One of the primary purposes, historically, of adult education has been to prepare people for participation in a democracy. Whether through civics lessons for immigrants seeking citizenship, or reading and writing for emancipated slaves who faced literacy requirements erected to keep them from voting, education has provided access to civic involvement and decision-making. With today's increasing focus on employment-driven services, however, attention to education for community participation has dwindled.

The New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) has been working to revitalize this mission ever since 1996, when it launched the Voter Education, Registration and Action (VERA) Project, a non-partisan effort to build the capacity of adult literacy teachers and students to take informed action about community issues. Prompted by the upcoming presidential elections, NELRC disseminated educational materials that helped adults make more informed decisions when voting, understand the structure of government, and address the roles and responsibilities of citizens.

In subsequent years, we at NELRC have built on this successful work by exploring opportunities for participation in the civic life of our communities between elections.

Our work is rooted in the belief that the adults we work with have valuable insights, talents, and energy to contribute to community efforts, and have a high stake in addressing the problems and policies that affect their lives. We have sponsored projects that help adults develop research, interviewing, advocacy, critical thinking, and public speaking skills as they analyze and express their views about community concerns. Most of the classroom projects have involved community service, including fundraising for fire victims, volunteering at a soup kitchen, hosting a blood drive for the Latino community, and creating resource materials for peers. Students have also written advocacy letters, spoken before the city council, and organized their neighbors to demand improved services.

In 1999, NELRC published the Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook (available at literacytech.worlded.org/docs/vera) for adult educators, and continues to offer staff and resource development support to the field. The NELRC's most recent work includes:

• Technical assistance with programs that are developing EL/Civics curriculum
• Workshops on civics-related topics such as Integrating EFF and EL/Civics or Teaching about the State Budget and Taxes
• Ongoing resource development, such as the online Civic Participation and Citizenship collection located at www.nelrc.org/cpcc or a video guide for the American Friends Service Committee's soon-to-be-released Echando Raíces / Taking Root video about the struggles of immigrants to settle in three U.S. communities.

Andy Nash provides professional development and coordinates civics projects through the NELRC. She can be reached at: anash@worlded.org