“Thank you for this information. The online repository will be a very helpful addition to our resource collection. I am very grateful for all the information and resources you took the time to post.” COABE member

COABE Social Change Panel Audio Recording

COABE Awarded Grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

We are pleased to share that COABE has been awarded a one-year grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation that will provide support for one regional institute, fifty mini-grants to attend the COABE 2012 National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia on April 10–13, 2012, and our prestigious awards, incentive grants, and scholarship process. The grant also supports an exciting new teacher credentialing initiative and development of a teacher credentialing database.

Research Grant Program

The Alexander N. Charters Adult Education Research Grants-in-Aid Program provides funding for researchers interested in exploring the history and practice of adult education using the Charters Library adult education collections. Up to $5,000 worth of grants-in-aid will be awarded in 2012. The actual amount of each award will depend upon the scope of the research outlined in the applicant's proposal.

Applications are being accepted until December 1, 2012.

Click here for more details or to apply: http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/a/AlexanderNCharters/grants.htm

COABE's Online Resource Repository

Learn about new and exciting best practices and resources for adult education at COABE's Online Resource Repository.

The online repository, created by and for members, is undergoing changes. Check back shortly to search the database for best practices. Contact Sharon Bonney (sharonbonney@coabe.org) to add a best practice in the meantime..

Generously funded by Dollar General Literacy Foundation

Tutor Curriculum Guide for Teaching Adult ESL Preliterate Learners

Cielito Brekke, ESL Instructor
Institute for Extended Learning, Community Colleges of Spokane, MS 1050

This curriculum guide has been developed for tutors as well as instructors of adult refugee and immigrant ESL students who have no or limited literacy skills in their first language. The principles and strategies used in this guide can also be used for ESL students who have low or some literacy in their native language. The main focus of the guide is to develop initial English literacy skills in basic reading and writing, built upon listening and speaking skills. The students will be able to function with some difficulty in simple situations related to immediate needs, and to handle tasks including routine, entry-level jobs that involve only the most basic English communication skills. In this guide, the terms preliterate and non-literate learners are used interchangeably to mean students who have no formal literacy education in their native language.

Additional Resources: Tutor Curriculum Guide for Teaching Adult ESL Preliterate Learners (PDF)

Adults Who Have Learning Disabilities: Transition From GED to Postsecondary Activities

Nancie Payne, President/CEO, Payne & Associates, Inc.

Approximately one third of special education students with learning disabilities leave high school before graduation. A high percentage of these students enroll in adult secondary completion classes in an attempt to obtain a high school equivalency certificate. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2003 transition planning is mandated for all students with disabilities enrolled in secondary education programs. This mandate does not apply to adult secondary completion classes and researchers clearly purport that the lack of transition planning may leave adult students with disabilities unexposed to needed services. While there is adequate substantiation within the secondary education system that transition planning leads to positive post-high school completion outcomes for students with learning disabilities, there is no evidence or validation of such within adult secondary completion programs.

Integrating the Library into a Family Literacy Program

A library component integrated into a family literacy program enhances the four required program components of adult education, child education, parenting and Parent and Child Together activities (PACT). We integrate five components offering new literacy experiences for our ESL and ABE/GED families. The program integrates weekly pre-k child education, a weekly PACT theme based on prekindergarten readiness skills, and a weekly children’s library time. The weekly adult library sessions integrate into the adult education and parenting components. All is completed during six hours a week for both parents and children at local libraries.

Additional Resources: Integrating the Library into a Family Literacy Program PowerPoint

Star Training

The National STAR Training Network (NSTN) offers training and technical assistance packages that:

     • increase teachers' knowledge and use of evidence-based reading instruction (EBRI);
     • improve the capacity of adult education systems to support EBRI.

NSTN leverages the skills and knowledge of an expert team to deliver:

     • training institutes;
     • onsite technical assistance;
     • online technical assistance.

States that have completed a full cycle of STAR training can enroll trainers in the National STAR Trainer Certification process. States will have the opportunity to develop certified trainers equipped to provide STAR training and technical assistance.

Additional Resources: Visit the Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) Website