Coalition Building, Developing Community Literacy Outcome Indicators and Measuring Progress.

1. GINNY CARMODY, LITERACY COALITION OF ONONDAGA COUNTY KATHY BYRNES, FAMILY LITERACY ALLIANCE OF GREATER SYRACUSE FRANK RIDZI, CENTRAL NEW YORK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION. JUNE 11, 2009 Buffalo, New York National Community Literacy Leadership Conference Coalition Building, Developing Community Literacy Outcome Indicators and Measuring Progress. 1 Join us in an open discussion about engaging your community, building partnerships and developing a strong community literacy outcome measurement process. Share, listen and learn from other community initiatives across the country as well.

2. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Vision 100% Literacy through 100% Community Engagement

3. – What is Literacy? The Workforce Investment Act defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society."

4. What is Community Literacy? • The community comes together around shared problem-solving and promotes the vision of 100% literacy through 100 % community engagement. • Literacy is infused into all community initiatives.

5. Why a Literacy Coalition? The magnitude of our low literacy problem is daunting. Onondaga County is estimated to have: • 34,000 adults below basic literacy levels (2009 National Center for Education statistics based on 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy research) • 47,000 adults without a high school diploma (U. S. Census, 2007)

6. Why a Literacy Coalition? Especially in these tough economic times, literacy and economic development go hand in hand. According to a recent study by the National Commission on Adult Literacy: “Education drives the economy. We need to invest in basic education and skills of our workforce to remain competitive in today’s global economy or put us in great jeopardy.”

7. Why a Literacy Coalition? Research clearly shows that the return on investment in literacy enhances the quality of life in a community. • Children are prepared for success in school. • People are employed, self-sufficient and optimistic about their future security. • Women & men are making informed decisions about civic, environmental and health issues. • Children & adults are skilled in technology & finances.

8. What has been done? • In 2004, the Community Foundation began a grantmaking initiative dubbed read ahead and laidgroundwork for literacy across the lifespan. • 7Key Indicators were developed by the Community Literacy Task Force • Linkage developed amongst literacy providers – 125 members of Family Literacy Alliance of Greater Syracuse (FLAGS)

9. What has been done? Community Planning Structure • Meetings over 5 months – Sept ‘07 to Jan ‘08 • 160+ leaders from businesses large & small, government, civic organizations, not-for-profit agencies, faith communities, education & active citizens, adult learners • Outcomes • Community Literacy Plan • Governance structure

10. What has been done? In 2008 • SU’s Community Geographer conducted a Literacy Mapping Project, surveying local literacy program providers to discover what they offered the community and what challenges they faced. • A Funding Analysis Survey identified funding opportunities that can be pursued to help providers .

11. What has been done? In 2008 • With the support of many in the community, the Community Foundation and Family Literacy Alliance of Greater Syracuse (FLAGS) worked together to form the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County.

12. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Partners • Abundant Life Christian Church • Adult Student Learners • Alliance for Quality Education • Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse (ACTS) • Allyn Foundation • Apter & O’Connor • Barnes & Noble • Beard Miller Company LLP • Bond Schoeneck & King, LLP • Boy Scouts/Hiawatha Seaway Council • C&S Worldwide Holdings, Inc. • Catholic Charities • Center for Community Alternatives • Center of New Americans • Central New York Christian Ministries • CNY Community Foundation* • Child Care Solutions* • City of Syracuse • City of Syracuse Mayor’s Office • Clear Channel Communications* • CNY Works • Colonial Laundromat • Communities United to Rebuild Neighborhoods • Community Health Foundation of Western and CNY • Community Members • Community Wide Dialogue (Interfaith Works) • Children’s Consortium • Cowley Associates* • Crouse Health Foundation • CXtec • Dr. King School • Dunbar Association, Inc.

13. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Partners • East Syracuse-Minoa Central School • Evangelical Church of God in Christ • Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield • Family Literacy Alliance of Greater Syracuse (FLAGS)* • FOCUS Greater Syracuse • Franciscan Collaborative Ministries • Gifford Foundation • Girl Scout Council of Central New York, Inc. • Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce* • Health Advancement Collaborative • Hillbrook/True Vine • Honeywell • HR 1 • Huntington Family Center • Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance • Jail Ministry • JOBSplus! • Journey 2 Jobs • Junior League of Syracuse • L & JG Stickley, Inc. • Learning Disabilities Assoc. of CNY • LeMoyne College* • Liverpool Public Library • Lockheed Martin • Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse • M&T Bank • Manufacturers Association of CNY (MACNY) • Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service* • Mercy Works: Vision Center • Messenger Consultants • Metropolitan Development Assoc. * • Midstate RAEN • Morrow Graphics, Inc.

14. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Partners • NYS Education Department-Adult and Family Literacy • NYS Alliance for Family Literacy • NYS Council on Children and Families • NYS Economic Development-Upstate • OCM BOCES* • On Point for College • Onondaga Case Management Services • Onondaga Central Schools • Onondaga Community College* • Onondaga County* • Onondaga County Executive’s Office • Onondaga County Public Library • Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office at the Justice Center • Onondaga County/Dept. of Social Services • Nonprofit Leadership Center • Pan African Community of CNY (PACCNY) • P.E.A.C.E., Inc. • Partners for Arts Education • Partners for Education & Business • People in Action • PinckneyHugoGroup • ProLiteracy* • Rebuild Syracuse, Inc. Syracuse Empire Zone • Reach CNY • Rescue Mission • Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series • Rotary Clubs • S.U. School of Education • Salvation Army • South Presbyterian Church • Southside News Stand • St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center

15. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Partners • Success By Six • SUNY Upstate Medical Center • Syracuse 20/20 • Syracuse City School District* • Syracuse Common Council • Syracuse Community Health Center • Syracuse Housing Authority • Syracuse Jewish Family Center • Syracuse University • Syracuse Women’s Commission • The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties • The Learning Place • The Post-Standard • Time Warner • Trinity Assembly of God • Tucker Missionary Baptist Church • Tully Central Schools • United Way of CNY* • University College • WCNY-TV • Westcott Community Center • Westside Community School Strategy • Westside Learning Center/Partners in Learning • WISE Center • WorkKeys Center at University College • YMCA • Youth Day BBQ-Mary Nelson • Leadership Council and Managing Partners*

16. Measure what you treasure: Increased number of incoming kindergarteners prepared for school Increased number of K-12 students meeting proficiency standards on NY State English and Language Arts (ELA) assessments Increased high school graduation rates Increased number of adult learners who make educational gain.

17. Measure what you treasure: • Increased number of children who read or are read to daily • Increased number of literacy and community programs using scientifically based practices to serve people with diverse learning needs and styles • Increased funding and community support for literacy related programs and services • Increased number of adult learners entering or retaining employment

18. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Vision 100% Literacy through 100% Community Engagement

19. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Mission Our mission, as the birthplace of the modern literacy movement, is to build and support community initiatives that improve literacy across the lifespan in Onondaga County.

20. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Goals & Objectives Advocate for Literacy • Raise awareness for community literacy and learning across the lifespan. • Actively engage in a strategic partnership with ProLiteracy to build a model program to be replicated nationwide.

21. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Advocate for Literacy • Promote strategies that support our Early Childhood Focus on Community Literacy Indicators # 1 and # 5. #1 Increased number of incoming kindergarteners prepared for school #5 Increased number of children who read at home or are read to daily

22. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Build Partnerships • Create a literate community by providing wrap around resources and support across the lifespan, linking early childhood, K-12, adult and family education, literacy and vocational providers into a cohesive collaborative network. • Support the Health Literacy Network’ goals and objectives. • Establish a Financial Literacy Network and support its goals and objectives.

23. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Build Partnerships • Support Success By 6 goal to increase the involvement of children from birth to 6 in literacy development activities so that all children enter school better able to succeed. • Strengthen and enhance the transition to kindergarten for children in Onondaga County.

24. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Build Capacity •  Support Say Yes to Education and The Westside Community School Strategy partners in efforts to increase high school and college graduation rates for Syracuse City School District youth. • Launch an adult leadership group affiliated with the Voice for Adult Literacy United for Education for adult learners in Onondaga County.

25. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Build Capacity • Ensure literacy is integrated into workforce skill development strategies through the Journey to Jobsinitiative with CNY Works, MDA’s Essential New York Initiative, and other workforce initiatives in the community.

26. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Build Capacity • Link to other networks in the community and coordinate their literacy related action plans in the LCOC’s Community Literacy Work Plan. • Meet professional development needs for literacy service providers.

27. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Inform the Community • Develop and maintain a large scale, comprehensive media campaign to build public awareness of literacy. • Raise awareness of the joy and learning of daily reading to or by a child through Read to Me campaign. Reading to young children has proven to be the single most important factor in children’s success in school.

28. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Provide Resources • Secure resources to support literacy programs in Onondaga County and the operation of the Coalition.

29. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County Evaluate and Report Progress • Determine community literacy indicators to be used by the Coalition. Strengthen the Coalition • Provide Governance Council, Managing Partners, Action Team Leaders and the general public with a professional and responsive office to serve the needs of all those engaged with the Coalition.

30. Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County “In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to their child.” --President Barack Obama, Address to Joint Session of Congress, February 24, 2009

31. The chart below, based on the work of Perkman and Spicer, presents a process theory of institutional entrepreneurship that is built on three successive phases – interactional, technical, and cultural. 31 Perkmann, Markus and André Spicer. 2007. `Healing the Scars of History': Projects, Skills and Field Strategies in Institutional Entrepreneurship Organization Studies, Jul 2007; vol. 28: pp. 1101 – 1122.

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35. The National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) was repeated in a slightly modified form in 2003 (the year the literacy initiative began). These data were used to produce county-level estimates (for level one literacy only – this is the lowest level) as of 2003 but the data were not released on the county level until 2009. 35

36. Reasons National Data Did Not Meet Our Needs 36 • While these data were helpful in gathering public support around literacy and informing people that this is a significant problem, there are several shortcomings: • They are not useful in measuring the impact of the literacy initiative in Central New York for the simple reason that they were not repeated since 2003. As a result, we have a baseline but nothing to compare it to. (also the definintions were changed between 1992 and 2003) • These data only pertain to adult literacy. In contrast, much of our grantmaking was in the area of pre-school literacy. • These data are statistical estimates based on a national survey. They are not precise enough for us to measure the impact of very local efforts.

37. A Local Survey of Kindergarten Readiness in 2005 37

38. 38 • With regard to this targeted goal the coalition has turned our recent attention to finding measures that solve the problems noted above with the NALS data. • A first attempt at this was the Apter and O’Connor Kindergarten Readiness Survey conducted by talking to childcare providers and schools. However, many schools (i.e. many in Syracuse City School District) did not answer all the questions and these were survey responses from school officials, rather than actual student assessment outcomes.

39. 39 • The coalition has forged ahead with determining more precise and consistent data regarding kindergarten readiness that we can use in strategic planning and activities. We have developed a relationship with the Syracuse City School District to receive their annual screening data. We have also surveyed all other districts to learn how they screen and we plan to request data from them as well. These data are local enough that we anticipate they will be able to demonstrate the impact of our targeted coalition activities. See 2009 Readiness Screening Data and Maps

40. Raw Number of Students Assessed as Not Ready for Kindergarten (SCSD) (i.e. assessed as pre-kindergarten level)

42. Percent of Students Assessed as Not Ready for Kindergarten (i.e. assessed as pre-kindergarten level)

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46. Tributaries/ Watershed Birth Through School (0-4) early literacy providers School Age Programming (ages 5-17) Adult and Workforce Programming (ages 18+) • Adult Providers: • BOCES • LVGS • The Learning Place • MDA Strategic Compass • Early Care Providers/ “BABY COLLEGE”: • Even Start /Head Start • Childcare Solutions • Children’s Consortium • Access Center for Families • School Age: • Westside School Strategy • Say Yes to Education • Department of Aging and Youth After School Programs • Boys & Girls Clubs Workforce and Postsecondary Education

47. Tributaries/ Watershed Birth Through School (0-4) early literacy providers School Age Programming (ages 5-17) Adult and Workforce Programming (ages 18+) Measure: #2. K-12 ELA scores Measure: #4. Adult Learners with English Proficiency #4b. Adult Learners obtaining GED Measure: #8. Literacy of Workforce supply meets level of demand Measure: #1. % kindergarteners registered & prepared for school # 5. Number of children age 0-4 read to on a daily basis Measure: #6. use of evidence based practice #7. Adequate level of funding Measure: #3. High School Graduation Rates Workforce and Postsecondary Education

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50. Adult/Workforce 50