News

National Coalition for Literacy Honors Adult and Family Literacy Leaders at Washington, DC Reception

WASHINGTON – The National Coalition for Literacy honored four individuals and a charitable foundation for their contributions to improving literacy in the United States at a reception at the Library of Congress on September 5th. Those receiving NCL’s 2007 Literacy Leadership awards are:

• Congressman Michael Castle (R-DE)
• Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)
• Dr. Irwin Kirsch, Director of the Center for Global Assessment, Educational Testing Service
• David A. Perdue Jr., former Chairman and CEO of Dollar General,
• The UPS Foundation

The award recognizes individuals and/or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to improving literacy in the United States. Award recipients have demonstrated a deep and sustained individual or corporate commitment by supporting literacy on the local, state, and national levels.

Congressman Castle has been a champion for increased funding for adult education. Senator Clinton has promoted health literacy and been a strong supporter of funding for the Even Start family literacy program.

Dr. Irwin Kirsch worked on the first National Adult Literacy Survey and laid the groundwork for the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy; he also is one of the authors of The Perfect Storm: Three Forces That Are Shaping Our Nations Future. “We at ETS are deeply proud of the award the Coalition is presenting to Irwin Kirsch, one of my distinguished presidential appointees. His vision and pioneering research in literacy at home and abroad have served to advance ETS’ social mission and the cause of education everywhere.” stated Kurt Landgraf, President and CEO, Educational Testing Service.

As CEO of Dollar General, David A. Perdue Jr. oversaw the continued commitment of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to funding both local literacy efforts and the National Commission on Adult Literacy. Since 1989, The UPS Foundation has contributed over $19 million to support 400 local literacy programs in 120 communities throughout the US.

“The National Coalition for Literacy is extraordinarily pleased to honor our recipients. Each of them has contributed to raising awareness of the impact of low literacy on the U.S. population and economy, to funding solutions, and to visioning a better future for all,” said Sherrie Claiborne, president of the Board, National Coalition for Literacy. “Their leadership has truly strengthened literacy in America and been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement.”

click to see photos from the NCL award celebration

Adult Education rated ‘Effective’ by Office of Management and Budget

Adult Education was rated an “Effective” program by the Office of Management and Budget; the rating is based on the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). This is the highest rating a program can achieve. Such programs set ambitious goals, achieve results, are well-managed and improve efficiency (from the OMB website). The website - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/ summary/10000180.2006.html - further states:
• Recent evaluation findings and project performance data indicate the program has positive effects and has achieved its performance goals for high school completion, postsecondary education or training, and job retention. The percentage of Adult education students who obtained a GED or high school diploma increased by 55 percent from 2001 to 2006.
• The program recruits, retains, and assists more people from its target population at a lower cost than other job training programs. In 2004, the Federal cost per high school diploma or GED attained by adults or out-of-school youth was $3,081, compared to a range of $12,000 to $90,000 for other Federal job training programs.
• The program developed data quality standards, encouraged States to use common assessment tools, and improved the National Reporting System to collect comparable grantee performance data.

Dollar General Series to Continue!

With the support of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, NCL has hosted four meetings in the Dollar General Presentation Series, most recently in Spartanburg, SC. The next two meetings will be April 28th in St. Louis, MO and May 29th in Houston, TX. The series has stimulated dialog between national and local literacy leaders, highlighted community-business partnerships, and provided local programs with important tools for advocacy. See below for Reports from earlier meetings.

Spartanburg, SC – Full Report (due shortly)

Baltimore, MD – Full Report
Baltimore, MD – Executive Summary

Phoenix, AZ – Full Report
Phoenix, AZ – Executive Summary

Nashville, TN – Full Report
Nashville, TN – Executive Summary

NCL and COABE Sponsor Public Policy Sessions at Conference

The National Coalition for Literacy and the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) co-sponsored a series of Public Policy workshops and forums at COABE’s annual conference in March. The power point presentation on “How Congress Works” and a diagram of the budget and appropriations process are available here. NCL will again sponsor this series at the 2008 COABE Conference in St. Louis, MO, April 28 – May 1

National Literacy Summit.3 Held in DC

Dr. Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, was the keynote speaker at the National Literacy Summit.3 on Monday, October 15th, hosted by Georgetown University. He talked about changes to the global economy and how all countries were economically “playing the same game” now. Dr. Zakaria said that America competes in this economy with innovation and creativity. He emphasized that our entire society must be literate. The bottom third of our population needs a decent education and basic opportunities so that we can compete as one country. Two panels followed, addressing the Drivers of a Literate Community and Community Literacy Solutions; speakers came from the International Reading Association, the National Center for Family Literacy, ProLiteracy America, National Council of LaRaza, National Urban League, Sesame Workshop and the American Library Association. Sherrie Claiborne, NCL President, represented the Coalition. Please click here to view the webcast. http://client.uvault.com/verizon/101507/vod/#For past News items please check the News Archive

Upcoming National Coalition for Literacy Events

• April 28, 2008 COABE Conference, St. Louis, MO
• May 8, 2008 Membership Meeting
• May 29, 2008 Dollar General Presentation Series, Houston, TX
• September 10, 2008 Literacy Leadership Awards **date change
• September 11, 2008 Membership Meeting **date change
• December 3, 2008 Public Policy Forum
• December 4, 2008 Membership Meeting

• Sept. 24-27, 2008 National Center for Developmental Education, 4th International Conference on Research in Access and Developmental Education, San Juan, Puerto Rico

• April 28 – May 1, 2008 COABE Conference, St. Louis, MO
• May 6, 2008 International Reading Association Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia