Youth in ABE. It's a constant topic of conversation. Now you can read
about it, too, in the newest issue of "Focus on Basics," available
on the NCSALL web site at http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu (Scroll down on
the home page and click on the Newest FOB box)

How do you serve youth well without sacrificing the quality of service
to older students? Missouri literacy program director Janet Geary
participated in a professional development program to learn an approach
to educating youth called youth cultural competence. Janet writes
candidly about the trials of implementation from her perspective as a
program director. The changes her GED program made have resulted in
increased retention and positive outcomes. Read about the professional
development model and the theory behind Youth Cultural Competence as
well.

Young dropouts need to improve their basic skills because skills matter
to their economic futures, writes NCSALL researcher John Tyler. He
shares findings from his study that examined the impact of literacy
skills on earnings.  Jennifer Roloff Welch and Kathrynn Di Tommaso
examine how many youth are in the ABE system and why. It's a
substantial number and may well grow over the next few years.

Oregon's Virginia Tardaewether sees no reason to separate younger and
older students. What better place to learn to live together, she
suggests, than in the ABE classroom? Students of all ages mix
successfully in a high school for beginning English for speakers of
other languages in Fairfax, Virginia. Originally established for young
immigrants, the program now enrolls students of all ages. 
In South Dakota, Lara Ann Frey and Yvonne Lerew found it necessary to
create a special class for young immigrants who had age-specific
psychosocial as well as language learning needs. Separating students by
age works for a community college in New Mexico as well. Teachers
Lilia-Rosa Salmon and Anastasia Cotton find that both the younger and
older students now feel freer to address age-specific concerns within
their classrooms and their academics have benefited as well.
To read all of these stories and more, click on
http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu/fob/ 
Barb Garner
Editor, Focus on Basics

Barbara Garner
Senior Program Officer         email bgarner at worlded.org      World Education                   phone (617) 482-9485 44 Farnsworth Street             fax  (617) 482-0617   Boston, MA  02210