Core Activities and Projects    Annual Report    Support Literacy BC
Board of Directors    Staff    Membership
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CORE ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS

| READNow Line | Raising Public Awareness |
| Influencing Public Policy | Supporting Learners | Family Literacy |
| Professional Development | Regional Coordination | Research |
| Publications | Electronic Conferencing | Resource Centre |

READNow LEARNING HOTLINE

Literacy BC maintains a provincial toll free number to respond to requests for information about literacy. Through our ReadNow Line , we provide:

• A sensitive referral service to provide British Columbians with details on how to access literacy programs and resources

• Interpretation services should be able to accommodate Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Farsi, French, Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese, and more

• Referrals for anyone who wants to volunteer for literacy in their community

READNow Learning Hotline

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RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS

One of our key activities is to raise public awareness about literacy. We organize:

• Conferences, presentations and workshops for educators, business, labour and government

• Province-wide distribution of posters and information packages

• High-profile events such as the PGI Golf Tournament for Literacy BC, International Literacy Day, The Word on the Street Festival, Vancouver Sun Raise-a-Reader Campaign and Family Literacy Day/Week Campaign

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INFLUENCING PUBLIC POLICY

Literacy BC's goal is to keep literacy on the public policy agenda. We monitor educational and social policy in BC and nationally and consult with government about the impact of policy on literacy education and the lives of literacy learners.

Our activities include:

• Consultation with government representatives in the areas of education, social services, health, criminal justice, human resource development, children and families

• Regular dissemination of information kits and releases to key decision makers including MLAs and MPs

• Participation in provincial and national policy consultations and committees

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SUPPORTING LEARNERS

Literacy BC supports adult learners as one of our key activities and guiding principles. We facilitate the involvement of learners in our organization, provide information and referral to programs through our READNow Line, and administer a student bursary fund.

We support learner involvement in our organization in the following ways:

• To ensure learners' voices are heard, four Directors of the Literacy BC Board must be learners

• A learner representative is appointed by Literacy BC to sit on the External Review Committee of the BC Adult Literacy Cost-shared Program

• A learner representative is appointed by Literacy BC to sit on the Learners Advisory Network of the Movement for Canadian Literacy

We support access to and participation in literacy and adult basic education programs through our READNow Line, a confidential and sensitive information and referral service for:

• Adults who want to find out where and how they can improve their literacy skills or upgrade their education.

• Parents who want to assist in their children's schooling and participate in their children's learning.

We support participation in continuing education for adults by administering the PACE Bursary Fund, which provides financial assistance to part-time adult learners in BC and the Paul Gallagher Community Access Fund which provides community based learning centres with financial resources to assist adult students with emergency needs.

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FAMILY LITERACY

Literacy BC is the lead provincial organization responsible for family literacy development and coordination in BC.

Our family literacy activities include:

• Training and support to family literacy programs and practitioners

• Raising awareness about family literacy through events such as Family Literacy Week, Word on the Street and providing forums and workshops

• Generating resources for local family literacy programs

• Researching, developing and distributing best practices for family literacy programs

• Partnerships with other related organizations and supporters to build a community of people who support family literacy

• Leadership in promoting an integrated services approach to family literacy that involves parents and children learning together

• Building a network for practitioners, volunteers and agencies involved in family literacy

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Literacy BC provides training and professional development for the literacy community at the regional and provincial levels. Our training and professional development activities include:

• Bi-annual Summer Literacy Institutes (SLI) on topics of interest to the literacy field. This event offers training and professional development for literacy/ABE practitioners, regional literacy coordinators, community literacy practitioners, social service agencies, researchers and educators

• Orientation, training and resources for all new literacy program coordinators

• Regional training events which focus on identified professional and skill development needs within an particular region

• Bi-annual provincial professional development, training and networking events for community literacy program coordinators and practitioners.

• Workshops in a variety of content areas

• Electronic conferences on The Hub, the BC literacy electronic network and conferencing service.

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REGIONAL COORDINATION

Literacy BC works with 13 Regional Literacy Coordinators to implement literacy initiatives in every region of the province.

The role of a Regional Literacy Coordinator is to:

• Strengthen and support regional literacy networks

• Coordinate regional professional development training for literacy and ABE practitioners and volunteer tutor program coordinators

• Provide consultation, information and support to literacy and ABE practitioners, volunteers, students and community members

• Build awareness about literacy within community agencies and organizations

Literacy BC's Regional Literacy Coordinators

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RESEARCH

Since 1996, when we undertook our first research study, research has played an increasingly important role in Literacy BC.

To date we have completed three independent research studies:

• It Guided Me Back to Learning: A Longitudinal Study of Calls to the Literacy BC Helpline

• The Big Picture Up Close: Literacy and Learning in BC, Outcomes of a Province-Wide Consultation

• Learners and Leaders, Literacy and Learning, An Action Research Study

In partnership with ABC CANADA, we co-authored a national study on participation in literacy education:

• Patterns of Participation in Canadian Literacy and Upgrading Programs: Results of a National Follow-up Study

The New School @ Surrey - As of July 2003, Literacy BC and the Surrey School District have completed the first year of the two-year research and demonstration phase of their project to identify, develop, document, and disseminate effective practices in youth literacy. The project is co-funded by the National Literacy Secretariat and the Crime Prevention Centre. Initial findings are quite positive and point to an effective strategy for increasing the literacy skills of at-risk youth, fostering their social development, and assisting them to succeed in high school.

Other research-based documents created by Literacy BC include:

Literacy and Technology - an analysis of learning technologies in the adult literacy field

Other initiatives to support literacy research include:

• Professional development opportunities in research through the Literacy BC Summer Literacy Institute, conferences and The Hub

• Support for the development of a research in practice network in BC and for Literacies, a national literacy research journal

• Presentations and workshops on research

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PUBLICATIONS

Literacy BC publishes a quarterly newsletter called Imprints, and a regular eBulletin.

We also publish a variety of fact sheets about literacy and learning.

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ELECTRONIC CONFERENCING

In partnership with Capilano College, Literacy BC delivers an electronic conferencing service for the literacy community, called The Hub. The Hub contributes to growth and development in the literacy field by reducing isolation and providing:

• Easy access to information and resources

• More frequent and cost effective communication

• Professional development and training opportunities

• Innovative ways of networking and building community

Literacy BC is also a partner in the First Steps project, designed to look at the feasibility of creating a national literacy electronic network and conferencing service for the Canadian literacy community.

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RESOURCE CENTRE

Literacy BC houses a unique and exemplary collection of over 3000 literacy-related resources, including books, videos, software, cassette tapes, vertical files and other materials.

This collection is accessible free of charge to the general public. To request resources, check our on-line catalogue or call us at 1-888-READ-234 or send an email to library@literacy.bc.ca.

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