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LR/RI produces a bulletin roughly every two to three weeks in order to inform area practitioners of news, events, and calls for participation and also as a forum for posing questions, issues and discussion topics. The current bulletin is posted below. To read previous bulletins, go to Bulletin Archives.  To receive the bulletin via email, contact LR/RI.

February 12, 2007

Bulletin #236

Dear Colleagues, 

Calls for participation, employment, funding, and conference and workshop opportunities, online and other resources.  To post information,  and/or to receive the bulletin via email, please contact LR/RI or leave a message at (401-863-2839).
 

Janet Isserlis signature

Janet Isserlis 
____________________________________________________________

NOTICES


RI Adult Educators’ conference: save the date. The fifth state conference will be held on May 17th, at the Airport Radisson. 
Call for participation here.

ESOL  share - share Tuesday, February 13th at 2:30 at the Genesis Center, 620 Potters Ave, Providence.
We'll be talking about multiple intelligences (MI).  If you can, please bring a lesson plan or idea that might lend itself to an MI approach. more about MI at http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-1/multiple.html
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/Research/AMI.htm and http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=161


Literacy Volunteers of Rhode Island and Community College of Rhode Island Providence Campus is sponsoring the 6th Annual Adult Education Fair Thursday March 15, at the Providence Campus of Community College of Rhode Island from 9:00-12:00.
This event will give students and practitioners the opportunity to learn about adult education and training programs offered in the state of Rhode Island and the services they provide. It is our intent that each adult education agency set up a table so that attendees can ask questions and learn more about the services your agencies provide.  We are also requesting that you invite all of your students and staff members to attend this networking and informative event.  Please contact Kashia Clay by March 8, 2007, to let her know if you intend to attend, (how many? staff? students?) and if you’d like to staff a table at the adult education fair on at the Providence Campus on Wednesday March 8, 2006 from 9am-12pm (set up time from 8:30am-9: 00am). 
Please include this information, and send the email to: Yvette@lvari.org
Name of Agency
Contact Person
Phone and/or Email  and Number of expected participants

Independent Man Awards - Accepting Nominations
The Genesis Center is proud to host the first annual Independent Man Awards (IMA) at The Providence Hilton on April 27.  
Through the assistance of an award selection committee, chaired by Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, we will present five miniature bronze Independent Man Awards to three Rhode Island immigrants (male or female), one Rhode Island company that embraces diversity and the immigrant population, and one national leader (male or female) who has made a significant positive impact on immigrant issues.  The process starts with you.
Please take a moment to nominate those individuals and organizations you feel embody the traits worthy of The Independent Man. Nominate online at http://www.gencenter.org/IMA.htm or contact Mike Ritz at 401-781-6110 x28.  Independent Man Award (IMA) Descriptions:

The Emerging Leader IMA recognizes an outstanding young immigrant destined to contribute to a better tomorrow. The recipient of this award must be under 21 years of age at the time of his/her nomination.
The Community Service IMA recipient is a proven immigrant leader who has demonstrated a selfless commitment to serve his/her community, responding to its needs by contributing time, talent, and/or treasure.
The Entrepreneur IMA recognizes an enthusiastic Rhode Island immigrant who developed the necessary strategies, know-how, and determination to manifest his/her vision. This award will be presented to a positive thinker who has owned a successful business for more than 5 years.
The National Impact IMA is presented to a passionate leader who has demonstrated a commitment to the United States immigrant through thought, action, example, and impact.
The Corporate IMA was created to honor those private enterprises that have made significant contributions, which have directly impacted the immigrant population of Rhode Island. This award will be presented to a business that recognizes Rhode Island’s diverse community, welcomes it into the workplace, and provides equal opportunities for career advancement and professional growth.

- Mike Ritz Development Director Office: 401-781-6110 x28 Cell: 401-261-1900 Email: mike@gencenter.org

The next Year Up class begins March 5th, so if you've been thinking of a young person who might be interested in the program (or is looking for some direction) please send her or him my way!  It takes a few weeks to get through the Application/ Admissions process, so now is the time.  Year Up Applicants are low/ moderate income 18-24 year olds, who already have their HS diploma or GED, and who are looking for an opportunity to earn a stipend for a year of classes and training to become an Informational Technology Professional.  The first step is to have a meeting with me, so please have them call or email me.... or send me their info, and I'll follow up with them! Here at Year Up, we are about to graduate Class 3 at the end of January, and are moving Class 4 into their apprenticeships!  We look forward to successfully filling Class 5, with your assistance, and seeing more of our young adults move into successful, mainstream, careers (one month after our last graduation in July, 100% of the graduates were headed to college full time, or were earning between $28 and $40,000/ year!). 
- Jill Holloway Outreach and Admissions Year Up 10 Dorrance St., Ste. 1108 Providence, RI  02903 (401) 421-7819  x1115 (f) 421-7839 jholloway@yearup.org http://www.yearup.org/

Special Call for Student Writings on Voting For The Change Agent

We are interested in hearing from adult learners who voted in the November 2006 elections.   Write to us about your experience with voting in the recent elections.  The writings will be considered for the March 2008 issue of The Change Agent  journal. It will be a special edition on Voting and Advocacy that aims to help adult educators and learners to become active advocates and informed voters.
Questions:
What was your voting experience like?
If you voted for the first time, what motivated you to vote?
Why do you think voting is important?
All articles must be received by March 31. All articles will be considered. They must be typed. Suggested length is 500-1,200 words. Final decisions are made by The Change Agent editorial board. A stipend of $50 will be paid to each adult education student whose work is accepted for publication in this issue. Please send material (by email or PC disk) to: Angela Orlando, Editor New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education
44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210 Phone: 617-482-9485 fax: 617-482-0617 email: aorlando@worlded.org

The summer issue of Field Notes offers a chance for teachers to write about their work in a personal way.  The topic teaching from the heart is open to interpretation. Write about your most heartening classroom stories, your heartbreaks and heart-healing tales about teaching.  Write about a book you've used that has plenty of heart, or even has heart in the title. Submit a lesson about Valentine's Day. Or even send in a lesson plan on keeping the heart healthy, in more ways than one.  We welcome book reviews, movie reviews (500-700 words), personal stories (c.1000 words or less), lesson plans,  heart-filled photos (with captions), an ESOL lesson on idioms related to the heart, or other ideas you may have. Deadline for submission is April 1. Go to http://www.sabes.org for complete submission guidelines, found under the Field Notes click. To talk to a real person about real ideas, call  Lenore Balliro, editor, at 617-482-9485, or email her at lballiro@worlded.org.


Volunteers needed: 

Federal Hill House needs literacy volunteers/reading coaches to help parents that need to learn to read or need to improve their reading skills.  Duties will include: using assessment tools to determine reading level and using beginning reading materials to bring clients to a fifth grade reading level.  Requirements: Good reading/writing skills, ability to communicate ideas in an uncomplicated manner, and a desire to help others.  If interested, please call Sandra Perez at 421-4722.

learning opportunities

2007 Parent Workshop Series Brochure - (for full schedule, please contact lrri@brown.edu)
Entrance to all workshops is $5. 
Workshops will take place at the CVS-Highlander Charter School in Providence on designated evenings from 7 - 9 PM.

The program includes 13 workshops for parents, including:
Understanding Learning Styles, Organized for Learning, Orton-Gillingham for Parents, Transitions
to Higher Education, The Journey of Parenting: Connections to the Evolving Brains of  Children
Ages 4 - 14, Self-Esteem, Quirky Kids, Understanding the Impact of Early Reflexes on Sensory and
Academic   Development., Parenting a Child with Learning Differences, Homework, Using
Evaluation Data to Advocate for Your Child,  Cultivating Collaborations:  Creating a Team to
Support Your Child Attention
Pre-registration is required.  Seating is limited.   Feel free to contact me with any questions. -  Cathy Sanford, Director, Hasbro Center for Teaching Excellence c/o The Dunn Institute for  Learning Differences 401-831-7323

The CALL Interest Section of TESOL is pleased to offer the opportunity to participate in the  Electronic Village Online (EVO) 2007 season. This is a professional development project and virtual extension of the TESOL 2007 Convention in Seattle . The intended audience includes both TESOL 2007 participants and those who can participate only virtually. 
You do not need to be a TESOL member to participate in a free , six-week , wholly online session of the EVO, Jan 15 -Feb 25.
Please visit our Announcement Web page to select one among the various offerings. http://evo07sessions.pbwiki.com  
- Paula Emmert, On behalf of the EVO Coordination Team

Providence Public Library eventshttp://www.provlib.org/branchout/current.html

funding opportunities - large and less large
Funding opportunities from  PEN Weekly NewsBlast, (from Pen Weekly Newsblast; To view past issues of the PEN Weekly NewsBlast, visit:  http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_past.asp


Grants for Community Improvement Programs - Hamburger Helper is looking to lend a helping hand to neighborhoods nationwide with its "My Hometown Helper" grant program. Individuals from communities and organizations across America can submit a written essay of 250 words or less describing how the "My Hometown Helper" grant would help improve their community project. Maximum Award: $15,000. Eligibility: Requests for funding must be sponsored by a municipal or civic organization or public school. Deadline: May 31, 2007.  http://www.myhometownhelper.com/

Hasbro Children Foundation grants to support the development and/or expansion of programs for children. Maximum Award: $500-$35,000. Eligibility: Programs must provide direct services to children under age 13. They must serve children and families who are economically disadvantaged. They must be innovative and provide a model from whichothers can learn.
Deadline: N/A.  http://www.hasbro.org


UPS Foundation Education Grants fund high impact philanthropic programs that raise the level of educational instruction, family learning opportunities, and school involvement projects. Maximum Award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations. http://www.community.ups.com/philanthropy/grant.html

- other grants from the Public Education Network: http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp

- The federal government's new one stop grant site: http://www.grants.gov/


The Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) announces another round of education reform grants in areas of social science research.  PRACC is particularly interested in issues such as high classroom turnover/mobility and its disproportionate impact on low-income, minority, and farm worker students.  However, other issues will be considered as well.  To apply, send PRRAC a proposal outlining the planned research and methodology, the advocacy work it is designed to support, a budget, timeline, and qualifications of the researchers.  Maximum grant: $10,000.  No application deadline. http://www.prrac.org/grants.php

Funding Solutions for Small Nonprofit Organizations
A collection of resources to help small nonprofit organizations fundraise including ways to motivate your board, sample fundraising letters, phonathon advice, and tips to improve your direct mail solicitation. http://www.nonprofit-innovations.com/

employment opportunities
Substitute teaching: The Genesis Center is interested in adding to its substitute list. If you are an ESOL instructor who is interested in occasional work as a substitute, either day, evening or Saturday hours, please call Nancy Fritz or Pat Clarkin at 781-6110.

Jobs in Literacy – nation wide postings on the National Institute for Literacy’s LINCS site: http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/lincs/jobs/jobs.cgi

Substitute list: if you would like your name added to the general list, please see contact LR/RI.  The list needs to be updated so that it can function more usefully for teachers and programs hoping to work with them. (http://www.brown.edu/lrri/sub.html)

Rhode Island Community Jobs (RICOMJOB) is a public e-mail announcement list that seeks to raise the profile of meaningful work in Rhode Island by helping non-profit and public interest employers publicize openings effectively. Anyone seeking a job that makes a difference in Rhode Island can join the list.  Any non-profit, government or private sector employer advertising a paid position related to the public interest or community concerns can post a free job listing.  Positions must be paid but may be part-time, full-time or temporary.

To join the list as a job seeker or to post a job as an employer go to: http://www.ricommunityjobs.org

Rhode Island Community Jobs is supported by the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University and the Rhode Island Campus Compact.  If you have questions about this service, please contact us at ricomjob@brown.edu 


online / resources available
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education is pleased to announce the launch of the National STAR Training Network Web site.  The Web site contains information on the Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) initiative, created to assist states and local programs in making systemic and instructional changes required to improve the reading achievement of intermediate-level adult learners (G.L.E. 4.0-8.9).  STAR provides teachers and administrators with Web-based tools that translate reading research into practice and high quality training and technical assistance to build capacity for reading reform.  
The National STAR Training Network is offering two training and technical assistance packages to states and local programs.  The new Web site describes these services and provides an array of tools to help you learn about and plan to implement evidence-based reading instruction. We invite you to visit the Web site at http://www.startoolkit.org to learn more about how you can improve adult learners’ reading achievement.

From Monday, February 12th through Friday Feb. 16th, Dominique Chlup will facilitate a discussion on the PovertyRaceWomen and Literacy list on: Bars, Boundaries, and Barriers Researching Women's Spaces

Dominique Chlup is an assistant professor of adult education and the director of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M University. She got her calling to be an adult educator after volunteering for a year at the Valhalla Women's Jail in New York. She taught in the "Right to Write" program. While her career has taken her into several other adult classrooms, she finds she returns again and again to her work with women student-inmates. She wrote a dissertation on the history of the educational programs and practices at the Framingham Reformatory for Women in Massachusetts, and she continues to research contemporary prison programs. As a part of her research with women inmates, she has encountered both literal and figurative bars. As such, she is always interested in dialoging with others about their own experiences researching and working in women's spaces.
To learn more about her work, you can read http://www.ncsall.net/?id=828 and  http://www.ncsall.net/?id=826
Please join us during this discussion.  If you want to temporarily join, you can subscribe and then later unsubscribe at:  http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen

coming to the Focus on Basics discussion list
The Open Door Policy: Hidden Barriers to Postsecondary Education for Nontraditional Adult Learners  by Deepa Rao http://www.ncsall.net/?id=174

Community colleges have long recognized the need for postsecondary education and made access to it easy and affordable. Most community colleges have made a strong commitment to what is known as the open door policy: they will not turn away any student who has a high school diploma or has passed the tests of General Educational Development (GED). Many nontraditional adult learners enter community colleges, via this open door, after completing adult basic education (ABE) programs or having been out of school for a long time. As inviting as the open door may be, some hidden barriers in this policy may prevent nontraditional learners from attaining a degree.   This is from issue 6D, which is all about Transitions. You can find the whole issue at: http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=154
- Julie McKinney, Discussion List Moderator, World Education/NCSALL jmckinney@worlded.org


from Thursday notes, Feb 5 and 8/07: FY’08:

Adult Ed Level Funded

President Bush's FY 2008 budget, sent to Congress on February 5, proposes funding adult education State grants at the current level of $564.1M.  The budget also proposes current funding of $9.1M for national leadership activities and $6.6M for the National Institute for Literacy. Congress has the option of increasing or decreasing these amounts. See the President's request for FY 2008, at: http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget08/summary/edlite-section2c.html
Earlier, the House cobbled together and Senate generally agreed to a held-over FY 2007 budget, minus any earmarks.  The existing FY 2007 stopgap budget measure expires February 15.  After that, under the new 2007 continuing resolution, adult education is level funded, and Head Start gets a boost of $103.7M to $6.9B for the remainder of FY 2007.  Check page 12 at http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget07/07action.pdf

FY'08 DOL Training  May Consolidate 
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao announced the administration's new Career Advancement Accounts (CAAs) for FY 2008 at $3.4B.  Funds for WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Programs, as well as the Employment Service, would go to States in a single funding stream.  States would use the funds for self-directed accounts providing primarily out-of-school youth, low-income adults, and dislocated workers with dollars for education and training.  CAAs would help current and future workers enter and advance in the 21st century job market.  See http://www.doleta.gov/BudgetFY08.cfm

Are Your Teachers and Learners Dinosaurs?
If your teachers and learners are not quite ready for 21st century technology, check out three States—AZ, MD, and MA—that created Statewide technology standards specifically for adult education teachers and/or learners, with input from the field.  AZ’s Adult Education Standards were revised effective 2005 to include Technology Standards for teachers’ and learners’ basic computer and Internet skills.  MD’s Technology Planning Committee met with stakeholders, including business representatives, to research, draft, expand, and revise the State's 2004 Adult Education Teacher and Learner Technology Standards.  MA released technology standards for adult education teachers in 2000.  Ready to try it?  See respectively:
•    AZ: http://www.ade.az.gov/adult-ed/Documents/AEStandards/Technology_Standards.pdf
•    MD:  http://www.umbc.edu/alrc/Standards/Texts/TechnologyStandards.pdf
•    MA: http://alri.org/maltt/abecomps.htm

OMB Rates Adult Ed 'Effective'
Assistant Secretary Troy R. Justesen announced today that the adult education State grant program OVAE administers has been rated 'effective'—the highest rating a federal program can achieve—by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  Only two ED programs have earned this rating.  OMB uses a Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) to look at factors reflecting program performance.  OMB recently used PART to re-evaluate the adult education State grant program.  The program moved from its 2002 rating of  “results not demonstrated” to 'effective' in 2007 because it significantly improved performance measurement and outcomes.  Programs rated 'effective' must set ambitious goals, achieve results, be managed well, and improve efficiency.  OMB uses the ratings to help develop funding levels for the President’s budget, and Congress uses them in analyzing programs’ return on investment for funding levels each year.

Praise from OMB includes these kudos from PART.  Adult education:
• Recruits, retains, and assists eight times as many people from its target population—at a lower cost—than all other related federal programs combined.
• Is achieving performance goals for high school completion, postsecondary education or training, and job retention.
• Is managed well through new quality standards, common assessment tools, and improved comparability of grantee performance data.
• Requires participants to advance the equivalent of two or more grade levels for a measurable learning gain, yet increased the percent of participants achieving learning gains consistently since FY 2000.
• Is investing in randomized controlled trials to find instructional strategies to enable learning gains in less than 12 months. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/summary/10000180.2006.html

Check Your State's Spending
While you are getting your budget lined up, take a moment to review your State’s 2005 State government finances from the Census.  Check out detailed data for each State including revenue (such as taxes and federal aid), expenditures (such as police, fire and education) and cash and security holdings.  Click on http://www.census.gov/govs/www/state.html.

CAELA's newest online resource collection,Working with Literacy-Level Adult English Language Learners. is now available at http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/collections/literacy.html    The collection includes links and annotations to many resources related to working with adult English language learners, who have had limited access to formal education. - Lynda Terrill, Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, Center for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th St, NW, Washington, DC 20016  lterrill@cal.org


As referenced during the December Leadership Institute, please be advised that all services on WordChamp are being made available to RIDE funded programs for the 2006-2007 program year.
The program is designed to provide support to classroom language learning and can also function as an independent study tool for students at high intermediate to fairly advanced levels.  With guidance, this could also be a useful tool for more basic level learners. Find out more at http://www.wordchamp.com
(Please note that this is not an endorsement of the site, but is being disseminated for information purposes only).

from Daphne Greenberg: The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on December 13, 2006.  This was a tremendous achievement for all who had worked over the past 5 years and even before that, to put disability on the human rights agenda.   It is expected that the U.S. disability movement will campaign for the United States to sign and ratify the Convention.  While the U.S. had announced at the beginning of the process that they would never sign, this appears to have changed and they are considering a signature.  See the Convention in its final form at   http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/convtexte.htm

The Components of Numeracy by Lynda Ginsburg, Myrna Manly, and Mary Jane Schmitt
This occasional paper attempts to describe the complex nature of numeracy as it exists today. While there are large-scale assessments, standards documents, and position papers, there has not been a field- and research-based synthesis of the components required for adults to be numerate, to act numerately, and to acquire numeracy skills. This paper attempts to identify and clarify the nature of these components with the hope that such identification and clarification will guide instruction, contribute to the design of assessments, frame research, and inform policy.  To download the paper, go to: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=26#numeracy
 

this is not a sales pitch: Earth from the Air is a "presentation of large-scale photographs of astonishing natural landscapes. Created by world-famous photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, every stunning aerial photograph tells a story about our changing planet. Seen together, they are an outstanding visual testimony to the world we live in today. A world with a growing population, shrinking biodiversity, polluted lands and oceans, a changing climate and a shortage of drinking water. A world, nevertheless, of beauty and of wonder.” Photos online for discussion, as well as  facts about the world (developing and overdeveloped), visuals to spark discussion and resources  to keep it going. http://www.earthfromtheair.com/  (with thanks to Miranda Shaw)
 
and

(from the Rethinking Schools list serv)10 fantastic color photographs taken by the Hubble space telescope.?  Please left click on the URL
below...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/galleries/index.html?in_image_id=302567&in_gallery_id=9139&in_page_id=1055>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/
galleries/index.html?in_image_id=302567&in_gallery_id=9139&in_page_id=1055

Reflect 6, the magazine of the UK’s National Research and Development Centre is now on-line.
http://www.nrdc.org.uk/publications_details.asp?ID=71 
Articles of interest address numeracy, ESOL, work force learning and practitioner-research.

Immigration's Impact on the Workforce   Volume 4, Issue 3   Commonwealth Corporation announces the release of its Research and Evaluation Brief, Immigration's Impact on the Workforce.,  which looks at the impact of new foreign immigration on the population and labor force of Massachusetts, by examining their demographic characteristics, educational attainment levels, and English Language proficiency. It also discusses the potential implications for workforce development in the state. To view the brief please visit the CommCorp website at http://www.commcorp.org/researchandevaluation/briefs.html

Radical Math is a resource for educators interested in integrating issues of social, political, and economic justice into math curriculum and classes… RadicalMath.org has the goals of raising mathematic literacy and simultaneously developing ways to address a range of community issues. The website supports educators to teach many different types of math within the context of studying social, political, and economic justice issues. RadicalMath.org also contains teaching materials on important financial topics for youth such as owning a credit card, paying for college, and avoiding subprime lenders, as well as materials on Ethnomathematics. Visit http://www.radicalmath.org/ for more or email info@radicalmath.org

What To Expect has created a 16-page  What To Expect Guide To A Healthy Home for parents telling how to keep  homes healthy, teach children to wash their hands, and other tips for keeping families healthier during cold and flu season.  Thanks to a grant from Clorox the guide is free.   Though it is not low-literacy it is What To Expect - so some moms will recognize it - and the guide has some great health tips.  To order up to 250 copies for your organization you can go to our website and click on the guide's cover and follow the instructions.   http://www.whattoexpect.org  Feel free to email me directly with questions.  
- Lisa Bernstein, Executive Director, The What To Expect Foundation, 144 W. 80th Street, New York, NY 10024 212-712-9764


Google Scholar enables searches for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as articles available across the web.  Google Scholar orders search results by how relevant they are to your query, so the most useful references should appear at the top of the page. This relevance ranking takes into account the full text of each article as well as the article's author, the publication in which the article appeared and how often it has
been cited in scholarly literature. Google Scholar automatically analyzes and extracts citations and presents them as separate results, even if the documents they refer to are not online. This means your search results may include citations of older works and seminal articles that
appear only in books or other offline publications. http://scholar.google.com/
Living in Poverty slideshow does the math: what does it take to live at the poverty level.
http://www.nccbuscc.org/cchd/povertyusa/tour2.htm

RI Foundation online scholarship directory - searchable by city/town, intended field of study, current high school, and more. http://scholarship.rifoundation.org/
YouthBuild USA Learning Network has links to Web sites and full-text documents, and  includes a section on "Authentic Materials/Engaged Learning/Constructivism/Contextual Learning/Project-based Learning." http://www.youthbuild.org/learningnetwork/professionaldev.html

Providence Community Resource Network (PCRN) http://www.provplan.org/pcrn
Spanish language version of PCRN is up and running.  You can access the site from the PCRN home page, http://www.provplan.org/pcrn, or go to http://www.provplan.org/pcrnespa. The Web pages, online instructions, and the content of the database have all been translated.

conferences and workshops - conferences and workshops are listed chronologically and are updated with each bulletin
Rhode Island - Training/events around employment issues for people with disabilities http://www.ric.edu/uap/training.html

call for proposals: MATSOL 2007 Conference - http://www.matsol.org/ - Click on Conference 2007; conference will be held March 8-9; proposals are due on December 15.

The National Center for Family Literacy 16th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy, March 4 - 6, 2007,  Orlando, Florida.   For further information, please visit http://www.famlit.org/Conference/index.cfm 
The 2007 Learning Differences Awareness Conference: March 3, Providence Marriott, Orms Street.  Registration $40 before February 17.  Dr. Robert Brooks is the keynote speaker. Conference brochure available at  http://www.dunninstitute.org

4th Annual (Net)Working Conference on Women & Literacy March 9 – March 10, 2007  Northeastern University  Boston.
The conference theme for this year is Threads of Experience: Creative Spaces for Women's Learning.   
Keynote Speaker: Antonia Darder  Pre-Conference Seminar  The Impact of Violence on Learning: Building Connections to Deepen Understanding  March 8, 2007  9:30 – 4:30  Co-Sponsored by WE LEARN & Northeastern University School of Professional and Continuing Studies.  If you have questions or need more information, please contact:   Mev Miller  welearn@litwomen.org   401-383-4374. http://www.litwomen.org/conference.html

For seminar details, and availability visit the website 
or contact 
jenny@learningandviolence.net

Announcing a second training for Preparing for Work:  An EFF Work Readiness Curriculum
March 8 and 9, at the University of Tennessee Conference Center Knoxville, TN To register online,: http://utkcls.ra.utk.edu/register/eff_register.asp?event_id=EFF0607+++&Submit=Continue+-%3E

For more information on the training and for registration details, please refer to the attached brochure, or call Anna Bogle at (865) 974-8426. The EFF Work Readiness Curriculum aligns with the National Work Readiness Credential (NWRC) Profile which was developed in collaboration with the EFF Assessment Consortium and hundreds of front-line supervisors from businesses across the country.
The profile uses The EFF Worker Role Map and integrates the Secretary1s Commission on Achieving Basic Skills (SCANS skills) with the EFF Content Standards.  Each of the instructional modules that comprise the EFF Work Readiness Curriculum take a blended approach, focusing on specific SCANS tasks from the credential1s profile while highlighting two or three of the EFF Standards, reinforcing the acquisition and application of basic skills.  - Anna Bogle Professional Development Coordinator, Equipped for the Future 600 Henley St, Suite 312 Knoxville, TN 37996


Commonwealth Workforce Coalition: 4th Annual Sharing Skills~Building Connections Conference

March 14th, DCU Center, Worcester, MA
This year's conference focuses on working effectively with the dual customers of the public workforce development system—employers and program participants. New workshops and a post-conference reception have been added. Register by February 14th for the early-bird special. 
For more information: http://cwc.cedac.org/


The Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) and the Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education invite you to submit a proposal for presentation at the 2007 COABE National Conference to be held in Philadelphia March 25-28, 2007. 

ANN Teaching and Learning Principles: A Map for Implementing Effective Math Instruction for Adult Learners - The Adult Numeracy Network (ANN) will hold a full day Math Institute as part of the COABE Pre Conference on March 25. The Institute will address four strands (Number, Geometry, Data, and Algebra) for all adult learner levels. Attendees will participate in group learning activities which will increase understanding of concepts and emphasize the importance of an activity based curriculum. Individuals can register through the COABE07 website for the one-day Pre-Conference Session. - Esther Leonelli Moderator, ANN Numeracy list

Creating Balance in an Unjust World Conference on Math Education and Social Justice Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY, April 27 - April 29 http://www.radicalmath.org/conference 

We are looking for people to register as a participant, volunteer for planning or at the conference, table as an organization or vendor, donate financially or in-kind.  Registration - sliding scale $25-125 and free for session facilitators  
To present/facilitate a session download the application at http://www.radicalmath.org/conference        

Conference Overview:  Join educators, parents, students, activists, and community members from around the country to explore the connections between math education and social justice.  We invite you to share your thoughts, lesson plans, questions and be a facilitator for a workshop, interest group, or presentation. Facilitators may also choose to present on topics related to math and social justice i.e. equity in education, literacy and social justice, etc. Sessions need not be entirely polished presentations as we hope to share ideas in order to build together.
Goals of the conference: Bring together educators, researchers, parents, activists, and students to collectively discuss social justice and math education;  Foster new and innovative partnerships and collaborations; Create a space to share resources, lesson plans, best practices, and other classroom materials; Develop structures for ongoing discussion and working groups about math and social justice; Organize a
national voice in the ongoing debate over math education reform; Plan actions, advocacy, future meetings, etc.
Session Formats - Workshops, Interest Group Gatherings, or Presentations. 
All sessions will be one hour and 30 minutes in length. Workshops are interactive sessions intended for 15-40 participants that may utilize a variety of formats including small group work, open discussion, and break-out sessions.  Interest Group Gatherings are informal sessions
bringing together 15-40 participants with similar interests for more casual conversations to engage in network building, and collective thinking around common issues, and do not require the facilitator to present information. They are brain-storming sessions where the facilitator helps guide a discussion around a common interest.  Presentations are lecture style sessions that may have one speaker or a panel of speakers. 

Contact: Taeko Onishi ktaeko@gmail.com (646)259-5602

other events and conferences http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/Calendar/calendar_world.cgi

TESOL worldwide calendar of events http://www.tesol.org/isaffil/calendar/index.html



from previous bulletins: REMINDERS, RESOURCES
SABES Resource Lists Available.  From Carey Reid [full message here]:
As you might know, Massachusetts now has a rigorous, stand-alone ABE teacher's license.  SABES, the System for Adult Basic Education Support, is a state-wide staff development system funded by MassDOE. 
Ö[S]months ago I asked if NLA subscribers were interested in helping SABES build resource lists, by standard, in support of teachers seeking the new license here in Massachusetts.  Many of you helped out, thank you, and we've also worked with small groups of people locally to build these 29 lists, now with over 150 resources--books, articles, websites, and videos.  The lists are now available on SABES's  license support website at http://www.sabes.org/license.  You can get quickly to the lists by clicking on the "new resources added" link under What's New, or at any time by using the resources link on the bottom of every webpage.  When you arrive at the chart listing the 29 standards, click on any standard to go to the resource list we've compiled for it.   The lists are annotated; with the annotations, teachers who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in respect to a particular standard can be more assured they're getting the resource they want or need.  If the resource can be viewed or downloaded on the Net, we've provided a link. 

Additionally, we want to improve these lists, so please email me if you'd like to suggest additions or changes.  BTW, the full list of resources is also collected in a ProCite bibliography file, so if you use that software and would like to have your own "instant" database, let me know and I'll email you the file. As stated earlier, SABES is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education.  To avoid confusion, the website is not an official DOE site but rather one of SABES's means of supporting license-seeking teachers in our state.  Links to Massachusetts DOE webpages, however, are provided on the site.



breathe - everyday yoga at your desk. http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/everyday_yoga.html


what do you think? LR/RI has had an online survey on its site forever.  Previously, those who may have come across the survey were asked to copy and paste it into an email message, or to print it and complete it.  Thanks to the brilliant technical support and inservice learning provided by Brown University, the survey can now be completed on line.  I'd be grateful if you could please take the time to complete it.  While occasional word comes back about the work LR/RI has done, this survey attempts to be somewhat more systematic in considering the work that's done and the work that needs to be accomplished.  Please complete the survey at http://www.brown.edu/lrri - scroll down and click on the link to the survey.  If you lack web access and wish to complete the survey, please contact LR/RI to receive one via snail mail or fax.

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  • Please contact LR/RI if you have information, questions or announcements to share with adult educators in Rhode Island. Bulletins go out at least twice a month; more frequently when there's more to share. To submit information for the next bulletin, please contact LR/RI by phone (401-863-2839), mail (PO Box 1974, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912) or email

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