Literacy: Spanning the U.S.
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Knowledge Bowl combats
illiteracy in community
Victoria Advocate: 2.17.2017 by Laura Garcia
H-E-B
manager Samantha Forrest enjoys teaching customers about beer and wine.
But
in her free time, twice a week, she teaches adults how to read.
Forrest
volunteers as an English as a Second Language tutor for the Victoria Adult Literacy Council.
She
used to tutor at a Houston organization years ago, but recently decided to
become a tutor again.
"Because
of the current political climate, I realized I need to do something good for
people," she said. "You can donate money, but really, donating time
is so valuable."
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Last
year, the council served more than 350 students on a budget of about $80,000
that covers several programs and a part-time administrator.
The
council is in the fifth year of the Family Literacy In Practice, or FLIP,
program, which runs once a week during the school year at Victory Christian Life
Center.
Last
week, a new program started at Hopkins Elementary providing both parent
classes, children homework support and book-of-the-week activities.
Tutors
like Forrest help students improve their reading skills, but also gain the
confidence to apply for college or for a higher job position.
"I
think the biggest challenge is establishing a relationship so that they can ask
me questions," she said. READ MORE @
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BRONX BARRIERS: THE LITERACY
CHALLENGE
WFUV: 2.20.2017 by Shannon Meehan
The
South Bronx, a vibrant neighborhood of working families, faces a literacy
crisis that is affecting most of the area’s residents. Despite efforts by
nonprofits and reading programs, the South Bronx has one of the lowest literacy
rates of all five boroughs, intertwining with incomes in the South Bronx. Both
facets remain low.
Strides
to break the cycle of illiteracy are being made in the South Bronx, though
progress has not advanced enough. It still has among the highest levels of
poverty and unemployment of all 59 of New York City's Community Districts,
according to a 2016 report by South Bronx Rising
Together (SBRT), a group linked to increasing educational
success for students in the South Bronx.
“It’s
not that some people can read, while other people simply cannot read, end of
story,” says Elizabeth Clay Roy, chief of staff at Phipps Neighborhoods, a social service
nonprofit, and co-director of SBRT. “It’s that many people can read, but have
trouble deciphering a complex letter or phrase.”
The
ability to read and write, beyond the most basic level, required for daily
living and fulfilling job responsibilities is defined as functional literacy.
Functional illiteracy can lead to not having a job or not having a well-paying
job, at least. READ MORE @
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Jeb Bush, authors tout
literacy at annual event in Bonita
News Press:
2.17.2017 by Ryan Mills
Ruben
Renteria wants to start his own business. He wants to get his GED.
But
most of all, Renteria wants to help his four children with their homework.
Renteria,
42, didn’t speak or read English when he immigrated to the United States from
Mexico in 1996. Last year he and his wife, Tania, began taking classes through Food Brings Hope,
an English literacy program near their Volusia County home.
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The
program is funded by the Barbara Bush Foundation
for Family Literacy.
“I
came to the United States for a better life, to bring a better future for my
children,” Renteria, a plumber’s helper, told more than 500 people who attended
a VIP reception for the 17th annual Florida Celebration of Reading on Friday.
“My
family is the reason I am in the program to learn English,” he said.
The
Florida Celebration of Reading was founded
in 2001 by then-Gov. Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba. The annual event has
raised more than $26 million for his mother’s foundation, according to the
organization. READ MORE @
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