Literacy – Spanning the US: Philadelphia PA :: Ruidoso NM :: Greensboro NC

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.

Jose Garces, Marc Vetri use cooking as path to literacy [Video]

Philadelphia Business Journal: 6.02.2014 by Francis Hilario

More than half of the adult population in Philadelphia – 550,000 individuals – are considered low literate. And, in an effort to tackle this prolonging issue, the Free Library of Philadelphia has partnered with some pretty big names in the Philly food game to launch its new center highlighting the marriage between cooking and literacy.

Alongside Chefs Jose Garces and Marc Vetri, the library debuted its new Culinary Literacy Center on Monday offering classes for children, teens, families and adults ranging from ESL classes for restaurant workers and nutritional and healthy lifestyle food preparations to demonstrations and workshops with regional and national chefs.

“The beauty of culinary literacy is that it’s basic literacy skills – math and science – and you get to make something. That tactile part of when you’re learning something is so important,” said Siobhan Reardon, president and director of the Free Library of Philadelphia. “For us, the role of the library is about the grand experiment of bringing people to literacy, and that’s what we’re doing here.”  READ MORE !

Adult literacy program helped public official advance

Village Councilor Rifle Salas says seek help

Ruidoso News: 6.03.2014 by Kelly Brooks

When Raphael "Rifle" Salas started working for the Ruidoso Parks and Recreation Department as a laborer in 1983, he had difficulty reading. He'd struggled with reading and grammar in high school but still had managed to graduate. It wasn't until he tried to read the instructions and cautions on chemicals and fertilizers in his job that he realized how much of a problem it really was.

"Being a young 20 year old, it was more of the embarrassment for me at the time," Salas said. "I knew I was struggling. I did know how to read but it was the phonics and comprehension parts that I was struggling to get through. I was one of those kids who had fallen through the cracks and just squeaked by. I graduated high school with a junior high reading and grammar level."

Too embarrassed to ask coworkers for help, it wasn't until he was working the park grounds near the old library location — the current location of the Ruidoso Community Center — that Salas found a possible solution.

"I saw a poster at the library about helping to learn to read," Salas said. "The librarian directed me to the program and a gentleman worked with me for about three months."

When Salas' boss found out that he was being tutored, he made accommodations for Salas to leave 30 minutes early each day for his tutoring sessions.  READ MORE !

Reading Connections Helps Adults Reach Potential

Coastalnc.twcnews: 6.03.2014 by Cheryn Stone

A Triad man spends his time helping others in his community achieve more. He volunteers with Reading Connections, helping students tap into their potential. Last year the nonprofit worked with more than 1,000 people in Guilford County on their literacy skills.

“The truth is they are wonderful people in and of themselves and all I'm really doing is helping claim a part of their lives that they never got fully functioning yet,” said Reading Connections volunteer, John Syster. This year John started tutoring for reading connections, a nonprofit that trains tutors to help adults improve their literacy skills.

“You can help someone open up doors that they never thought would be open to them. When you think about lessons in literacy you may assume they mean reading, but this program offers much more,” said program manager, Roberta Hawthorne. “We know that when you are learning as an adult it is different than learning something when you are a child so we use different strategies to help adults see how these literacy skills are relevant to their lives”.

Many of the students are working toward a GED. Some adults are working to improve reading, conversation, or basic computer skills to find work. Others want to be better parents, more able help their children with their homework.  READ MORE !