Literacy Advisory Board Meeting: Minutes

              LITERACY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
ILLINOIS STATE LIBRARY
Gwendolyn Brooks Building
300 South Second Street
Springfield, IL 62701-1796
Thursday, May 28, 2009
MINUTES
Meeting took place in two locations using the videoconferencing equipment between the Illinois State Library and the JR Thompson Center.
Present at the Illinois State Library, Springfield
Ms. Sarah McCusker
Present at the James R. Thompson Center, Chicago
Mr. Adrian Beverly, Ms. Peggy Montes
Not Present
Mr. Thomas Benigno, Dr. Blondean Davis, Dr. Douglas Hamilton, Ms. Joyce Karon, Dr. Luis Munoz
Illinois State Library Staff Present
Dr. Jodi Martinez, Cyndy Colletti, Beth Paoli, Mark Shaffer
Call to Order
Ms. Colletti, Literacy Program Manager, called the meeting to order at 8:30 am. Welcome and introductions took place. The meeting procedures and the statutory responsibilities of the grant reviewers were outlined. Literacy Advisory Board (LAB) members, Peer Review Committee members and Illinois State Library staff members read, review and score all of the Adult Literacy Grant Program applications using published selection criteria. This review takes place on the reviewer’s own time. To facilitate the ability of the grant reviewers to complete this process, the grant applications are divided into teams of reviewers. In the following document, the reviewer’s name, score and yes or no recommendation are noted. Score sheets are averaged and a ranked list prepared, in descending order according to the average scores. The Peer Review Committee met and prepared recommendations and comments for the consideration of the LAB on each grant application. At the LAB meeting, the recommendations in all three categories of grants (Adult Volunteer Literacy, Family Literacy and Workplace Skills Enhancement) are examined and a list of recommendations is prepared for the Secretary of State’s approval. Secretary White will make the final decision pending legislative and gubernatorial approval of the FY2010 appropriation for the Adult Literacy Grant Program. Both Secretary White’s decision and the availability of funding will decide whether the following projects are awarded a grant for FY2010.
Adult Volunteer Literacy was discussed first. There were 97 applications: 85 were recommended to fund (indicated as “Yes”), 12 were recommended not to fund (indicated as “No”). Mr. Beverly moved to approve the prepared list of Adult Volunteer Literacy programs for presentation to Secretary White for his final decision. Dr. Martinez seconded the motion.
Family Literacy was discussed second. There were 55 applications: 51 were recommended to fund (indicated as “Yes”), 4 were recommended not to fund (indicated as “No”). Mr. Beverly moved to approve the prepared list of Family Literacy programs for presentation to Secretary White for his final decision. Dr. Martinez seconded the motion.