New to the Board - Chelsey Friedt, Director

I hope you’re all having a great week!

I joined the Community Learning Network Board this fall. With a bit of confidence and a whole lot of nerves I stepped in, and what I found was surprisingly wonderful. I’m sure that many of us in the CALP world have served on boards. They all have their own life, their own personality and their own challenges. Some boards are delightful, full of people who become our friends, and others could be found with their profile in the dictionary next to “dysfunctional” or “exhausting.” I joined the board on a Zoom format run very professionally by both Colleen Thiessen and Lisa Dickner.

I had little to no relationship with any of the members on the board. While my experience with Lisa had been very warm in the past, nerves were eating me alive as I wondered “what did I just sign up for? Am I up to the task? Is there room for an overly social butterfly?” All through that meeting I had computer issues, with my profile picture flashing on and off. I stumbled through an introduction about myself with imposter syndrome definitely kicking into high gear! As the meeting came to a close, I took a deep breath and joined the next one. It was there that I found myself in an online group of friends – warm, friendly and seriously efficient.

This November we had a meeting in Edmonton. As I took in the room and the interactions of the board members my biggest take-away was that this is a group of women who champion one another. They challenge each other and they encourage questions and opinions. They are open to change and learning from one another. I walked away from the meetings feeling challenged, encouraged and empowered.

I know there will be much to learn from each of these women who have much more experience in the Adult Learning world than I do at this point - and I am looking forward to all of it. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be involved with such an amazing organization!

Announcing Our First Symposium 2023 Keynote Presenter

We are excited to announce that we have confirmed our first keynote presenter, Kim Strobel. Kim will be presenting a virtual keynote presentation on May 9th.

Kim Strobel is an internationally-known motivational speaker for schools, businesses, and organizations, and travels the globe sharing the impact of happiness on well-being and reaching for more fulfillment in our lives.

Kim is a powerhouse, influencer, consultant, and happiness coach, whose work shapes the way schools, businesses, and organizations reclaim their happiness, ignite their passion, and lead with purpose. She focuses on helping them create what she calls "work-life flow," which means we achieve high levels of fulfillment in ALL areas of our lives. 

Companies like Google, The Department of Education, International Tech, Schools, Organizations, and Corporate companies call on Kim to help them prioritize their health and well-being so they can overcome burnout and create a life of meaning, passion, and purpose from the INSIDE-OUT. 

As a former teacher, curriculum director, and now happiness and leadership coach, her goal is to inspire you by providing thought-provoking research, heartwarming stories, and simple action steps that give you life-changing results.

During her 25-year education career, she partnered with people at all levels to implement innovative and inspirational practices in the classroom, increase academic achievement, and create positive school-wide climates.

She also consults with businesses and organizations on creating happiness and well-being habits while creating the mind shifts that improve the culture and performance of organizations.

Keynote Topic Area: "Remembering Your Why - Feel Ignited Regarding Why You Do What You Do."

Watch for more information on our other keynotes, how to register, and all the fun and exciting events planned for the Literacy & Learning Symposium 2023 in the new year! 

And remember - SAVE THE DATES!

Literacy & Learning Symposium 2023

May 9-10th (Virtual) & May 11-12th (In-person in Edmonton)

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

Check out the events and start dates for December’s and January’s PD opportunities for CALP staff, volunteers, board members, instructors and facilitators. Follow the links for more details. Register now to ensure your spot!

Jan 17 (11 Tuesdays) Holding Safer Spaces Holding Space, as defined by Heather Plett, is “Being willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they are on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome.” Discover approaches and practices for holding space for your own personal and professional growth.

Jan 17  CALP Guidelines 101 This introductory workshop demystifies the CALP Guidelines to give you clear information about CALP programming, operational and financial requirements. With a strong understanding of the CALP Guidelines and requirements, your CALP will be well-positioned to make the greatest impact in the lives of adult learners in your community. CALP Guidelines 101 is an introductory workshop for new CALP staff, board members and staff looking for a refresher in the CALP Guidelines.

Jan 18 Staff Picks - Opening Doors: A Literacy Audit Tool Kit Think of the people who use your organization’s services. What literacy tasks are they expected to perform? How can you help them feel more comfortable accessing your services? Join Rebecca Still to learn more about completing the literacy audit checklists in Opening Doors and the practical suggestions for improving your service delivery to engage and retain the people you serve.

Jan 23 New CALP Staff Webinar If you are new in your role in CALP, and still looking to get the lay of the land, please join us to connect with your colleagues from across the province.

Jan 23 NEW CALP Community Talks About…Finding Learners Let’s talk. CLN is creating a monthly space for a conversation highlighting one topic that is timely, responsive and relevant to your work. Each topic will be important, impactful and/or actionable because it will be drawn directly from the experiences and wisdom from the field. Regardless of whether you are new or experienced CALP staff your perspective is welcome, and we hope you can join us next month to discuss “Finding Learners.”

Jan 24 Plain Language Workshop When you use plain language, people can understand your message the first time they see or hear it.  In this workshop, you’ll learn the principles of plain language and be given an opportunity to apply these principles to your own organization’s resources and materials.

Jan 25 (3 Wednesdays) CALP Essentials for Family Literacy Programs (Required Training) In this participatory training, CALP-funded staff will learn what family literacy programming is, how well suited it is to the needs of adult foundational learners and their families, and which practices support effective CALP-funded family literacy programs. This is a CALP required training for organizations who deliver family literacy programming.

Jan 26 (5 Thursdays) Introduction to Adult Foundational Learning (Required Training) Mornings  and Afternoons This CALP required training aligns with the Government of Alberta Community Adult Learning Program (CALP) Guidelines and is intended to give CALP-funded practitioners fundamental knowledge for supporting adult foundational learners in communities across Alberta.

Jan 31 Indigenous Literacy Assessment  Join LeeAnne Ireland of the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY) to learn about the findings from the Indigenous Literacy Assessment project. LeeAnne will be sharing insights for practical and program strategies for CALPs working with Indigenous learners that were informed by learners themselves. Following the release of the report, USAY set to work implementing these strategies in their literacy program in the fall of 2022. LeeAnne will be reflecting on the impact these strategies have had with the learners in their program.

Don’t miss this opportunity!

One-on-One Mentoring for CALP Staff – Back By Popular Demand!!

For the second year in a row, CLN is pleased to provide customized mentoring to CALP staff. If you are looking to build your CALP programming in directions that meet the learning needs of your community and you are looking for new ideas, advice or to get input on initiatives you’ve started, or strategies for accessing additional funding, then you can book up to an hour with a mentor. Jane Brenner has an extensive background in community needs assessment, accessing funding, and managing projects to meet the foundational learning needs through CALP.

Future Professional Development Opportunities

Watch for these popular trainings over the coming year! Registration opens the first week of the month prior to the start date (e.g., registration opens in December for all January training dates).

Adult Literacy and Learning (A.L.L) in Family Literacy Programs  - March 2, 2023 (3 Thursdays)

Tech Talk - April 5, 2023 (3 Wednesdays)

New CALP Staff Webinar – March 23, 2023

Communities of Practice

Join your peers in informal online discussions facilitated by CLN staff. Grab a coffee, bring a question, share a success or challenge, and settle in for five minutes or all sixty.

• Ask Us Anything About Metis and Indigenous Worldview: Jan 10
• New Staff Chat: Dec 12
• North Connections Cafe: Dec 20, Jan 18
• East Central Connections Cafe: Dec 14, Jan 19
• West Central Connections Cafe: Dec 20, Jan 19
• Central Connections Cafe: Dec 21
• South Connections Cafe: Dec 14, Jan 19

Literacy In Action

Frontier College is now "United for Literacy"

In November 2022, Frontier College changed their name to "United for Literacy." United for Literacy is a national charitable literacy organization that has been in existence in Canada since 1899, and they believe that literacy is a human right that leads to empowerment for children, youth and adults. With the use of volunteers and partners, they work to improve literacy in communities across Canada, from coast to coast. United for Literacy reaches out to people wherever they are and respond to their learning needs.

To learn more about United for Literacy watch this video.

You can learn more about United for Literacy here.

This Month's Spotlight

This month's spotlight is Teaching Reading: Strategies and Resources.

Introducing a new Featured Resource on the CALP Portal - Teaching Reading: Strategies and Resources. This online resource gathers common instructional strategies in one place. Each strategy is organized by the five components of reading: phonological awareness, decoding, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Clear and concise purpose statements, and how to use instructions, accompany each strategy along with a series of links to "See It in Action."

Instructional strategies are an important aspect of teaching reading. They provide opportunities for direct instruction and practice. This resource is intended to support teachers and learners of reading with strategies that can be quickly and easily implemented.

To read more about Teaching Reading: Strategies and Resources, click here.

To access Teaching Reading: Strategies and Resources, click here.

Season's Greetings from CLN

We wish you a joyful, relaxing, and bright holiday this December of 2022, and a very happy new year!

May you have a peaceful holiday season full of meaningful time spent with family and friends, and a period of reflection to bring in 2023!

Please note the CLN office will be closed from Friday, December 23rd, 2022 to Monday, January 2nd, 2023.