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Getting There
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Helping Adult Learners and their Families
Overcome Barriers to Success
by TCALL Director, Harriet Vardiman Smith
For this issue, we invited articles from our readers on the ways in which adult education and family literacy programs help adult learners to set educational goals and then to develop strategies to
accomplish the goals. Popular catch phrases in the literature include learner persistence, motivation, self-efficacy, and overcoming barriers to participation. But for this issue, we wanted to think broadly about all the ways by which literacy educators can help adult learners and their families with GETTING THERE. We hope you will enjoy reading the wide-ranging articles contributed by literacy educators from around the state.
Helping Adult Literacy Programs
Recover from Natural Disasters
The Barbara Bush Texas Fund for Family Literacy (BBTFFL) is awarding nine Texas adult and
family literacy programs with grants to assist in their recovery from the recent natural disasters that affected the state, including Hurricanes Ike and Dolly and the Rio Grande flooding.
Mrs. Barbara Bush said,
“The recent storms and flooding have turned the lives of many Texans upside-down. Their homes, workplaces and schools, as well as the infrastructures of their communities, have been damaged or destroyed, and they must work hard to rebuild their dramatically changed lives.
“By providing important support to literacy programs, the grants will reach out to Texas families affected by the natural disasters and ensure that they can continue to learn to read, write and comprehend. Each of the programs selected has made a difference in the past, and I hope that with the help of these grants, they will continue to do so in the future.”
The Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M University and the BBTFFL worked together to identify programs to receive one-time recovery grants, ranging from $8,300 to $20,000, for costs related to natural disasters. The nine grants amount to $154,434 in total funding for disaster recovery. These expenses include replacement of destroyed furnishings; equipment or instructional materials not covered by insurance; rental of temporary classroom space; outreach and recruitment expenditures to rebuild program enrollment; and temporary additional personnel costs.
Technical assistance and evaluation for the disaster recovery grant projects will be provided by a project at TCALL under the leadership of Dr. Mary Alfred, faculty principal investigator.
Disaster Recovery Grant Recipients
Brazosport College’s English Literacy and Civics Education Program is located 60 miles south of Houston in Freeport, Texas. The program’s fall semester began promisingly with 111 students. However, on September 10, 2008, a mandatory evacuation was issued for this coastal area, and classes were subsequently canceled until September 22. Hurricane Ike changed the students’ lives in various ways: they lost their jobs; their homes were damaged; they worked more hours; they lost their means of transportation; or they relocated to another area. As a result, 31% of the program’s students did not return once classes resumed. The grants will support student outreach, recruitment and retention activities, as well as promote achievement, through expanded services.
Clear Creek ISD English Literacy and Civics Program is located between Houston and Galveston in an area particularly devastated by Hurricane Ike. The storm damaged the homes of many program participants, forcing them to move to temporary places such as hotels or the homes of relatives. Many students’ workplaces were affected, causing them to lose their jobs or change their work schedules. All schools and programs in the Clear Creek ISD, including the English Literacy and Civics program, were canceled for two weeks as damages to schools were assessed and repaired, and families started to rebuild their lives. To enable more students to attend classes regularly, this program will be funded to expand and extend classes into June, and implement marketing and retention efforts to improve attendance.
The College of the Mainland Adult Education Program is Galveston County’s primary provider of adult basic education, English as a second language instruction and GED preparation. The program has always been accessible for Galveston’s citizens due to its multiple locations in the area. Unfortunately, it lost classroom space in several of these places due to Hurricane Ike. The funds will help obtain temporary classroom space, find and equip permanent classroom space, and replace lost textbooks. Also, as many of the students had to move because of their damaged homes, the funding will help the program remain accessible to its students by providing web-based instruction. The funds will also allow the program to conduct marketing and recruitment efforts to ensure students are aware of changed locations and the program’s continued operation.
Literacy Advance of Houston is working to rebuild two of its sites. On September 12, 2008, Hurricane Ike swept through the Houston area, tearing off the roof of Literacy Advance’s Bay Area office and destroying everything inside. High winds damaged and water drenched the program’s Wilcrest Drive office, causing mold to grow in the interior walls and carpet. By using the grant to help fund its “Take A Hike Ike Recovery Project” to replace lost instructional materials, equipment and staff, Literacy Advance will be able to continue providing adult basic education tutoring, English as a second language instruction and family literacy programs at these two sites.
Lone Star College – North Harris Adult Education’s facility was fortunate to escape physical damages in Hurricane Ike. However, infrastructure disruptions in the area caused the program to be closed from September 11 to September 25, and its adult students subsequently lost 709 classroom hours. The college will be funded to help students make up these important hours by extending 20 English as a second language classes, 18 GED preparatory classes and seven English literacy and civics classes for two weeks beyond the spring semester’s scheduled ending date. Lone Star College provides adult education services to residents in the north Houston area.
The Lyford Even Start Family Literacy Program’s facility, located in the southern tip of coastal Texas, experienced extensive damage in Hurricane Dolly, and classrooms and instructional materials were destroyed. Fortunately, the building was insured and has been repaired. However, the childcare playground infrastructure and some contents of the building were not insured and must be repaired or replaced for the program to retain its status as a state-licensed childcare facility. This license enables the program to participate in the Texas Early Education Model Project and remain eligible for state childcare funds. The funding provided by the grants will repair the infant outdoor playground area and replace destroyed classroom furniture, toys and books.
Pregnancy & Parenting Support Center (PPSC) is a faith-based program in Galveston County that provides free educational services, practical household and infant supplies, and important encouragement to pregnant women and to mothers with children under the age of three. Hurricane Ike flooded the center with eight feet of water. Many of the mothers lost their homes and possessions and were forced to relocate within the county. By traveling throughout the Galveston area and offering “Read-To-Me” classes to mothers and their young children, the center will use the funds to re-establish contact with their former clients, as well as meet prospective clients.
The Presidio English Literacy and Civics Education Program is the only adult education program serving Presidio County, an area devastated by the disastrous flooding of the Rio Grande. In addition to flooded homes and closed workplaces, the border crossing between the United States and Mexico upon which the local economy depends was closed for three weeks. Job losses in other parts of the state have also affected this area, with people moving to join their extended family in Presidio, where jobs were already in short supply. These disruptions and demographic shifts have resulted in smaller class sizes, fewer students and low attendance at the program. Therefore, it will be funded to employ a temporary recruitment assistant to reach out to and work with former and potential students.
Region 5 Education Service Center Adult Education provides education services to adults in Jasper, Newton and Tyler Counties, an area that was still recovering from Hurricane Rita when Hurricane Ike hit in September. Preliminary damage estimates following Ike indicate disaster-related costs for this tri-county area to be over $97 million. Residents endured prolonged power outages, road closures, gas shortages and interruptions to work and school. Tyler County suffered so much damage that county officials allowed no outside traffic to pass through for several days. While the center’s buildings received only minor damage, at least 25% of its student population did not return to class after Ike. It will be funded to implement an aggressive student recruitment, outreach and retention initiative.
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