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Success Stories
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FREE Things to Send For...
“I have thoroughly enjoyed receiving these materials which are of great help always. All have in some way been useful.”
Maria Almanza, ESL Instructor
Carver Learning Center
ADULT LEARNER TRANSITIONS TO COLLEGE
Helping Adult Learners Make the Transition to Postsecondary Education. Alamprese, Judy (2005). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.
Adults moving from ABE programs into higher education often face considerable challenges. Many need help strengthening their academic skills, as well as developing their study and time management skills. Many need assistance navigating enrollment and financial aid systems and other aspects of college life. In response to these challenges, ABE programs within and outside community colleges have begun more actively to assist adult learners in their transition to postsecondary education. This Adult Education Background Paper discusses the challenges ABE programs must address in developing and implementing transition services, provides examples of emerging efforts, and discusses the implications of this transformation for policy and practice.
Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE/ESOL Classroom. Oesch, Martha and Bower, Carol. Boston, MA: National College Transitions Network and System for Adult Basic Education Support.
This curriculum helps practitioners equip learners with career planning skills using lessons and activities correlated to the SCANS competencies. It is designed for classroom instruction and/or counseling and geared toward all levels. Section I includes 5 lessons on The Cultural Context for Career Awareness. Section II includes 12 lessons on The Self-Exploration Process. Section III includes 6 lessons on Occupational Exploration. Section IV includes 24 lessons on Career Planning Skills. Some of the career planning skills covered in Section IV are reality checking, goal setting, problem solving, college awareness, college vocabulary, being a smart consumer of education, comparing schools, the admissions process, placement tests, navigating college, college success skills, self-advocacy, financial aid, financial planning, and planning for career and education. Appendices provide additional resources on lesson planning, the SCANS Competencies, Multicultural Career Education and Development, and Career Awareness Resources. The accompanying CD includes reproducible handouts for use with the lessons. Clearinghouse Library disseminates free copies of the print curriculum guide and CD to Texas educators ONLY. Materials are also available online:
www.sabes.org/workforce/
integrating-career-awareness.pdf
Is it Time for the Adult Education System to Change Its Goal from High School Equivalency to College Readiness? Cain, Alice Johnson (April 2003). Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.
This article was featured in the first and only issue of “Focus on Policy”, a NCSALL publication intended to translate research findings into implications for policy. According to a comprehensive research review by Portland State University’s Steve Reder, the adult education system should change its goal to successful transition to postsecondary education. Reder concludes that a high school diploma or GED is no longer sufficient for success in the workforce. This article summarizes the main points and policy implications from that review.
Mapping Your Financial Journey: Helping Adults Plan for College. National College Transition Network (2006). Greenwood Village, CO: National Endowment for Financial Education.
Booklet explains in plain language some of the basic financial ideas and skills that benefit every adult. It also covers some ways to fund adult education to make the most of their college experience. It’s not meant to include every financial issue, but rather to help adults get started on a path toward managing money that will last a lifetime. Clearinghouse Library disseminates free copies of the booklet to Texas educators ONLY. Materials are also available from the National Endowment for Financial Education. www.nefe.org
A Model for Adult Education-to-Postsecondary Transition Programs. Cain, Alice Johnson (April 2003). Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.
This article was featured in the first and only issue of “Focus on Policy”, a NCSALL publication intended to translate research findings into implications for policy. This article describes a program designed to help adult education students and GED graduates prepare to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Beginning in 2000, the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) assisted adult education program graduates to prepare for, enter, and succeed in postsecondary education. The NELRC project consists of 25 transition programs in the six New England states, serving more than 700 students in community-based organizations, public schools, community colleges, and prisons. The project is aimed at GED graduates and high school graduates who have been out of school for several years. Free instruction is provided in pre-college reading, writing, and math skills as well as computer and Internet skills. Each program collaborates with one or more local postsecondary institutions to provide mentoring and other assistance that helps non-traditional adult learners succeed.
Paying Double: Inadequate High Schools and Community College Remediation. Alliance for Excellent Education (August 2006). Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Issue Brief argues that too many students are not learning in high school the basic skills needed to succeed in college or work. As a result, the nation loses more than $3.7 billion a year: $1.4 billion to provide remedial education to those who have recently completed high school, and almost $2.3 billion the economy loses as remedial students are more likely to drop out of college without a degree, reducing their earning potential. Although this Brief addresses the failings of high school education, the issues of having sufficient skills to succeed in the transition to postsecondary education or work apply to learners working toward and earning the GED as well.
Returning to Learning: Adults’ Success in College is Key to America’s Future. Pusser, Brian, et al (March 2007). Indianapolis, IN: Lumina Foundation for Education.
Report includes findings of the Lumina Foundation’s Emerging Pathways project and discusses the need to develop the untapped potential of the 54 million working adults who have not completed a four-year degree. The report calls for colleges to, among other things, provide more convenient and affordable access for adult learners and to work to get older students out of non-credit programs and into courses that lead to degrees and certificates.
Supporting Adult English Language Learners’ Transitions to Postsecondary Education. Mathews-Aydinli, Julie (September 2006). Washington, DC: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition.
This brief focuses on one type of adult learner transition –– from adult ESL programs to postsecondary education. This transition is especially important as statistics show that the income gap between individuals with and those without postsecondary education is growing rapidly: It doubled between 1979 and 1999 and continues to grow rapidly. The majority of jobs that pay enough to support a family require skills that cannot be obtained with just a high school education. It concludes with a description of program features that administrators might consider when supporting English language learners’ transitions to post-secondary education.
Transitioning Adults to College: Adult Basic Education Program Models. Zafft, Cynthia and Kallenbach, Silja and Spohn, Jessica (August 2006). Boston, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.
Paper describes five models that the staff at the New England Literacy Resource Center at World Education, Inc., categorized through a survey of adult education centers with transition components from around the United States. This NCSALL Occasional Paper describes the five models — Advising, GED-Plus, ESOL, Career Pathways, and College Preparatory — and themes and recommendations that others contemplating adult transition services might find helpful. It also chronicles the experiences of four states (Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, and Oregon) in their efforts to institutionalize transitions for adults. Clearinghouse Library disseminates free copies of the paper to Texas educators ONLY. For online access, visit the NCSALL website. www.ncsall.net
Using Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices About the GED and Your Future. Fass, Sandra and Garner, Barbara (November 2006). Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.
This 4-hour seminar introduces teachers and tutors to “Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future” (a separate Clearinghouse Library title, also available free to Texas educators), which is a set of classroom materials designed for use in GED classrooms. The materials provide learners with practice in graph and chart reading, calculation, information analysis, and writing, while they examine the labor market, the role of higher education and the economic impact of the GED. For online access, visit the NCSALL website. www.ncsall.net
FAMILY LITERACY
Bringing Family Literacy to Incarcerated Settings: A Instructional Guide. Hudson River Center for Program Development, Inc. (2001). Glenmont, NY: New York State Education Department Office of Workforce Preparedness and Continuing Education.
Created to assist anyone interested in implementing a family literacy project within an incarcerated setting, this guide includes a description of various program designs, assessment strategies, comments from parents who have benefited, and a blueprint for implementation. Resources and sample forms are provided. Clearinghouse Library makes free hard copies available to Texas educators ONLY. For online availability, see Canada’s National Adult Literacy Database website. www.nald.ca
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel: A Scientific Synthesis of Early Literacy Development and Implications for Intervention: Executive Summary. Lonigan, Christopher J. and Shanahan, Timothy (January 2009). Jessup, MD: National Institute for Literacy and National Center for Family Literacy.
Summary of longer report of the same title serves as the basis of several powerful, research-based recommendations to the early childhood community – educators, caregivers, Head Start providers, and parents – on promoting the foundational skills of life-long literacy. “Literacy skills start developing the moment we’re born and it is literacy that enables a person’s ability to participate in society. This new report shows the scientific validity of earlier and more targeted investments in literacy development,” said NELP chairman Dr. Timothy Shanahan. Some of the key findings of the report reveal the best early predictors of literacy, which include alphabet knowledge, phonemic awareness, rapid naming skills, writing (such as writing one’s name), and short-term memory for words said aloud. Instruction on these skills may be especially helpful for children at risk for developing reading difficulties. More complex oral language skills also appear to be important. In addition to presenting findings on which early measures of a child’s skills predict later decoding, reading comprehension, and spelling achievement, this report identifies a wide-variety of interventions and instructional approaches that improve a child’s early literacy skills. NELP researchers also looked at the role of environment and at child characteristics that may link to future outcomes in reading, writing, and spelling.
Empowering Parents School Box: A Tool To Equip Parents for the School Year. U. S. Department of Education (September 2007). Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Education.
The U. S. Department of Education has developed a publication, “Empowering Parents School Box: A Tool To Equip Parents For the School Year,” that contains three booklets: What Parents Need to Know, Taking a Closer Look, and Learning Checklists; a brochure: Examples of Resources; a poster: Empowered Parents Stay Involved With School; a bookmark; and a door hanger. The school box provides tips on working with children from birth to high school; guidelines for taking advantage of free tutoring opportunities; steps for selecting a high-quality school; ways to get involved in children’s schools; information about financial aid and scholarships; and resources for improving learning. Includes success stories of schools where parent involvement made a difference. Clearinghouse Library makes free hard copies available to Texas educators ONLY. For online availability, see U. S. Department of Education website. www.ed.gov/parents/academic/involve/schoolbox/index.html
Family Math Fun! Nonesuch, Kate (2008). Duncan, BC: Vancouver Island University.
Family Math Fun is a manual of family numeracy activities, ready to use in early literacy programs, day care centres, primary grades and Adult Basic Education/Literacy programs. Patterns, recipes, and hand-outs all included. The manual includes math for the whole person: Spirit, heart, body and mind are all connected in the activities. When these are in balance, math becomes part of our whole lives, not a beast or a barrier. Activities for the whole family. Clearinghouse Library makes free hard copies available to Texas educators ONLY. For online availability, see Canada’s National Adult Literacy Database website. www.nald.ca
Involving Migrant Families in Education: ERIC Digest. Martinez, Y. G. and Velazquez, J. A. (2000). Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.
Children of migrant farmworkers, more than other children, confront a number of risk factors for school failure (Menchaca & Ruíz-Escalante, 1995). Some of these factors—including mobility, poverty, and lack of access to schooling - were recognized and described as early as the 1940s. School-level data, however, indicate that educators frequently attribute school failure to a lack of parent involvement (“parents just don’t care”). This Digest describes parent involvement in the education process from the perspective of parents and educators and offers strategies to enhance the experience of schooling for migrant students and their families.
Literacy Begins at Home: Teach Them to Read. National Institute for Literacy (2006). Jessup, MD: National Institute for Literacy.
This brochure encourages parents to teach their children to read and provides checklists of helpful practices and benchmarks by age group (toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, first graders, second graders, and third graders). It can be used with the Shining Stars booklet series (available from TCALL as a separate title). Free copies are available from edpubs@inet.ed.gov or can be downloaded from the website.
Supporting Early Literacy in Natural Environments: Activities for Caregivers & Infants and Toddlers. Syverson, Angela Notari, et al (2006). Seattle, WA: Washington Research Institute.
These materials include activities for adults to use with infant or toddler-age children children to develop early language and literacy skills. The activities address awareness of books and print, sounds and rhymes, and use of language. Parents/caregivers can use the activities during play and daily routines. The materials may be copied and shared as long as they are not sold. Clearinghouse Library makes free hard copies available to Texas educators ONLY. For online availability, see WRI website. www.wri-edu.org The WRI site also offers this resource in Spanish.
Supporting Early Literacy in Natural Environments: Activities for Caregivers and Young Children. Syverson, Angela Notari, et al (2006). Seattle, WA: Washington Research Institute.
Materials include home and community activities for adults and preschool children that encourage early language and literacy development. Each activity includes: 1) description; 2) hints for making the activity fun and developmentally appropriate; and 3) a brief self-evaluation form that cues parents and other caregivers to notice their children’s skills, and also cue adults to examine and grow their own interactions with their children. The materials are specifically designed to address the three key skills of language development, phonological awareness, and general print awareness, and are are appropriate for children with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically. Level 1 activities are designed for developmentally younger children; Level 2 activities include a stronger focus on print; and Level 3 activities focus on more complex language use. The materials may be copied and shared as long as they are not sold. Clearinghouse Library makes free hard copies available to Texas educators ONLY. For online availability, see WRI website. www.wri-edu.org The WRI site also offers this resource in Spanish.
 
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