Please introduce yourself

Submitted by Paul Rogers on Sat, 05/28/2016 - 08:17
  • 2097 Views
  • 5 Comments

Hello everybody in the Nonformal group,

As this group grows, it would be very helpful if you could take a few moments to introduce yourselves and tell us what experience you have with programs in Nonformal adult education settings. I will start.

I have taught ESL in the following learning centers:

  1. Public libraries
  2. Non-profit community service centers
  3. Low-income housing agencies
  4. Community colleges
  5. Elementary schools
  6. People’s homes
  7. And, currently, online with WhatsApp.

My program is based on Pumarosa.com, which is now a non-profit educational service. My intention this year is to write grants in order for me to promote and install my program in agencies like those above.

OK, I have had my say, now it’s your turn!

  

Comments

Greetings One and All. I have worked in a number of nonformal settings (churches, community centers, libraries, private homes, and more) in the US and Brazil  in the past, as a supervising tutor trainer for Laubach Literacy. Among other roles, I currently work as a  Educational Consultant and Teacher Trainer to Adult Ed Programs in the Four Corners region. I work most closely with the Unlimited Learning Center, a non-profit that receives some federal funding, but most of its services are funded by other grants and donations. Programs in this rural region serve a vast rural, multi-cultural population that include three Reservations. Challenges they face include the following:

  1. Funding to administer and manage services
  2. Lack of qualified instructors and lack of $ to pay instructors enough to keep them once they are hired. In Cortez, CO, the programs recruits teachers, trains them, starts them on the state certification track, only to lose them as soon as higher-paying jobs or jobs with benefits come up. .
  3. Lack of collaboration among educational providers in CO who tend to compete rather than collaborate on most occasions. Programs collaborate with two colleges across the border (UT and NM), but the state refuses to approve funding for student scholarships because services are not in the state.

The Montezuma/Dolores Programs in Cortez, has state-of-the-art video conferencing equipment. It broadcasts Utah State U-Eastern credit courses to students in the area, but has been unable to broadcast Adult Ed instruction widely. To stay open, it offers many CTE courses onsite, but that doesn't pay for administration, overhead, and management. It also has started offering live-video, high-school courses to remote areas in Alaska. Every year, it threatens closure, and this year, the director has had to dig into her own pocket to pay teachers through the summer. Most services are closed in the summer due to the high cost of power to keep equipment going.

I wonder what other programs out there face similar challenges.  Leecy

Leecy, thank you for this. In my research I have found many articles that call for cooperative efforts on the part of adult educators, and which offer funding opportunities for these efforts, principally in the area of incorporating technology into adult education programs. 

Only with technology can we reach the vast majority of adults who need our services. Programs are being cut while waiting lists are lengthening.

The only thing preventing different agencies from working together to meet these needs is - ?

In the meantime, Pumarosa is now a program of THE STARFALL EDUCATION FOUNDATION, a 501C(3) non-profit, and I am in the process of researching grants. If anyone is interested in more information, please email me.

Paul Rogers

pumarosa21@yahoo.com

  

Paul, in answer to your question, "The only thing preventing different agencies from working together to meet these needs is - ?"  In this area, competition for funds to serve adults is the major issue. Another is funding to run programs, using technology or not. No matter what the nature of the service, it must be administered, and those funds are rare if available at all.

If you come across operational money, please do share.

Members here, what issues are you facing as nonformal programs? Let's start a list! Leecy

Leecy, you mention two problems in getting funds, both of which can be solved by applying to non-profit educational foundations (see link below).

Educational Foundations are not as rigid as governmental agencies, and the applicant can ask for funds to cover anything. At the same time, it is important to have an ongoing fund-raising program that includes solicitation for donations, fund-raising events, etc. We can learn a lot by how a successful political campaign is run.

At the same time, incorporating the use of technology to the fullest extent, especially Mobile Learning, should reduce operational costs, and be attractive to potential funders.

Forming Alliances or Coalitions can start with those agencies that see the need for it. There should be no problem in working closely with libraries, for example.

In my opinion an Alliance probably should begin by focusing on programs that offer:

1. Native language literacy

2. Bilingual ESL for beginning students

3. ESL and English for GED

4. Citizenship

5. Pre HS equivalency

6. GED

7. Miscellaneous classes such as studying for the driving test, job search, etc.

Recruiting, assessing and placing students can be done effectively in a collaborative effort, using the model of the Philadelphia Literacy Alliance.

Well, for my part, I am now in the process of seeking funding for my mobile ESL program and in the process I am making a list of foundations that provide support for adult education in general. Perhaps we can make a master list and sponsor some grant-writing workshops on Google Hangouts.

List of grants:

http://www2.cpsb.org/Scripts/abshire/grants.asp