have seen are surprisingly fragile when examined closely. I think that if you look at the longest-running partnerships, you'll see a lot of ups and downs --- the one constant being hard work and patience.
Thanks again for inviting me to participate. A lot of great resources and things to think about going forward. If anyone has any additional questions about D.C. LEARNs after the discussion is closed, feel free to drop me a line.
Jeff
Jeff Carter
Executive Director
DC LEARNs
1612 K Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006
http://www.dclearns.org
jcarter at dclearns.org
202-331-0141 ext. 22
[SpecialTopics 444] Re: change in social indicators as a measure of community literacy
Wrigley, Heide
heide at literacywork.com
Mon Jul 2 17:42:47 EDT 2007
Thanks Linda for providing the right name and the link which gives Minnesota credit for the "self-reliance assessment scale" It is indeed used in various areas.
We used a variation of the scale in your Youth Literacy project in Canada where we looked at the family circumstances of the kids (based on what we heard from the kids and interviews with the parents). We found that most of the kids designated at risk came from family circumstances that fit the "in crisis" or "vulnerable" descriptors. Given all the turbulence factors in the lives of these kids, their resilience was just remarkable.
Sadly though, we found that families were able to move beyond being in crisis or being vulnerable only temporarily when the next turbulence bounced them right back down.
Helping families move to "stable" and "safe" (let alone "thriving") calls for broad collaboration around education, housing, health, and safety and more intensive interventions than what is usually in place. Literacy can play a strong part in this, but should not have to stand on its own
Thanks
Heide
Heide Spruck Wrigley
Literacywork International
[SpecialTopics 445] Fw: measuring community literacy
Amanda Leslie-Spinks
amandaleslie-spinks at islandnet.com
Tue Jul 3 11:55:30 EDT 2007
Thanks, David.
Here it is without the attachments.
Amanda
Original Message -----
From: Amanda Leslie-Spinks
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2007 10:37 AM
Subject: measuring community literacy
Hello everyone.
Sorry for this late addition to the outcome measurement discussion. I just wanted to attach a tool that was developed in B.C. and is currently "fighting for its life" in a changed political climate, in which the government (funder) is once again closing down its focus to measurable IALLS data.
Five outcomes tools were tested but this one focuses on data-collection related to "funder-friendly" outcomes for community coalitions and may give people some ideas. It was developed by Christy Duke and Betty Knight of the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy and you should be able to assess relevant information about the tools from the Literacy BC website under the research tab. http://www2.literacy.bc.ca/Research/groundup/groundup.pdf The project name is From the Ground Up.
Amanda Leslie-Spinks
Regional Literacy Coordinator
Victoria, B.C., Canada
[SpecialTopics 446] Community Literacy Discussion: Compilation of Coalition Slogans
David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net
Wed Jul 4 08:16:56 EDT 2007
Community Literacy Colleagues,
As promised, here is a compilation of literacy coalition 'tag lines" sent in response to Darlene Kostrub's request for information about what brand slogans literacy coalitions use. If you have others, you can send them to Darlene at DSKostrub at aol.com. Please do not send them to the Special Topics list. Thanks.
1. “Open a Window To The World" Learn to Read Teach Someone to Read. Cynthia.Breeden at hayward-ca.gov
2. “Give the gift of literacy” rlauderdale at AltadenaLibrary.org
3. “Bringing Learning to Life” community-based adult learning association in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Jayne.Hunter at nscc.ca
4. "Learning, Literacy, Living". Kate Diggins, Director of Adult Education Guadalupe Schools. Kate.Diggins at slc.k12.ut.us
5. "Literacy Spans a Lifetime" Robin R. Wright Parker, Families For Literacy Coordinator, Escondido Public Library, rwrightparker at ci.escondido.ca.us
6. Literacy United. . . Helping People be ABLE to Succeed We are closely aligned with the Adult Basic and Literacy Education programs that provide the services in Union County. Cheryl Hagerty chagerty at co.union.oh.us
7. "Read to Succeed" dgeorge at cabell.lib.wv.us
8. "RALLY! Jacksonville" then underneath it says "Leading with reading!" One of the secrets for us was using a graphic design agency – they kept us true to the branding in everything we do – same color palette is always used and generally the same format. GingerP at coj.net
David J. Rosen
Special Topics Discussion Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net
[SpecialTopics 446] Community Literacy Postscript: Branding
David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net
Sun Jul 8 23:19:28 EDT 2007
Community Literacy Colleagues,
It looks like we missed this brand slogan from The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, the Fort Worth Literacy Coalition, and the Texas Association of Adult Literacy Councils. I hope we haven't missed any others. If we have, however, please do not post further messages about this to this discussion list now. I am planning another discussion on community literacy within the year. Any further comments or questions would be welcome then.
David J. Rosen
Special Topics Discussion Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net
Begin forwarded message:
< From: "Jon Engel" <jengel at communityaction.com>
< Date: July 5, 2007 4:00:11 PM EDT
< To: <djrosen at comcast.net>
< Subject: FW: [SpecialTopics 400] Branding
< David
< Perhaps you did not receive my earlier post to the community
< literacy discussion in regard to Branding. See below. I did not
< see it referenced on the compilation of tag lines you just mailed.
< The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas came up with read write
<learn with earn in green for out Literacy Day at the Capitol where
< we had 400 literacy students and practitioners all visit with state
< legislators about the wisdom of the State increasing its support
< for adult education. All of us wore large buttons with the slogan
< on it which let to the Texas Association of Adult Literacy Councils
< adopting it as the theme for their State Conference and the Fort
< Worth Literacy Coaltion to adopt it. For whatever reason, it is
< gaining traction in the LoneStart State.
< Best Regards,
< Jon Engel
<LCCT Board Chair
<Adult Education Director
<Community Action Inc,
<San Marcos, TX
