Literacy:
Spanning the U.S.
Tulsa World: 9.28.2015 by Nour Habib
Lawana
McCalister is thrilled when she’s able to help her son with his homework.
There
was a time when she couldn’t have done that, but McCalister began working with
a tutor through the Tulsa City-County Library’s Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy
Service more than 10 years ago.
“My
reading and writing was nowhere near where it needed to be,” she said.
She’s
made great strides, she said, and is now able to read at a seventh-grade level,
meaning she’s able to help her 8-year-old son.
McCalister
said she went through school in a special education program and was not able to
read well. She heard about the adult literacy program in 2003 and signed up
after being dropped from a medical associate class because her reading level
was too low.
“I’ve
come a long way,” said McCalister, who has stuck with the program through
various life challenges, the most recent being cancer. She is undergoing
chemotherapy, but she still tries to make it to her once-a-week sessions with
her reading tutor, Carolyn Lee. READ MORE !
WNCT: 9.28.2015 by Kelly Byrne VIDEO
An organization in Greenville strives
to alter the illiteracy rate of adults in Pitt County.
“To see the faces.. to feel their enthusiasm.. to help them
achieve what they want to achieve out of life.”
Alfonsa Merritt is just one of more than 50 volunteers who help
hundreds of adults achieve a higher level of education in order to get better
jobs.
“What we do is we work with adult learners, 18 years and above
in education aspects as well as job aspects, said Brenda Steingerwald,
Education Coordinator of Literacy
Volunteers of Pitt County. “We do everything from teaching reading, to helping
people find job skills.”
David Nguyen is a student at Literacy Volunteers of Pitt
County.
“To finish the GED, and get some education; to get a job.”
That’s Nguyen ultimate goal. READ MORE !
Post Crescent: 9.28.2015 by Jim Collar
Volunteers of
the Fox Valley Literacy Council have spent 25
years helping turn stories that begin with a struggle into ones that end with
inspiration.
Executive Director
Christine Cheevers isn't surprised by the many heartwarming tales that have
unfolded through the years. They often start with a strong desire among those
who ask for help when recognizing how much improved language skills could
unlock.
“They want to do better
for their families,” she said. “They want to do better for themselves.”
The literacy council
reached its landmark anniversary on a growing trajectory. Now the council's
leadership is fund-raising and recruiting volunteer tutors to help meet demand.
The council, along with Wisconsin Literacy Inc., is in the midst of the annual
"1,200 Tutors in 12 Weeks" campaign. The goal is to increase the
number of tutors by 1,200 statewide by Dec. 1.
Cheevers said the
council has been a complement to a number of adult education options in the
region. It fills gaps and provides for those who learn best or are more
comfortable with one-on-one instruction.
The council's services
are free. Volunteers work in some cases with native English speakers who are
looking to improve reading and writing skills. They might be working toward a
high school equivalence degree. READ MORE !
Support a learner
campaign aims to help improve literacy rates in Southwest Missouri
KY3: 9.29.2105 by Shayla Patrick
For
Georgia King reading menus, directions and basic instructions isn't easy.
"I didn't have
good schooling growing up, " said King.
As a result, she never
really learned how to read.
"My kids come up
to me and ask me to read to them and I have to tell them that I can't read to
them and that's hard," said Georgia.
But that's all about to
change. Georgia spends about an hour a week meeting with a tutor from Ozarks Literacy Council.
"We have three
main programs, the biggest is our basic literacy program and that is actually
our most underfunded program. That's where we do tutoring one-on-one for a year
commitment," said Eva Patterson, Executive Director of the Ozarks Literacy
Council.
Right now, there are
about 50 people matched with tutors in the program, but the need is much
greater. The most recent study on literacy finds more than 300,000 people in
the state of Missouri have low literacy levels.
Now Ozarks Literacy Council is calling on the community for help
reducing that number. READ MORE !
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