In an effort to consolidate our communications and serve you in a more efficient manner, COABE will provide a weekly e-newsletter for members.
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Updates from the COABE Leadership
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Barbara Bush Summit
The Coalition on Adult Basic Education was pleased to play a leading role in the Barbara Bush Summit on Adult Literacy. The Summit brought together more than 200 leaders and innovators from across the country. CEO Sharon Bonney participated in the opening panel which focused on the state of adult education and the barriers and potential solutions for our field.
Sharon focused on equity issues around funding for adult education, pay for adult education teachers, and the need for a massive public awareness campaign to ensure all who need adult education services receive them.
US Chamber Think Tank
COABE leadership, President Elect Jody Angelone and Sharon, also participated in a think tank led by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation at the Citizen's Award event the following day.
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With no diploma, Maggie and AJ struggled to get by on an almost non-existent income, while caring for their daughter, Zophia. Both have learning differences which made it difficult to learn in a traditional setting. After starting in a family literacy program, they got their driver’s licenses. AJ is working full time and Maggie is getting ready to return to her job. Zophia now has a baby brother and is learning many new things in school. Maggie and AJ have learned how to read stories with their children, do art activities and feed them healthy meals and snacks. Best of all, they have persevered and earned their high school equivalency diplomas.
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Public Policy Update (11/15/19)
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Government funding under the current continuing resolution expires in just six days, on November 21. Congressional appropriators are currently working to negotiate 302(b) funding levels, which set the overall funding numbers for subcommittee bills such as Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS), which funds Adult Education programs. While appropriators publicly state that they are making progress in their negotiations, it is clear that their work will not be finished by November 21.
In order to avoid a government shutdown, Congress is expected to pass another continuing resolution that will keep the government funded through December 20. As we reported last week, President Trump is expected to sign this continuing resolution, so long as it does not prevent him from securing funding for his border wall initiative.
There are still behind the scenes conversations about the potential for a continuing resolution that extends through the new year and even as far as through the next presidential election. Congressional leaders are publicly stating that they want to avoid this outcome and ensure that the additional funding agreed to in the budget deal remains on the table.
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*If you participated in our Capitol Hill Day in September,
we urge you to reach back out to the Members of Congress that you engaged with, and remind them of the importance of adult education and of passing appropriations bills. Please tailor this letter by including relevant data and/or information on how your program is making an impact in your State.
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The United States could be losing up to $1.4 trillion in gross domestic product — or 6.7 percent potential growth in GDP — due to low rates of adult literacy, according to a new analysis provided to POLITICO.
About half of the United States is below level three, which means an individual is able to interpret and infer information from complex texts. The U.S. ranks 21st out of 29 countries on the share of population with lower than level two literacy, according to Rothwell’s presentation.
The analysis also says:
- Moving those below level two up one level would result in a $129 billion gain in GDP, or 0.6 percent growth in GDP
- Moving those below level three up one level would result in a $947 billion gain in GDP, or 4.6 percent growth in GDP
- Moving everyone up to level three would result in a $1.4 trillion gain in GDP, or 6.7 percent growth in GDP
Since 1950, the U.S. economy has expanded at or above 6.7 percent only five times, and not at all since 1984, according to the presentation.
The analysis coincides with the recent release of disappointing results in reading on the Nation’s Report Card for fourth and eighth grade students.
This market analysis conducted by the Gallup poll as reported in Politico was funded by the Barbara Bush Foundation.
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Job Posting: Adult Education Director - Interim Position
Sanford School Department is seeking an Adult Education Director for Sanford Community Adult Education (SCAE) to provide educational leadership in the areas of continuing education, high school completion, career skills training, and enrichment opportunities through the end of the 2019/20 school year. The hours for this interim position will be negotiable.
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Google Boot
Camps
This month we will hold Boot Camps in the following states: South Carolina, Nevada at the HEP Camp Conference, and Massachusetts. If you have already participated in a Google Boot Camp, you can
submit your testimonial
to be entered into our monthly raffle for $1,000!
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Google Office Hours
COABE will be holding "Google Office Hours" via Zoom once a month,
starting
on Tuesday, November 12th. Office hours will be every second Tuesday from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm EST.
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Today is the last day to apply for a Mini Grant!
50 mini grants will be awarded. The mini grant will partially defray conference registration costs by $350 to attend the COABE 2020 National Conference. All mini grant winners must complete a conference evaluation and provide a testimonial after attending the conference. Deadline is November 15th, 2019
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This opportunity is generously provided by
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Exhibitor Registration is now open!
This year's conference will offer over 350+ topical conference and pre-conference workshops, and we expect approximately 2,000+ registrants from across the country.
Space is limited and will sell out quickly. Booths will be assigned with priority given to vendors providing sponsorship first, then by VIP vendor status, and lastly, based upon chronological receipt of registrations.
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Seamless: Soft Skills in the Classroom and Beyond
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Date: Monday, November 18
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EST)
Presenter: Susan Roberts
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Sponsored by BurlingtonEnglish
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Call for Articles
The next edition of the COABE Journal will focus on workforce development and workforce literacy, and we would invite our membership to consider submitting articles. View the
submission guidelines
on the COABE journal page.
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COABE Journal Special Edition: Leadership
In this issue, we are exploring leadership. We are grateful that so many of you reflected on how leadership manifests itself in your work—in research, in partnership, in professional development, and in your classrooms. As you read these remarkable pieces, you won’t be surprised to learn that adult education leadership is collaborative, distributed, and egoless.
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If you do not have your membership number, please contact the membership office.
You will need your membership number to access all membership benefits.
Contact
[email protected]
between the hours of 9am-5pm EST if you have any questions or need assistance.
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Our mission is to inspire educators so adults succeed and communities thrive.
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