Adult Literacy Service Providers:
Who They Are and What They Do

One of the effects of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation, signed into law in January 2002, was the establishment of the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) Program. The goals of the program are to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology, to ensure that every student is technologically literate by the end of the 8th grade, and to encourage the effective integration of technology into the curriculum.

The EETT also mandates that districts include in their technology plans goals to collaborate with adult literacy service providers. That requirement has puzzled many district technology leaders. In working with those technology leaders, I have heard statements such as, "Now we have to educate the community how to use computers. We already are teaching them how to speak English. Where are we going to find the resources and time to do more?" and "I don’t have a clue what an 'adult literacy service provider' is."

About the Author Dixie Conner, a former classroom teacher, is a member of EDmin’s Performance Planning Department, which provides school districts with a variety of technology-based planning services. Learn More To find answers to more questions about technology planning -- the process and the product -- contact planning@edmin.com or log on to TechBuilder, a no charge, Web-based technology planning tool.

This article was written to clarify the questions about who adult literacy service providers are and what they do, and to provide technology planners with ten steps they can take to meet the EETT /NCLB requirement that "Local technology applications and plans should include a description of how the program will be developed in collaboration with adult literacy service providers."

WHO ARE THEY & WHAT DO THEY DO?

Many agencies and organizations throughout the country provide a wealth of support and resources to improve adult literacy. It is important that school districts contact -- or visit the Web site -- of one or more of those agencies or organizations to inquire about what services are available and how collaborating with them could improve adult literacy throughout the community and assist students in gaining the skills needed for lifelong learning.

Following is a partial list of adult literacy service providers, along with each agency’s online description of the services provided:

• Literacy Volunteers of America: This fully integrated national network of local, state, and regional literacy providers gives adults and their families the opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to be effective in their roles as members of their families, communities, and workplaces.
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC): The No Child Left Behind Act converts the 21st Century Community Learning Centers authority to a state formula grant. In past years, the U.S. Department of Education has made competitive awards directly to local education agencies (LEAs). Under the reauthorized authority, funds will flow to states based on their share of Title I, Part A funds. States will use the allocations to make competitive awards to eligible entities. Current 21st CCLC grantees will continue to be administered by and receive funding through the U.S. Department of Education.
  
  The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program is designed to provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services to students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to meet state and local student achievement standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and mathematics.
  
  21st Century Community Learning Centers offer students a broad array of additional services, programs, and activities, such as youth development activities, drug and violence prevention programs, counseling programs, art, music, and recreation programs, technology education programs, and character education programs, designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students. In addition, community-learning centers offer opportunities for literacy and related educational development to families of participating students.
• National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL): The acclaimed intergenerational approach to adult literacy pioneered by NCFL has helped hundreds of thousands of families start on the path to success. By providing professional development services, research, and policy analysis, NCFL annually trains more than 5,000 practitioners to expand the literacy opportunities for all families nationwide -- and reaches thousands more through its advocacy efforts.
• Literacy and Lifelong Learning Project Partners: Predominantly serving 15 rural counties in California and Nevada, partners demonstrate a model program for delivering literacy services through a cost-effective regional net coordinating multiple community nets. Multiple uses of the net are demonstrated and opportunities for lifelong learning (including preparing for disasters, learning new job skills, or preventing communicable diseases) are provided for all residents of the region. Fifty community access sites are established throughout the region, with standardized training and support for literacy trainers, coaches, and end users. Project services provided to the 996,000 basic and functionally illiterate adults living in the region increase residents’ ability to contribute to the economic capital of the nation, and demonstrate a model for using technology to address the problem of literacy. Through the mass distribution of the National Information Infrastructure, the program can provide literacy services to almost half the nation's population and, at the same time, address the needs of all citizens for information for lifelong learning."
• California Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative: The Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative is designed to improve and expand literacy services to eligible children and families. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the initiative in California is coordinated by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the National Even Start Association.
• National Even Start Association: This association provides a national voice and vision for Even Start Family Literacy programs.

TEN STEPS TO EFFECTIVE ADULT LITERACY PROGRAMS

The following ten steps will help you ensure that your district meets the requirement of the EETT/NCLB legislation:

1. Research and become familiar with the resources, support, and services available from adult literacy service providers both within your community and nationwide.
   District leaders should contact -- or visit the Web site -- of one or more of the agencies or organizations that provide adult literacy services to inquire about and understand their scale of services. Learn how collaborating with those agencies or organizations can improve your community’s adult literacy and assist students in gaining the skills needed for lifelong learning.
2. Involve adult literacy service providers in district and school technology planning efforts.
   Invite such providers to join your technology planning committee. It is important to involve a broad base of stakeholders on the planning committee, and having the expertise of an adult literacy provider is invaluable to reaching a goal of 100 percent adult literacy. (Literacy Volunteers defines adult literacy as: “the ability to read, write, and speak English proficiently, to compute and solve problems, and to use technology in order to become a lifelong learner and to be effective in the family, in the workplace, and in the community.”)
3. Assess your community’s need for adult literacy programs.
   What is the percentage of illiterate adults in your community? What type of needs does your community have? Are all of the needs being met? To what extent could technology be used in the literacy program?
4. Assess your current services.
   What type of programs does your district offer adult learners? Are you utilizing your library, computer labs and/or classrooms before and after school hours to teach ESL, math, and technology literacy? Are you meeting the needs of all of your adult learners?
5. Partner with adult literacy service providers, neighborhood schools, public libraries, universities, and so on to develop technology-integrated programs in which using technology and teaching language skills happen concurrently.
   One source of good examples of adult learning programs that have integrated technology is Captured Wisdom on Adult Literacy produced by the North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium NC-RTEC and its partner, the National Center for Adult Literacy (NCAL) at the University of Pennsylvania. Consider many varied opportunities, such as distance-learning and online courses for those who can’t attend classes at the school site or district office.
6. Offer holistic literacy programs based on life experiences and shared knowledge.
   Holistic programs include not only language and math literacy, but also cultural literacy, personal growth, and social development. Utilize technology by making a video, a recording, a presentation, and so on. Have fun with learning and try different approaches to teaching skills. Even adults like a good game!
7. Develop multi-level literacy programs.
   Adult learners, just like learners in elementary school, are at different levels of language acquisition and need to be taught according to their current skill levels and needs. Being taught at one’s own level reduces the stress associated with learning something new.
8. Create empathic environments.
   As a former ESL instructor for university students and professionals from all over the world, I have great empathy for the struggle, not only to learn English, but also to adapt to a new culture. Being emphatic and creating a friendly, positive learning environment motivates learners and takes the fear out of making mistakes. Try different methods of teaching, such as small groups, cooperative groups, games, jigsaw activities, and so on. Make learning fun and interesting.
9. Monitor and evaluate your literacy program.
   Monitoring and evaluation are important elements in developing and maintaining your literacy programs. Are the goals being met? Are students learning? How will the program be changed or enhanced based on evaluations? Use multiple measures, such as test scores, interviews, surveys, attendance records, student presentations, teacher comments, and so on, to determine the answers to those questions. Change or modify programs based on the evaluations. If students fail to meet benchmarks, consider the possibility that lessons are ill prepared or off target or that the teacher is not effective.
10. Advertise your literacy programs and publish the results.
    District Web sites, school newsletters, community newspapers, radio announcements, and so on, are just a few of the ways to advertise available programs. Get the word out to the community that classes are available to all and are taught at multi-levels in convenient locations. Publish success stories and failings; let your community know how many adults/parents are participating and taking pride in their learning and/or how many are not taking advantage of the programs offered. Consider a special area on your district home page for adult learners -- create a forum or a place to publish student portfolios.

Previous Performance Planning Center Articles Better Students Through Technology! 11/06/2002 Technology Planning: Closing the Communications Gap 12/04/2002

Article by Dixie Conner
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