What We Do
Preconference Sessions
Half-Day Sessions • Full-Day Sessions
Half-Day Sessions 9 a.m. – noon
PC4
Board, Brand, Bonds, and Bottom Line: Making the 4 Bs of Nonprofit Leadership Work for You
Diane J. Rosenthal, Literacy Volunteers—Stamford/Greenwich, Inc.
The repercussions of the economic downturn require nonprofit leaders to make tough decisions and take forceful actions to keep their organizations viable and dynamic while at the same responding to the increasing demand for services. This session will help senior managers and decision makers gain a deeper understanding of the strategies and skills needed to react early and proactively, to fortify their leadership, and to identify and address their organizations strengths and challenges. You will assess your own environment and create an action plan that will enable you to enhance your operations through board development, communications and marketing, strategic alliances, branding, and management of the bottom line. Together we will transform the current economic challenges into opportunities for creating organizations that are likely to come through this turbulent period more resilient than they were before and prepared to do business in a world forever changed.
About the presenter
Diane J. Rosenthal has been the executive director of Literacy Volunteers–Stamford/Greenwich, Inc. (LVSG) since 2001. LVSG is currently recognized as the top-performing volunteer-based adult education program in Connecticut, based on student outcomes. Prior to joining LVSG, Rosenthal was the executive director for the What Works Literacy Partnership, a nationwide initiative funded by the Wallace Reader’s Digest Foundation, designed to facilitate adult education programs in developing their accountability and outcomes management systems.
Theme
• Leading and Managing
Target Audience
• Program Leaders/Directors
Half-Day Sessions 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m
PC5
Teaching Basic Skills in a Way that is Empowering, Motivating, and Relevant
Cynthia Peters, World Education
In this dynamic, hands-on, interactive session, Cynthia Peters will model lessons that teach basic skills while investigating social issues. Explore a wide range of themes (such as advocacy, health, fashion, and the environment) and discover how these rich content areas can provide an empowering and motivating context for learning basic skills. You will have the opportunity to try out exercises alone and in small groups and will leave with multiple ready-to-use lesson plans that teach reading, writing, numeracy, and critical thinking.
About the presenter
Cynthia Peters is the editor of The Change Agent. She has also taught in ABE, transitions, and ESOL. Her workshops on using socially relevant content in the classroom have been well received at national professional development conferences including COABE, NCTN, and ProLiteracy, and at numerous state conferences.
Themes
• Instruction for Adult Literacy, Basic Education, Workforce Training, and/or English Language Learners
• Literacy, Social Justice, and Social Change
• Raising Awareness/Advocacy
Target Audiences
• Instructional Staff and/or Volunteers
• Program Leaders/Directors
• Students/Learners
• Tutor/Teacher Trainers
PC7
GED® Test Prep—The Missing Piece of the Puzzle
Caren Van Slyke, Learning Unlimited, and Todd Evans, ProLiteracy
GED students need the same targeted test preparation as those who take special classes for the SAT, ACT, and other standardized tests. In this session, you will learn how to develop a “test prep” approach to augment your content instruction, help students develop a “mastery mindset,” use teaching strategies and activities that help students build the higher-order thinking skills they need to pass the GED Tests, and coach students in time and stress management techniques. You will receive a copy of the GED® Test Prep™ curriculum, work with various interactive classroom activities, and review specialized GED Test preparation materials available from New Readers Press.
About the presenter
Caren Van Slyke is the founder of Learning Unlimited. She has been a GED educator, materials developer, and teacher trainer for more than 30 years. She presents at state and national adult education meetings on successful strategies for passing the GED Tests. Van Slyke is also the developer and manager of the New Readers Press GED Teacher Resource Center.
Todd Evans is the technology and product training coordinator for ProLiteracy. Evans has been with ProLiteracy since 1995. He works with ProLiteracy and local literacy programs to use technology to provide services to the literacy field and provides staff development training in effective teaching techniques and use of instructional materials published by New Readers Press.
Theme
• Instruction for Adult Literacy, Basic Education, Workforce Training and/or English Language Learners
Target Audiences
• Instructional Staff and/or Volunteers
• Program Leaders/Directors
PC8
Diversifying Your Funding
Joyce Whidden, Adult Literacy League
In tough economic times, programs with broad bases of funding are more likely to thrive. This session will focus on tapping all the funding resources in your community and ensuring that no one funder is providing too much of your literacy organization's revenue. The focus will be on expanding resources from individuals, corporations, foundations, faith-based and civic organizations, workplace campaigns, and government funding at all levels. Fee for service, social entrepreneurship, and special event fundraising will also be included.
About the presenter
Joyce Whidden has served as the executive director of the Adult Literacy League for 17 years. Her agency is an accredited affiliate of ProLiteracy and was one of the first accredited programs in the nation. She has extensive experience as a trainer in the areas of fundraising, strategic planning, and board development and has trained at both state and national conferences.
Theme
• Leading and Managing
Target Audience
• Program Leaders/Directors
Full-Day Preconference Sessions 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
PC9
Integrating Career Awareness and Planning to Enhance College and Career Pathways Instruction
Sandy Goodman, NCTN/World Education
Learn how to motivate students and provide them with tools for reaching their career and educational goals. In this workshop, you will explore the Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE & ESOL Classroom (ICA) curriculum guide. You will discuss how to integrate this career planning process into your program design and curriculum, and you will receive classroom-ready lessons and counseling tools from the ICA guide. This workshop is designed for instructors, counselors/advisors, and administrators.
About the presenter
Sandy Goodman is the director of Career Pathways for the National College Transition Network (NCTN) and the LINCS National Career Awareness project coordinator. She is the lead author of NCTN’s College Transition Toolkit and editor of the Integrating Career Awareness (ICA) curriculum guide. She is leading the LINCS National Career Awareness Project, a professional development initiative to prepare educators to incorporate career awareness and planning into their instruction and counseling activities.
Themes
• Instruction for Adult Literacy, Basic Education, Workforce Training, and/or English Language Learners
• Building Career Pathways and Improving Transitions
Target Audiences
• Instructional Staff and/or Volunteers
• Program Leaders/Directors
• Students/Learners
• Tutor/Teacher Trainers
PC10
Building and Strengthening Program Elements to Support College and Career Readiness for Adult Students
Priyanka Sharma, NCTN/World Education
Come explore how your program can better support college and career readiness for adults. This workshop will focus on adult students’ barriers to postsecondary education and on program models and practices that help them overcome those barriers. We will identify ways to build on your program’s existing components to support college transitions. You will receive the College Transition Toolkit and learn how to use it to make a difference in your own program. Participants in this workshop will also receive other resources developed by the National College Transition Network. This workshop is geared toward program coordinators and administrators.
About the presenter
Priyanka Sharma is the coordinator of the National College Transition Network (NCTN). Her experience includes presenting at regional and national conferences around college transition strategies and resources, financial literacy/financial aid, and supporting programs as they set up or integrate a transition component. Her interests include strengthening organizational capacity, program development, and facilitating access and success in postsecondary education.
Theme
• Building Career Pathways and Improving Transitions
Target Audiences
• Program Leaders/Directors
• Tutor/Teacher Trainers
• Community Liaisons
PC14
Trainer Tune-Up
Roberta Reiss, Collier County Literacy Program
Sharpen your skills at this pre-conference workshop for new or experienced volunteer trainers. Topics include: Designing High-Quality Tutor Training; Managing the Group Process; Getting More from Your Ice-Breakers; Training Evaluations: Design, Discuss and Apply; and Free and/or Online Resources for Tutor Training.
About the presenter
Roberta Reiss has been a ProLiteracy Certified Trainer since 2001. As the literacy program coordinator for the Collier County Library system in southwest Florida, she trains volunteer tutors throughout the state. She serves as a trainer mentor for the Florida Literacy Coalition and moderates the ProLiteracy Trainer discussion list. She co-designed a Train-the-Trainer course for the state of Florida and is currently working on an online tutor training program.
Theme
• Instruction for Adult Literacy, Basic Education, Workforce Training, and/or English Language Learners
Target Audience
• Tutor/Teacher Trainers
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