In the last issue of Literacy Connections, Laubach members were invited to participate in transforming Laubach Literacy of Canada. In June 2003, the membership of Laubach Literacy of Canada gave a resounding vote of support to the Board of Directors when the motions presented by the Blueprint Committee were accepted. As president, I am extremely grateful to Heather Harris and the Blueprint Committee for their dedication and hard work in moving the Strategic Plan forward in a timely manner.

As with all change, decisions have to be made which are not always popular, but necessary. As incoming president, the board and I were faced with a huge deficit budget (AGM financial report is available from the Development Office). To reduce the deficit and to start moving forward to a new Laubach Literacy, LLC’s National Board decided to initiate change in areas approved by the LLC membership at the June 2003 AGM. LLC staff positions were eliminated including the Director of Programs, Director of Marketing and Field Services Workers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island. All other expenses have been greatly reduced and the Board is approaching the future with confidence.

As we move toward a completely revised and revitalized organization, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff, tutors, trainers, students, provincial and local board volunteers and all other members who have contributed to making Laubach Literacy of Canada a major voice for literacy in Canada. I am confident we will move forward stronger and more focused, as we partner with other groups to ensure a more literate Canadian society.

One of the new Board’s first initiatives was to complete the hiring process for the position of Executive Director. Some of you have already been introduced to Gay Hamilton who came on board on September 8^th.

Gay Hamilton Executive Director

Gay brings ten years of experience in the non-profit sector to LLC. She spent five years advocating for food banks in Quebec and across Canada and received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for her efforts. She also worked in regional economic development with the Community Futures Development Corporation before making the jump to a national organization. Welcome aboard, Gay!

Laubach Literacy of Canada’s Laubach Enhanced Training System (LETS) /
Laubach Literacy Ontario: Practitioner Training Strategy Phase 3 Update

Laubach Literacy Ontario (LLO) is currently managing Phase 3 of the multi-year Practitioner Training Strategy Project. In response to the changing needs of its diverse membership, Laubach Literacy of Canada had also been working to enhance its training system. Much of the work that needed to be done nationally by LLC for the "Laubach Enhanced Training System" (LETS) was already being done provincially by LLO mainly through Phase 2 of this project. Therefore, LLO and LLC established a partnership in January 2002.

The draft strategy has gone through both a provincial and a national consultation. Some initial fieldtesting of the strategy has been taking place in Ontario and other provinces for the last 12 months. The standards and other certification guidelines were revised in response to the feedback received. The Training and Certification (T&C) Committee of LLC approved the draft strategy in June 2003. The documentation will also include a communication piece to give a detailed explanation of each section.

The new system has been devised to give each trainer and council the ability to add relevant topics while still maintaining a national quality standard. Each section contains a list of relevant learning outcomes, to help trainers ensure that each section is covered adequately.

To support the new standards, workshop modules on the Laubach teaching principles and evaluating the effectiveness of the workshop design are in development. More modules may be developed according to needs.

A package of information on the new standards and the implementation process will be sent to all active trainers by LLC and to Ontario councils by LLO this Fall. Trainers are asked to work with their council’s student-tutor coordinators to use the new standards for designing tutor training during the next year, and to provide feedback to their Provincial Training Officer (PTO) on using the LETS guidelines.