The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center

On the MDRC Web site, you'll find project descriptions and downloadable copies of publications. To sign up for twice-monthly e-mails from MDRC with announcements of new publications and resources, click here.

GED Fast Track Training

Four regional workshops will be given this fall for instructors who are new to Fast Track or who are looking to brush up on accelerated GED instruction.

Audience: New GED Fast Track instructors, Fast Track instructors who want a brush-up
Time: All workshops will be held from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Locations and Dates:

Charlottesville - Wednesday, October 24 - FULL
Virginia Beach - Friday, October 26
Spotsylvania - Monday, November 5

In the GED Fast Track workshop, participants will gain insight into thinking styles and accelerated learning, examine test-taking strategies, understand accommodations available to all testers, and find out what types of questions testers most often miss on the GED test.

To sign up, please complete the registration form, select the location of your choice, and email, fax, or mail it as directed on the form.

http://www.valrc.org/training/GED/FastTrackregistration.pdf
http://www.valrc.org/training/GED/FastTrackregistration.doc

See you there!

Temporary Protected Status

A recent change in policy in the Commonwealth will affect a number of our foreign-born students who are interested in pursuing a college education. Please share this message with others so that we can reach as many potential college students as possible in time for the Fall 2007 semester: I want to notify you that effective immediately, alien students with a grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are no longer barred from establishing Virginia domicile for tuition purposes. The change in guidance comes after consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and special immigration counsel. TPS students who can show by clear and convincing evidence that they meet the normal standards for Virginia domicile should be charged the in-state tuition rate beginning in Fall 2007 and can be considered for other educational benefits reserved for Virginia domiciles. TPS students who are currently classified as out-of-state students may request reclassification, but reclassifications, if granted, shall not be retroactive. Please note that this change in guidance will be reflected in the next revision of the Domicile Guidelines. The Commonwealth of Virginia's Domicile Guidelines can be found at http://www.schev.edu/Students/VAdomicileguidelines.asp. This is very important information to disseminate, as it will perhaps allow a good number of our students from TPS countries to attend college this fall!!! Thanks for your help in getting the word out.

As background information, and as defined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (www.uscis.gov):

Temporary Protective Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of designated countries (or parts thereof). During the period for which a country has been designated for TPS, TPS beneficiaries may remain in the United States and may obtain work authorization. However, TPS does not lead to permanent resident status. When the Secretary terminates a TPS designation, beneficiaries revert to the same immigration status they maintained before TPS (unless that status had since expired or been terminated) or to any other status they may have acquired while registered for TPS. Accordingly, if an alien had unlawful status prior to receiving TPS and did not obtain any status during the TPS designation, the alien reverts to unlawful status upon the termination of that TPS designation. Countries which are currently designated for TPS include Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Somalia and Sudan. Each country has a different designation time period for expiration of its TPS status. Additional information on TPS, including individual expiration dates for each designated country, can be found at the following sites: Us Department of Justice and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Maricel Quintana-Baker, Ph.D. Senior Associate for Academic Affairs State Council of Higher Education for Virginia 101 North 14th Street, 9th Floor Richmond, VA 23219 Phone: 804-225-2612 Fax: 804-225-2604 MaricelQuintanaBaker@schev.edu

eLEARN Virginia: a free statewide distance learning GED program

eLEARN Virginia is a new statewide distance learning initiative, funded by the DOE/OAEL and managed by the VALRC, now freely available to your GED students. eLEARN Va is a great option for any student who has access to a networked computer and either a) can't attend face-to-face GED classes at your center, b) must interrupt their face-to-face GED class due to employment, transportation, or childcare issues, or c) wants supplementary GED lessons to work on outside of their regular face-to-face GED class. eLEARN Va is also an option for any out of school youth, formally released from compulsory attendance, interested in working towards a GED online.

Tech Soup

From The Foundation Center:

At TechSoup Stock, hundreds of donated computer products are available from partners such as Cisco, Intuit, Adobe, Symantec, Microsoft, and more.

New product donations from Microsoft: Office 2007, Windows Vista, Exchange Server 2007, Visio 2007, and more new releases.

Administrative fees are as low as 4% of retail value, and no membership fee is required. Since 2002, over 50,000 nonprofits across the United States and Canada have accessed the software and hardware products they need at TechSoup Stock.

Click here to visit Tech Soup to request donated computer products for your organization.

Self-Guided Free Online Technology Workshops

Catalyst is a website developed by the University of Washington. Catalyst provides "How-To" guides and step-by-step instructions for common online tasks, such as document and data management (Word, Access, and Excel), how to use videos, creating graphics, and understanding web publishing. You'll also find links to instructions for related tasks, as well as tips and teaching guides to support your teaching goals.

Click here to enter the Catalyst Help Center

Come to the VATESOL Fall Conference!

The Virginia Association of TESOL annual Fall Conference will be held Saturday, October 6, 2007, from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Conference highlights will include a share fair with poster presentations, keynote addresses on Advocacy and Technology and the ESL Learner , one-hour sessions on a variety of topics, and a panel discussion Education and Refugee & Immigration Services. The theme for the conference will be "Connections." For registration information and a complete presentation schedule, go to: www.vatesol.org

Technology Resources for Administrators

We have identified these online resources as valuable technology tools for administrators. If you have any questions about why they are included or how to use any of the free web services, please contact Victoire Gerkens Sanborn at vjsanbor@vcu.edu or Jim Andre at andrejh@vcu.edu, or call 800-237-0178.

GED Success Story Publicity

The second phase of statewide Race to GED outreach relies on the Success Story motif. Click here to read a feature story from The Warren Sentinel about Sonny Alicie, who appears in the GED Success Story Calendar. Sonny Alicie, a Vietnam veteran and retired law officer, dropped out of high school to care for a sick grandfather and earned his GED while in the military. We encourage you to save Sonny's story as an example of GED Success Story media coverage and to consider pitching similar stories to your local papers.

New Race to GED Outreach Website

Celebrate Virginia's GED success stories -- and inspire your current and potential students to "Be the Next" GED success! OAEL has unveiled a new Race to GED outreach website to promote the Success Story theme. Download GED Success Story calendar, brochure, and bookmark designs, and watch the four 30-second television spots at: http://www.vdoe.vi.virginia.gov/instruction/adulted/equivalency/outreach/index.shtml

Resources for Locating Electronic Texts on the Internet

Find an extensive list of resources for downloading electronic texts on the Internet on this link, including those on Project Gutenberg. Why is this helpful? These texts can be altered for your student (change in font size or font, and double spaced) and you can print out just a few paragraphs at a time. This is an especially helpful technique with low level literacy students.

Grant Writing: Your Needs Statement

Your grant hinges on a compelling needs statement that is written accurately and succinctly. In fact, all the other elements of your grant depend on this important introduction. Many seasoned grant writers have failed to persuade funders to award money based on this section alone. Our 3-hour participatory, hands-on workshop is designed for seasoned grant writers who want to strengthen the needs statements on their current grant or a grant that was rejected for failing to make a good case.

When: Look for the next announcement, coming soon.

2007 Foundations and Grants Booklet

The 2003 Foundations and Grants Booklet has been updated. Find the PDF file to this 100 page document in this link. Links on each page are live and should take you to the Funder's or Foundation's page. Click here to view this publication.

Value of Volunteer Time

According to a letter written by Susan McIver, Economic Supervisor at the Virginia Employment Commission, the estimated value of volunteer time in Virginia in 2006-2007 is $18.76 per hour.

This amount is close to the Independent Sector's estimate of $18.77 for 2006-2007.

Adult Education and Postsecondary Success

A new policy brief, Adult Education and Postsecondary Success, comparing long-term postsecondary outcomes of GED holders, diploma holders, and non-completers has been released by the National Commission on Adult Literacy.

Authored by Steve Reder of Portland State University and the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, the brief can be found at: http://www.nationalcommissiononadultliteracy.org/pandp.html