A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE
May 10, 2000

Contact:
Melinda Ulloa
(202) 205-8811

IMMIGRANTS TO RECEIVE LESSONS IN ENGLISH, CIVICS, UNDER EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT GRANTS

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education has awarded 12 grants, totaling $6.9 million over two years, to test ways of better combining instruction in English and civics.

Grantees are in the states of California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The winners were selected through an extensive competitive process that generated nearly 170 applications.

"Proficiency in English and some knowledge and appreciation of what it means to be an American are tools that help immigrants enter the mainstream of our community life," said U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. ""Language and civic life are often joined in the real world and it certainly makes sense that they be joined in the instruction made available to our immigrant neighbors."

Examples include:

• Project Shine, Philadelphia: Immigrant and refugee adults over the age of 50 constitute the most rapidly growing segment of the foreign-born population. This proposed, multi-site initiative utilizes college students throughout its national network to provide individualized instruction in overcrowded ESL and citizenship classes. Students are also able to meet the needs of elders who cannot attend classes by tutoring one-on-one and in small groups throughout their communities.

• Literacy and Civics Education in New York, Elmsford, N.Y.: A consortium will establish Immigrant Learning Centers in the White Plains and New Rochelle Public Libraries. Each center will consist of a classroom and an adjoining technology lab with five computer workstations. By June 30, 2003, the centers will admit 1,560 mostly Hispanic adults and teach them English as a second language (taught at four different proficiency levels), civics, citizenship, life skills, job readiness and basic computer literacy.

• Process of English and Civics Education (PEACE) Curriculum Project, Pasadena, Calif.: California Literacy, Inc., will use its statewide network of more than 150 literacy programs and more than 300 learning centers to develop, field test, revise and distribute an English and Civics Literacy Curriculum. The content of the lesson plans will stress English literacy skills and civics education topics to cover the daily rights and responsibilities of active daily participation as a resident and citizen.

• Bright Ideas: Providing Effective Ideas to Hard-to-Serve Clients, Chicago: This project presents a unique collaboration between a coalition of community-based organizations serving ethnic groups (CLESE) and a minority-owned research and technical assistance firm specializing in hard-to-serve populations (Aguirre International). The collaboration centers on training community teachers how to teach literacy and communication skills needed for self-sufficiency, citizenship and civic engagement.

Also, beginning July 1, under the Adult Education and Literacy Act, 31 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will share in $25.5 million to teach English and civics to immigrants and others with limited English proficiency.

The state funding is based on the need for services as shown by Immigration and Naturalization Service data regarding immigrants admitted for legal permanent residence. Half of the funds, $12.75 million, is allocated to states with the largest absolute need for these services and the other half is directed to states with the largest recent growth in need for the services.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Following is a list of grantees and states receiving funds.

Process of English And Civics Education (PEACE) Curriculum Project
California Literacy, Inc., Pasadena, Calif.
Project Director: Matthew Scelza, (626) 395-9989

Providing Effective Ideas to Hard-to-Serve Clients
Coalition of Limited Speaking Elderly, Chicago, Ill.
Project Director: Rosemary Gemperle, (312) 461-0812

Illinois Connections: Civics Education for Involved Communities
The Center: Resources for Teaching and Learning, Des Plaines, Ill.
Project Director: Sue Barauski, (847) 803-3535

English Literacy and Civics Education Program
National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies, Wheaton, Md.
Project Director: Minh Day, (301) 962-7135

Basic English for Lifelong Learning and Citizenship
Catholic Social Services of Fall River, Inc., Fall River, Mass.
Project Director: Eva dos Santos, (508) 674-4681

Empowerment Voice -A Collaborative Project
Lutheran Social Services of New England, Inc., Natick, Mass.
Project Director: Kathy Shaw, (413) 787-0725

EL/Civics Education Program
Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, Bronx, N.Y.
Project Director: Jean Napper, (718) 289-5844

Literacy and Civics Education in New York
Southern Westchester BOCES, Elmsford, N.Y.
Project Director: Maria Morgan, (914) 345-8500

Farmworkers Achieving with Civics Education Services (FACES)
BOSES Geneseo Migrant Center, Mt. Morris, N.Y.
Project Director: Robert Lynch, (716) 658-7960

ESOL & Effective Citizenry Program
The Fortune Society, Inc., New York, N.Y.
Project Director: Rachel Herzing, (212) 206-7070

Project SHINE
Temple University, Philadelphia, Penn.
Project Director: Nancy Z. Henkin, 215-204-6836

ESL - CivicsLink
PBS Literacy Link, Alexandria, Va.
Project Director: Noreen Lopez, (703) 739-8600

STATES RECEIVING FUNDS BASED ON NEEDS DETERMINATION

ARIZONA	$314,380	CALIFORNIA	$7,595,940
COLORADO	$231,310	CONNECTICUT	$285,177
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	$103,743	FLORIDA	$2,167,788
GEORGIA	$355,051	HAWAII	$214,861
ILLINOIS	$1,285,269	INDIANA	$118,863
KANSAS	$102,691	LOUISIANA	$100,779
MARYLAND	$523,842	MASSACHUSETTS	$596,511
MICHIGAN	$433,975	MINNESOTA	$229,211
MISSOURI	$129,426	NEVADA	$180,279
NEW JERSEY	$1,385,458	NEW MEXICO	$127,294
NEW YORK	$3,961,865	NORTH CAROLINA	$199,470
OHIO	$258,654	OKLAHOMA	$96,828
OREGON	$225,341	PENNSYLVANIA	$441,571
TENNESSEE	$109,433	TEXAS	$2,234,983
UTAH	$102,221	VIRGINIA	$547,537
WASHINGTON	$539,629	WISCONSIN	$117,082
PUERTO RICO	$183,539

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