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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/# MPR
Associates Presents on Community Partnerships at May Membership Meeting Helping
good workers become better Coalition
continues battle with illiteracy The
National Coalition for Literacy Reacts to Bush Budget: Calls for Increased
Funding for Adult Literacy Initiatives "The President's budget today reflects the hard choices of our times. However necessary, national security and national defense priorities are crowding out funding for very basic needs in other areas of public policy. This is particularly true when it comes to adult literacy, family literacy, adult education programs, and English as a Second Language programs. "The National Coalition for Literacy is disappointed with the proposed flat funding and budget cuts in these areas, and we feel strongly that as the budget process moves forward, the Congress must reassess these priorities and make several significant changes. The demonstrated need in the area of adult and family literacy is just too great to fall by the wayside. "As many observers already know, last December the Bush Administration released the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, an exhaustive study of adult literacy levels in the United States. What it found was startling: As many as 93 million adults didn't have the literacy skills necessary to function adequately in America's increasingly complex society. "In other words, if you can't read, you won't succeed. This demonstrates a clear need for profound changes in federal adult literacy policy in order to address this looming problem. "In last week's State of the Union speech President Bush outlined his American Competitiveness Initiative, a package of policies aimed at making America more competitive in the world. We support his efforts but urgently recommend that he add a renewed emphasis on overall adult literacy policy. We feel strongly that doing this would ensure that the current American workforce will have increased access to opportunities for success in the workplace, the home, and the community." SOURCE National Coalition for Literacy The
National Coalition for Literacy calls on the President to include literacy
education in his American Competitiveness Initiative Low Literacy Levels Will Hurt America -- NCL Calls For Three-Pronged, Bipartisan Approach Monday January 30, 10:19 am ET WASHINGTON,
Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Coalition for Literacy, a broad-based
group of adult education and family literacy advocates, is calling for
a three-pronged, bipartisan approach to adult education and family literacy
as the Congress prepares to open its 2006 session. Dale Lipschultz, President of the National Coalition for Literacy, said, "NAAL found that ill-prepared citizens in the millions are struggling to keep up in an increasingly complex and demanding workplace." The results of the NAAL have serious implications for the future of America's economy and the workplace, its families, and its civic institutions. According to Lipschultz, American businesses lose more than $60 billion in productivity each year due to employees' basic skills deficiencies. "To stay competitive, the United States must have a well-educated workforce, capable of keeping up with technological advances and an ever- changing job market. We cannot afford to leave any adults behind because of a lack of literacy skills," Lipschultz said. According to the recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), as many as 93 million people need some kind of literacy service. These adults include parents, out-of-school youth, recent immigrants, the unemployed and underemployed, and incarcerated individuals. They do not have basic tools they need to succeed in modern America. Fourteen percent of these people, or 30 million, are at-risk adults. They are categorized by the NAAL as "Below Basic". This group includes individuals with few basic literacy skills, including those who have great difficulty reading and are both poorly skilled and unable to read and understand any written information in English. Another 29 percent of the population, or 63 million adults can read, but not well. They are only able to understand materials that are simply written and clearly articulated. "Currently, adult education programs are serving only 3 million people. The NAAL gives a very stark picture of the challenges we must tackle," Lipschultz said. "The National Coalition for Literacy is calling for a bipartisan effort to address the problem in three areas: * Substantially increase funding for adult education and family literacy programs and services in order to expand opportunities for all adults. * Invest additional resources in adult education research to ensure that instructional practices reflect the best available knowledge about how adults learn. * Improve outcomes for students by funding high quality professional development for adult education providers and by promoting transitions from adult education to college academic and vocational study programs. "The National Coalition for Literacy seeks a broad-based, bipartisan response to this national literacy challenge. Over the next several months, NCL will work actively for bold, innovative actions to meet this national challenge. Addressing this high priority need now will pay huge dividends to our economy, our families, our democracy in the future, and our ability to compete in the global marketplace," Lipschultz concluded.
Oct. 2005 Dale Lipschultz,
president of the National Coalition for Literacy (NCL), said today that
the National Coalition for Literacy and its member organizations wish
to express their deepest concern and sympathy for their fellow Americans
struggling with enormous personal loss from the Gulf Coast disaster. Those
left homeless and jobless by the storm and its aftermath will need materials,
assistance, and access to information, and some may need help managing
the system to rebuild their lives. The NCL is encouraging its member organizations
and local literacy programs across the country to help as they can to
relieve some of the critical needs. For example, they can assist those
victims whose lack of literacy and health literacy skills may be a barrier
to filling out FEMA and other benefit forms. We encourage Congress, in
allocating emergency funding, to acknowledge the relationship between
poverty and low literacy and to take into consideration the role of adult
education in helping adults and families to establish long-term security
in their jobs, lives and communities. The National Coalition for Literacy Announces the 2005 Literacy Leadership Award Winners
The NCL
Literacy Leadership Award recognizes individuals and The nation's demand for adult education, family literacy, and English acquisition services and programs is growing and is fast approaching crisis levels. In 2002-2003, 51 million adults – 23% of the adult population – lacked a high school diploma. Only 2.7 million of these adults participated in the nation’s adult education and family literacy system. The National Coalition for Literacy (NCL) is a unique member organization, made up of major service, research, and policy organizations in adult education, family literacy, and English Language Acquisition. These organizations represent the nation's and field’s leadership. NCL’s broad mission is to advance adult education, family literacy, and English language acquisition in America -- from the most basic skills proficiency level across a continuum of services including the transition into postsecondary education and job training. NCL’s goals are to:
For photos of the event, click here> July
12, 2005 READ
the NCL Thank You Letter Written to the Senate Appropriations Committee
Members
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