Literacy: Spanning the U.S.
Adult literacy programs support
better society
Sidney Herald: 9.06.2016
by Bernie Braden, Richland County Learning Volunteers for Adults Director
During September and October this
country celebrates and supports adult and family literacy programs across the
country because literacy experts see a real need for adult education, family
literacy, and prison education. Learning Volunteers for Adults-Richland County
joins with the hundreds of literacy programs across the country to show its
citizens the need for literacy programs. Here are some facts:
Children of parents with low
literacy skills have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest reading levels
themselves. Of adults with the lowest literacy levels, 43 percent live in
poverty. Low literacy costs the U.S. at least $225 billion each year in
non-productivity in the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to
unemployment. Every year, one in six young adults — more than 1.2 million —
drop out of high school. Recent data show that nearly 30 percent of adults with
household incomes at or below the federal poverty line do not have a high
school credential. The key to financial success is a viable career path and
adequate education to seek meaningful, family-supporting wages. The value to
our economy in additional wages and the reduction in costs for various support
programs is estimated at more than $200 billion a year.
About 50 percent of the 2 million
immigrants that come to the U.S. each year lack high school education and
proficient English language skills. This severely limits their access to jobs,
college, and citizenship and increases their vulnerability to living in
poverty. READ MORE @
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Community step challenge aims to
spread literacy awareness
KY3: 9.07.2016 by Shayla Patrick
Tucked away inside the basement of
the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library in
Springfield is an organization on a mission to help people learn to read.
"Our core program is to
provide tutoring. We have been around since 1968 and we also offer some illiteracy
prevention programs," said Eva Patterson, Executive Director of Ozarks Literacy Council.
Students and volunteers meet for an
hour each week to work through a curriculum that's specially designed to to
increase reading levels.
"After I retired, I wanted to
do some volunteer work and I wanted to do something that was more private and
that would help a person in the future," said Ozarks Literacy Council
volunteer Tim Reser.
Reser has volunteered with OLC for
about three years and has helped several people reach their goals.
"It's very rewarding. You
almost get as much out of it as they do," Reser explained.
Now, during September, which is
National Literacy Month, Ozarks Literacy Council is taking their mission
outside of the office and trying to reach the entire community through a fun
fitness step challenge. VIDEO
Library Celebrates 30 Years of
Adult Literacy Services
Sonoma County Library Blog: 9.06.2016 by kdeweese
On September 24, Sonoma County
Library is hosting a special event at the Central Library to celebrate 30 years
of providing adult literacy services to our community.
The Sonoma County Library Adult Literacy Program,
initiated in 1986, recruits and trains community volunteers to provide
instruction for adults who are working toward personal and professional goals,
and it collaborates with many other human service organizations to increase
literacy levels and employability in our community.
“Literacy is a core service for the
Library,” says Brett Lear, Library Director. “Literacy education is a direct
means through which the Library can educate, inform, and enrich the lives of
people in our community.”
In the past year, the Adult Literacy
Program provided education and enrichment to over 300 members of our community.
These learners successfully accomplished goals like getting a driver’s license,
planning nutritious meals, helping children with homework, voting, and
volunteering in the community. The increased engagement of these adult learners
demonstrates the solid impact of library literacy programs on our library and
on the greater community.
As part of the celebration of our
past and looking forward to the future, the Sonoma County Library Adult
Literacy Program has compiled an anthology of writings of the adult learners in
the program, which have been published as a book. The 30th Anniversary
Celebration will be an opportunity for the authors to share and sign the works
they created. READ MORE @
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