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International Reading Association’s Blog (February 14, 2012)Engage, the International Reading Association’s Blog, invites you to share a resource or write a blog post. One of the latest postings, entitled One Teacher + Many Literacy Proficiencies = An Exciting Place to Learn discusses using collaborative group conversations to support ELLs. Click here to go to the blog. U.S. Department of Labor Announced Availability of Nearly $98.5 Million in Workforce Innovation Fund Grants - Deadline, March 22, 2012 (January 6, 2012)$98.5 million through the Workforce Innovation Fund (the Fund) will be available to support innovative approaches for the design and delivery of employment and training services. The fund invests in programs that support, evaluate and enhance workforce investment strategies, particularly for vulnerable populations. Approximately 20 to 30 grants ranging from $1 million to $12 million are expected to be funded. A solicitation for grant applications (SGA) was published in the Dec. 23, 2011 edition of the Federal Register. Applications under this announcement must be received by no later than 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March 22, 2012. For detailed application information, eligibility requirements, review and selection procedures and other program requirements governing this solicitation, please review the full SGA. Applicants are encouraged, but not required to view the pre-recorded webinar. Interested parties also may wish to register for the Administrative Flexibility Webinar, which details how applicants may explore the use of existing flexibilities that are embedded within several federal programs and explore waivers that may be needed to remove statutory and regulatory barriers that would enhance innovations applicants propose. Please continue to check the Workforce Innovation Fund site for news, information, and updates on the Fund. Click here for more information: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/SGA-DFA-PY-11-05.pdf Smart Chart: An Interactive Planning Tool (December 15, 2011)One important aspect of successful partnerships is communication. Smart Chart provides programs with a free interactive planning tool that helps organizations hone their communications goals and craft a strategic plan for achieving them. This pdf document will take you step by step into making smart communication choices. Click here: http://www.smartchart.org/content/smart_chart_3_0.pdf VCU Online Adult Literacy Certification Program (November 3, 2011)Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education are pleased to announce the second course of the Online Adult Literacy Certification Program. (Newcomers to the program are encouraged to enter now, rather than wait for a new cycle to begin.) The program is offered as a series of five on-line courses leading to a Tier Three Certificate in the Virginia Adult Educator Certification Program. As well, the program leads to an endorsement in adult education through the Virginia State Department of Education for those participants who have a current Virginia teaching license. (A teaching license is not required for the online program—see below.) The online program targets educators working (or aspiring to work) in all adult literacy settings, including public school systems, community colleges, community based literacy and ESL centers, correctional centers, etc. As in the past, we offer one course per semester, three per year (including summer), for a total of five consecutive semesters. To be eligible, participants must possess a bachelor’s degree (not necessarily in a field of education); a teaching license is NOT required. See the VCU webpage for course descriptions: http://www.soe.vcu.edu/academics/tl/online_adult_lit.html The second course of the sequence is ADLT 601, The Adult Learner. The class runs from January 17- May 11, 2012 and the instructor is Dr. Anita Prince. Tuition (including a $15. Processing fee to VAACE) is $615. If you are interested, please contact Buffy Allgood, Treasurer of VAACE, who is serving as registrar for the program. Buffy’s contact information is below. The deadline for registering is December 1, 2011. If you have questions, about the program, please write or call: William R. Muth, PhD For Virginia adult education and literacy practitioners and administrators (October 4, 2011)At a recent conference, a speaker discussed how he had been successfully raising funds for his organization via Twitter. This article by the Fundraising Coach, Twitter for Nonprofits and Fundraising, will give you insights on how to use Social Media to your organization's advantage. Click here to read it: http://fundraisingcoach.com/free-articles/twitter-for-nonprofits-and-fundraising/ Turning Board Members into Fundraisers (August 15, 2011)The website, Movie Mondays for Professional Fundraisers, offers a free video on "Turning Board Members into Fundraisers" at this link: http://www.501videos.com/moviemondays.html The video provides excellent suggestions on how to get reluctant board members engaged in fundraising. Prerequisites for taking IT to the next level (July 05, 2011)Are you thinking of upgrading your old computers and networks? In this article, Scott Lowe answers the question, If you have an environment that has old technology and needs a facelift, where is the biggest value? Click on this link: Online Adult Literacy Certification Program (June 27, 2011)Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education are pleased to announce the beginning of a new cycle of the Online Adult Literacy Certification Program. The program is offered as a series of five on-line courses leading to a Tier Three Certificate in the Virginia Adult Educator Certification Program . As well, the program leads to an endorsement in adult education through the Virginia State Department of Education for those participants who have a current Virginia teaching license. (A teaching license is not required for the online program—see below.) The online program targets educators working (or aspiring to work) in all adult literacy settings, including public school systems, community colleges, community based literacy and ESL centers, correctional centers, etc. The new cycle begins this fall, 2011. As in the past, we offer one course per semester, three per year (including summer), for a total of five consecutive semesters. To be eligible, participants must possess a bachelor’s degree (not necessarily in a field of education); a teaching license is NOT required. The first course of the sequence is READ 602, Teaching Literacy and Numeracy to Adults. The class runs from August 25 - December 15, 2011 and the instructor is Dr. William Muth. Tuition (including a $15. Processing fee to VAACE) is $615. If you are interested, please contact Buffy Allgood, Treasurer of VAACE, who is serving as registrar for the program. Buffy’s contact information is below. The deadline for registering is August 1, 2011. If you have questions, about the program, please write or call: William R. Muth, PhD Collaboration Among Public Agencies Will Lead to Systemic Change (February 8, 2011)Public agencies in communities typically provide services at different agencies. For example, health, education, employment, and housing services are provided by separate agencies with separate bureaucratic processes. Often the outcome of one agency process, such as employment, impacts the outcome at another, such as housing. Collaboration among public agencies has the potential to develop solutions for broader systems change bydeveloping knowledge on a local level that can be transferred and integrated across systems. Read more about collaboration among public agencies here. Ida J. Hill Scholarship 2011 (January 20, 2011)Altrusa International, Inc. of the Capital City of Virginia is pleased to announce continuation of its statewide annual award of the Ida J. Hill Scholarship. The two selection categories and scholarships are as follows:
The purpose is to provide scholarships to two qualifying women re-entering the workforce or advancing their employment skills. The nominating council or adult education program will be expected to observe progress throughout the year. The only requirements for participation in the scholarship program are the submission of a nomination letter from the organization or agency head, and a letter/statement from the potential recipient indicating interest, current status and career goals, training facility name, and a statement of need. Plans are to award two scholarships at the Altrusa meeting on March 9, 2011 in Richmond. The deadline for the applications is March 1, 2011. The recipients’ council or adult education office will receive a commemorative plaque. The agency or organization head or designee is invited also to join the recipient at the dinner on March 9, 2011. Attendance at the dinner is required. Please click here for the documents and more details. For questions contact: Joanne Cash at (804) 378-7000 or realtrcash@aol.com Virginia Employment Commission: Community Profiles (September 16, 2010)The Virginia Employment Commission offers newly revamped Community Profiles on its site! These documents feature information for each county and region , including demographic, economic, and educational data. This includes poverty and unemployment statistics. Each report is automatically updated every time the VEC makes changes to its database, so they will always be up-to-date! http://www.vawc.virginia.gov/gsipub/index.asp?docid=342 September 10, 2010From the Center for American Progress http://www.americanprogress.org "A New National Approach to Career Navigation for Working Learners" This paper details both the inadequacy of the career navigation assistance now available and why the United States needs a new approach. The first section describes the urgent need, which has been exacerbated by recent trends in the economy. The second section showcases promising models of career navigation that have emerged-created by community colleges, employers, labor unions, public workforce systems, and community-based organizations-but remain small boutique enterprises. The third section envisions a more robust national approach to career navigation services for working adults and explores both design principles and challenges. Finally, the paper recommends next steps and federal policy actions that would move us closer to achieving that vision. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/03/pdf/career_counseling.pdf "Low-Income Fathers Need to Get Connected: Helping Children and Families by Addressing Low-Income Fathers' Disconnections from Employment, Society, and Housing" Far too many low-income fathers are facing serious challenges with employment, housing, criminal justice system involvement, and other issues. These problems are undoubtedly hurting their children and families. Congress created the Responsible Fatherhood Program and the Healthy Marriage Initiative during the last reauthorization of legislation encompassing TANF, but the results suggest the need for further reforms. The next generation of such services should be a Fatherhood, Marriage, and Families Innovation fund that puts emphasis where it counts: on comprehensive services that best address the complex needs of low-income fathers and families while not coercing their personal decisions. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/pdf/fatherhood.pdf From Jobs for the Future (JFF) http://www.jff.org "Setting up Success in Developmental Education: How State Policy Can Help Community Colleges Improve Student Outcomes" This paper describes how 15 states have concentrated their policy efforts toward developmental education on four key areas: preventative strategies, assessment and placement, implementation and evaluation of program innovation, and performance measurement and incentives. http://www.jff.org/sites/default/files/AtD_brief_success_082609.pdf From MDRC http://www.mdrc.org "The Employment Retention and Advancement Project: How Effective Are Different Approaches Aiming to Increase Employment Retention and Advancement? Final Impacts for Twelve Models"This project tested, using a random assignment design, the effectiveness of numerous programs intended to promote steady work and career advancement. All the programs targeted current and former welfare recipients and other low-wage workers, most of whom were single mothers. Given that earlier retention and advancement initiatives studied for these groups were largely not effective, ERA sought to examine a variety of pro-grams that states and localities had developed for different populations, to determine whether effective strategies could be identified. In short, nine of the twelve programs examined in this report do not appear to be effective, but three programs increased employment levels, employment stability, and/or earnings, relative to control group levels, after three to four years of follow-up. http://www.mdrc.org/publications/558/full.pdf From the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce http://georgetown.edu "Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018" This report that points out that the United States is "on a collision course with the future" as far too few Americans earned postsecondary degrees. By 2018, the economy will have jobs for an estimated 22 million new workers with colleges degrees, yet there will be a projected shortage of up to 7.7 million workers - including a shortage of 3 million workers with a postsecondary degree (associate or higher) and of 4.7 million workers with a postsecondary certificate. "This shortfall will mean lost economic opportunity for millions of American workers," according to the report. http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/FullReport.pdf Career Pathways (July 12, 2010)As defined in the state’s first strategic plan for a career pathways system, Bridging Business and Education for the 21st Century Workforce, career pathways are connected education and training programs and support services that enable individuals to secure employment with a specific occupational sector and to advance over time to successively higher levels of education or employment in that sector. Find several important sites regarding this topic at the following links: Program Management Meets Web 2.0 (June 30, 2010)http://fcw.com/articles/2009/12/07/program-management-meets-web-2.0.aspx Web 2.0 tools could generate a lot more information for program managers to make sense of while keeping projects and teams on track with frequent status reviews and updates on milestones. The challenge is knowing how to engage with Web 2.0 while steering clear of the social-media weeds. This short articles discusses new possibilities in communicating with staff and teams and for brainstorming. |
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