Literacy – Spanning the US :: Westover MD :: Springfield MO :: Lee Co AL

ECI library an escape for prisoners

DelMarva Now: 9.19.2016 by Clara Vaughn

June Brittingham goes to work like any other librarian, in a building with posters on the wall, a carpeted floor and books arranged according to the Dewey Decimal system.

The only difference is she passes through a metal detector, series of automated sliding doors and pristinely gardened prison yard on her way to work.

The library at Eastern Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison in Westover, Maryland, serves a population of around 3,400 inmates, though only those who seek its services go there.

“It’s the one place they can come to for 45 minutes that is not prison,” said Brittingham, who also serves as Maryland’s supervisor of correctional libraries. “We don’t have bars on our windows— we have carpeted floors, we have colorful bookshelves.”

“Even though they’re locked up here, they can experience anything through books,” she said.

SU, ECI reading program wins Light of Literacy Award -ECI’s library opened with the facility itself in 1987, Brittingham said.  VIDEO

OTC seeks volunteers for Adult Education and Literacy Program

KY3: 9.19.2016 by Kadee Brosseau

More adults are seeking to earn a high-school diploma, but they need more volunteers to help them reach their goals.

Volunteers through the Adult Education and Literacy program help people strengthen their reading, writing, speaking, and math skills so they can be better qualified for jobs or pass the high-school equivalency test, now called the HiSET.

The volunteers through Ozarks Technical Community College are there to help students grow, no matter their skill level.

"He knows how to get on people's levels, you know, make them comfortable," Student Josh Sims said.

Sims and Volunteer Tutor Harvey Hank make a good pair.

"We probably spend more time kibitzing than we do actual math work at times, but don't tell the teacher that," Hank laughed.

Hank has been a volunteer for about six years.

"There's practical applications to the problems that we deal with everyday," Hank said.

He says whether the students are seeking to pass the high-school equivalency test or trying to advance into college, volunteering is about simply being there.  VIDEO

@LeeCoLit

Lee County Literacy Coalition addresses adult literacy crisis

Auburn Villager: 9.22.2016

Next week, Sept. 26 through Oct. 1, marks the annual Adult Education and Family Literacy Week to remind the community that reading, writing and basic math remain an elusive target for 36 million adults nationwide, including 12.8 percent in the Lee County area.

Lee County Literacy Coalition (LCLC) in Opelika is part of a national network of organizations that work every minute of every day to end the adult illiteracy crisis.

According to ProLiteracy, the largest membership organization advancing the cause of adult literacy and basic education in the nation, more than 36 million adults in the U.S. lack the most basic literacy skills, and 15 percent of Americans without a diploma don’t have jobs.

ProLiteracy provides more than 1,100 community-based literacy organizations, including Lee County Literacy Coalition, with tools to help educate adult learners and help them meet the demands of today’s workforce.  Literacy helps families be healthier and safer and provides people sustainable opportunities to support themselves through work, contributing ultimately to the economic growth of our region and our country.  READ MORE @