Dear Colleagues, 

As you know, funders in both the public and private sectors are placing
heightened expectations upon people who manage literacy and adult education
programs. The funders want to know:
o	Are programs able to demonstrate real learning gains among students?
o	Are programs worthy of the trust placed in them by community
partners, business volunteers, students, and other stakeholders?
o	Do program personnel have the information they need to improve their
programs and allocate precious resources wisely?

ProLiteracy, in partnership with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, is
working to help program managers acquire the knowledge and tools they need
to answer questions like these. This new, three-year project is called the
Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Initiative. Together,
we will 1) identify successful accountability practices being used in a
variety of literacy and adult education programs, and 2) use the practices
to develop and deliver training modules and print resources to improve
performance accountability. 

Right now we are looking for up to eight exemplary literacy and adult
education programs to serve as models as we develop the first training
module: Data Collection and Management. You may be part of a program that
does a good job collecting and managing data. If so, please consider
nominating your program. If you know of another program that would be a good
model, please forward this message to that program's director. We would also
appreciate your help in disseminating this call for model programs
throughout your networks. The nomination information and form may be
downloaded from the ProLiteracy Web site by using the following links:

·	www.proliteracy.org/downloads/guidelines.doc
·	www.proliteracy.org/downloads/application_form.doc

It is important to act quickly, as our deadline for accepting nominations
via e-mail or mail is 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006. You may fill
out and submit the nomination form on paper or online. See the form for
detailed instructions.

Model programs will receive a $1,500 stipend, increased visibility, and an
opportunity to make a positive impact on the adult education and literacy
field.

We appreciate your help in this critical endeavor and hope to hear from you
by Nov. 8.

If you have any questions, please contact me via e-mail at
mdaniels at proliteracy.org.

Thank you,

Melanie Daniels, Project Manager
Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Initiative
ProLiteracy Worldwide
1320 Jamesville Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13210
mdaniels at proliteracy.org
http://www.proliteracy.org