International Literacy Study scheduled for 2011 by PIAAC, OECD, US Department of Ed and NCES

International Literacy Study
scheduled for 2011 by PIAAC, OECD, US Department of Ed and NCES.

DoED is accepting public comments before Feb 26, 2010.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION –
Requests Comments about PIAAC
Federal Register: December 28, 2009 - V74, #247

Title: Programme For The International Assessment Of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2010 Field Test and 2011/2012 Main Study Data Collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before February 26, 2010.

Abstract: NCES seeks OMB approval to survey adults (16-65 years old) for the field-test administration of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in 2011. PIAAC is coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor.

PIAAC is expected to be on a 10-year cycle.
In 2011, 28 countries, including 23 OECD-member countries, plan to participate.

The U.S. PIAAC field test data collection will occur between August and November 2010. The main study will occur between September 2011 and March 2012. NCES will seek approval for the full-scale instruments in the fall of 2010.

Visit literacyspace for more information.

California Literacy Calendar: January 2010

California Literacy Calendar: January 2010

SCLLN Literacy & Library Events & Conferences
-local, California and National Conferences-
visit

Southern California Library Literacy Network
for more information

Tutor Training Workshops scrolling in left frame

Southern California Literacy Events
Jan 4: Tutor Training for Volunteer Based Literacy - OnLine
Jan 9: Learning Disabilities Adult Support Group Providence Tarzana Medical @ 10am
Jan 16: Tutor Training-Whittier Literacy Council @ 9am
Jan 18: Reading Comprehension Strategies – OnLine
Jan 20: LD from A-Z Mission Valley Library-SD @ 5pm
Jan 21: SCLLN + ProLiteracy Symposium, Cypress Branch Library @ 1-4pm
with David Harvey, President and CEO & Peter Waite, VP-ProLiteracy Worldwide
Jan 26: Learning Disabilities Parent Support Group @ The Help Group @ 7:30pm

California Literacy Events
Jan 11: S Krashen-Effective 2nd Language Acquisition, Sacramento
Jan 13: S Krashen-Effective 2nd Language Acquisition, South San Francisco
Jan 15-17: CA Kindergarten Conf, Santa Clara

San Diego County Library - Making a Difference in My Life

Making a Difference in My Life
LEARN Alive: Dec 2009/Jan 2010

My name is Esteban Ramirez, and I have been taking a Wilson Reading System class for the last 11 months. I am 29 years old, and I have dyslexia.

When I went to school, I didn’t want to read and write because the kids would make fun of me. So instead I became the big bad man at school, but it didn’t help me because all it did was make me feel bad about myself. I was feeling dumb that I was not like all the rest of the kids in my class so I missed a lot of school, and then I just stopped going.

Now I am 29 years old, and I want to make a difference in my life today by improving my reading and writing so I started to take a class with Hector with the Vista Library’s Adult Literacy Program. This is one of the best things that I have done for myself because I did not like to read before. But now because of Hector teaching me how to sound out words and break them up, I can spell and not be afraid to do this and I have more confidence.

I started the reading program in February on level 2 of the Wilson Reading System and now I am on level 7, and the whole time it has made me like to read and understand what I am reading by learning about open syllables and closed syllables, base words and suffixes.

All this I didn’t know how to break down but today I can do it. All this I didn’t learn in school but with Hector’s help I started to learn about long vowels and short vowels, which was all new to me.

And all I can do now is grow from here in my reading and writing. I think joining this program has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

Current Learner—Esteban Ramirez

Orange Co Library - Bill Campbell's Third District Report - READ Orange County

Bill Campbell's Third District Report
November 20, 2009 Volume: 7 Issue: 43

OC Public Library Honors Orange Volunteer- OC Community Resources Director Steve Franks presented a proclamation to celebrate the 100th birthday of Antonio Correa, a resident of Orange and an OC Public Libraries volunteer.

Since joining the READ/Orange County volunteers program in April of 1996 at the age 87, Antonio "Tone" Correa has contributed more than 2,700 service hours. He has tutored more than 21 adult learners, often taking on the added responsibility of working with 3 or 4 students simultaneously. To read more about Tone’s contributions, please click here. For pictures, click here.

Los Angeles Public Library - Building a More Literate L.A

Los Angeles Public Library
Library Foundation of Los Angeles
Annual Report 2008=2009


Building a More Literate L.A

Literacy not only is one of the library's core missions, but it's also a part of everything we do. Each year, the library presents nearly 18,000 public programs at our 73 libraries and literacy is a component of every one. Today, the library's literacy mission is more important than ever because 40 percent of fourth graders read below their grade level and more than 50 percent of the Los Angeles area's working-age population suffers from low literacy skills.

The library has also made a major commitment to adult literacy. This year, the library opened a new Adult Literacy Center in the Benjamin Franklin Branch. With the help of library foundation funding, the library now operates Adult Literacy Centers in 20 branches citywide. These centers offer one-on-one literacy tutoring, self-tutoring materials, and Web-based literacy programs accessed through our literacy Web site.

Illiteracy remains one of the most economically and socially crippling problems facing Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Public Library is committed to creating a more literate Los Angeles.

Investing in New Readers

Good reading habits are key to a lifetime of learning. That's why the library, with the help of library foundation funding, instills a love of reading in children through early literacy programs like Read to Me L.A. and nurtures that love of reading throughout their childhood with programs like the intergenerational GAB (Grandparents and Books) series and other programs that make reading fun.

But the library doesn't stop there. It offers children the tools they need to succeed in school, such as free online Live Homework Help, the summer reading club to build literacy skills between school terms, a special Kids' Path Web site with online resources just for youngsters, and even a summer reading camp for homeless children, Camp LAPL, and the popular Performing Books programs that introduce kids to books through music, song and dance.

These and the library's many other resources are available when kids need them most, after school and during school-term breaks. Our commitment to technology allows us to deliver many of the learning resources to children through their computer at home or school. READ MORE !

America’s Most Literate Cities: 2009

America’s Most Literate Cities: 2009
Central Connecticut State University: December 22, 2009

Drawing from a variety of available data resources, the America’s Most Literate Cities study ranks the largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the United States. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources.

Dr. John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, is the author of this study. Research for this edition of AMLC was conducted in collaboration with the Center for Public Policy and Social Research at CCSU. Overall Ranking and Rankings by Category.

Seattle is ranked the most literate city.
San Francisco is the highest ranked CA city @ 12.

California cities dominate the Bottom 20.
56 San Jose, CA
58 Riverside, CA
62 Los Angeles, CA
63 Long Beach, CA
65 Fresno, CA
66 Glendale, AZ
67 Santa Ana, CA
68 Mesa, AZ
69 Anaheim, CA
70 Arlington, TX
71 Aurora, CO
72 Stockton, CA
73 Bakersfield, CA
74 Corpus Christi, TX
75 El Paso, TX

Literacy in Libraries Around California - Project Read Learners Give Back to Community

Project Read Learners Give Back to Community
Almanac News: December 22, 2009 by Alice Bradshaw - Program Manager, Project Read-Menlo Park

Many adult learners at Project Read-Menlo Park, the adult literacy program in the Menlo Park Library, have gone far beyond studying English. They've become active members of the community.

For 25 years, Project Read has provided the only free adult literacy tutoring in the area, helping more than 3,000 adults.

After a 10-hour work day, would you study an additional three hours? Would you drive to Santa Clara from Menlo Park every month to practice public speaking in a language that is foreign to you? Would you give up two-days' pay, travel to a conference and present a workshop illustrating how low-level literacy students can improve their lives and give back to their communities? Project Read learners have done all of these.

Raul Gonzalez, became a Project Read tutor one year after he began as a learner. He attended the Adult Learner Leadership Institute (ALLI), which trains and motivates students to improve their public speaking skills and promotes civic engagement.

To date, 10 of Project Read's learners have graduated from Adult Learner Leadership Institute.

In October, at the California Library Association's annual conference in Pasadena, he was one of five students who presented a workshop on how adult learners can give back to their communities.

At Project Read, our volunteer tutors helped their adult learners do many things, such as reading to their children, getting a better job, or learning to surf the Web. Then, the students gave back in ways we never imagined! READ MORE !