The deadline for NJALL's 2019 Learner Writing Contest has been extended to February 15, so there is still time to get your entry in! There are five categories: fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, and photography. Several winners will be invited to read their work and receive their awards at the annual NJALL conference on May 10th.
A full description of guidelines can be found here.  
This is a great opportunity for students to get acclaim for the wonderful work that they do.  And, as a further incentive, there are monetary prizes!
1st place: $100
2nd place: $50
3rd place: $25
We are also looking for reviewers, so if you are interested in supporting this contest, please contact njallmail@gmail.com. We are particularly interested in having learners serve on the review committee.
All those submitting work will be notified of the decisions by March 8, 2019.

Save the date for NJALL's 2019 Annual Conference.  On May 10, 2019, adult educators from throughout New Jersey and beyond will gather to share ideas, discuss current issues and honor students and award winners.
 
Once again the conference will be held at the Warner Student Life Center at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft New Jersey.

​We are accepting workshop proposals through January 8, 2019.  While we welcome all proposals that deal with adult education, we are especially interested in the following topics:
  ESOL Teaching Strategies
  Career Pathways
  Numeracy
  Preparing for High School Equivalency tests
  Student Led Projects
  Student Advising and Counseling
​
If you have expertise to share, please fill out the Workshop Proposal Form and send it to njallmail@gmail.com.

All presenters will receive a complimentary registration for the conference.

The New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning (NJALL) is holding its fifth annual adult learner writing contest.  This year we will award cash prizes in five categories - fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry and photography. Several winners will be invited to read their work and receive their awards at the annual NJALL conference on May 10th, 2019.  All of the winners' and selected other submissions will be published in a free magazine that will be available from our website in the summer of 2019.  Winners and their teachers/tutors will receive printed copies of the magazine. 

Please let us know if you are interested in being a reviewer
or if you have any questions.
​njallmail@gmail.com 

Earlier this year NJALL held its fourth annual adult learner writing contest. All of the winners and selected other submissions have been collected in a magazine entitled Insight. You can download a free pdf of the magazine at the link below. The five entry categories were fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry and photography. 
Several winners read and discussed their work during a workshop at the annual NJALL conference.   We hope you will use the magazine in your classes and your volunteer lessons. 
We'd like to thank all of the students who participated and all of the teachers and tutors that made it possible. Every year it is an honor to read the students' work, and we are happy to be able to share it with you now.

On June 22, we celebrated our two newest scholarship award winners, Katie Land and Ruth Rivera.  Scholarship winners from previous years gave advice to help them keep going as they pursue their goals through higher education.  NJALL board members, committee members, winners' family, teachers and supporters, as well as members of the community wish Katie and Ruth well!

Please join us  as we award and celebrate our 2018 Scholarship Winners, Katherine Land and Ruth Rivera.  The Awards Ceremony and Breakfast will be on June 22 at Mercer County Community College Conference Center, 1200 Old Trenton Rd, West Windsor, NJ 08550, 9:30-11:30 AM.

Katherine "Katie" Land is from West Long Branch, NJ.  She prepared for her High School Diploma at Brookdale Youth GED and Career Pathways Program and now attends Brookdale Community College.

Ruth Rivera is from Elizabeth, NJ and will attend Union County College.  She studied for her High School Diploma with Literacy New Jersey at the Elizabeth Public Library.

COST: ONLY $15.00 per person
Deadline to sign up: June 14, 2018

Read about NJALL initiatives and activities in our Spring Newsletter.  Articles include: The Importance of Being Vigilant, NJALL participates in COABE Capitol Hill Day, 2018 NJALL Scholarship Information, 2017 NJALL Award Winners, and much more.

Click here to download your copy.

Thousands of New Jersey adults needing basic reading skills, high school diplomas and English language skills are turned away from programs because of inadequate funding. In addition, businesses in New Jersey cannot find literate and trained individuals for their workplace needs.

It is vital for New Jersey’s economy and for our citizenry that we re-establish state funding for adult education to compensate for reductions in federal subsidies. 

In 2007 35,400 students were served through a robust network of adult education programs.  By 2017 that number had fallen to 16,702.

Providing the necessary state funds to enroll 18,700 more students at $1,000
per student would require a state appropriation of  $18,700,000.  This appropriation would provide invaluable and life changing opportunities for adults with limited skills. Equally important, it would open up employment opportunities for these individuals and for NJ businesses.

NJALL has developed several tools which you can use when asking your elected representatives to support adult education.  Here are several advocacy briefs you can share:

• NJ Adult Ed facts
• Help Eligible Immigrants Become Citizens
• Integrate High-skilled Immigrants

Here are sample letters that you can customize:

• Sample Educator letter
• Sample Student letter

Find your New Jersey State representatives through this interactive map.

For more information about NJALL's advocacy efforts, go to our youtube channel to listen to the March 22 webinar: Potential Changes in Federal 
Support for Adult Education: What They Mean for New Jersey, What they Mean for Advocacy

Look for more information soon about how we can advocate for State funding for adult education in New Jersey.

For the past four years, NJALL has held a learner writing contest. Each year we
receive about 75 submissions from all around the state. We continue to be humbled by students’ willingness to share their ideas, memories and feelings. As is often the case in adult education, some of the things the writers shared dealt with personal experiences that were life-changing or traumatic. We hope that the writing process is a positive one and that participating in the contest has been an encouraging learning experience.

You can read Insight, volume 3 (2017 submissions) here.
​
Once again this year we have invited some of the contest winners to present
their work at the annual NJALL conference. The learners read from their winning submissions and then take questions from the attendance. Come to the conference on May 11, to hear these presentations for yourself and meet the 2018 contest winners.

Thanks again to all the writers, teachers and reviewers that made this magazine possible.

Erik Jacobson
Chair, NJALL Learner Writing Contest

Learn about potential changes in Federal support for adult education: what they mean for New Jersey, and what they mean for advocacy.  March 22, 2018.  11:00 AM to noon.

​Art Ellison (New Hampshire's Director of Adult Education and longtime adult education advocate) will review what is happening at the federal level in terms of adult education funding.  Although there is currently an effort to increase funding, it is also possible that funding will be significantly reduced. Art will discuss key points of the legislative process/schedule to keep in mind while planning advocacy efforts. 

Hal Beder and Barry Semple (of NJALL) will review what these potential changes mean for adult education in New Jersey and the urgent need for coordinated advocacy across the state. 

There will be built-in time to share ideas and ask questions.