Literacy: Spanning the U.S.
Greenwood County Library offers ESL classes
Index Journal: 6.04.2017
by Conor Hughes
Maria Woolum said she "lived in the dark" her
first few years in Greenwood.
She came to the city from Mexico about 10 years ago
with her husband, a Kentucky native who works for Capsugel.
She didn't speak the language or know the culture and
relied on her husband for everything.
"I didn't understand nothing -- words, the news
or what happened in your community," Woolum said. "For me, I needed
to learn English."
Then she learned about the English as a second
language classes offered by the Greenwood County Library and gradually
started to come out of isolation.
"We need an ESL program because we have so many
new people coming in to Greenwood County, and they're coming from all different
countries to live here, to work here, to build a new life here," Library
Director Prudence Taylor said.
The classes started in February 2012, Taylor said,
after the Greenwood Literacy Council dissolved in 2011, leaving a vacuum in the
community.
"I had people asking me if the library could pick
up that role," Taylor said. "I did some research and I looked at
public libraries that had literacy and ESL programs. Most of the ones I found
that were successful were in California. So I made my notes and I just prayed
about it and I put it aside, because I knew the time would come when I could do
something with that."
In 2012, Taylor hired Lois Strauss, who built the
program from the ground up. READ MORE @
Graduates take next step across the stage
Ardmoreite: 6.04.2017 by Stephen Lamar
Graduates walking across the stage in the month of May
and transitioning into a new chapter of life isn’t a rare occurrence.
Many students from a young age dream of walking across
the stage, with their family and friends cheering them on as they receive their
diploma. The journey to the moment before crossing the stage can be a long one
for many students.
For the graduates who took that walk on May 25 in the
Ardmore Convention Center, their journey wasn’t a conventional story.
The Ardmore
Literacy Leadership — a collection of area organizations
focused on improving literacy in the community — conducted its graduation
ceremony honoring students who graduated from English Language classes, GED
courses and even two new citizens of the United States. The ceremony was like
any other traditional graduation, complete with pomp and circumstance, caps and
gowns and a ceremonial walking of the stage to receive a diploma or
certificate.
The journeys and stories of those walking, however,
are unlike any other.
Leslie Kutz, executive director of Ardmore Family
Literacy, said many of the students have pushed through the struggles of life
to reach the moment of graduating. Ardmore Family Literacy works with incoming
students on earning their GED, with many of the students previously dropping
out of school. She said her students — 15 from Ardmore Family Literacy —
wouldn’t have missed the ceremony for the world.
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Author! Author! benefit luncheon brings novelists,
funds adult literacy
Spring Hill: 6.05.2017
Continuing its long-held “third Thursday of June”
tradition, Author! Author!, an annual celebration of literacy and the
written word, returns June 15.
The Adult Learning Center of
Williamson County’s 13th annual benefit luncheon features
authors Kelly Oliver, Dana Chamblee Carpenter and Michael J. Tucker.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
J.T. Ellison will emcee the two-hour event at Brentwood Country Club.
Established in 1986 as the Literacy Council of
Williamson County, the Adult Learning Center continues to provide free
programs that help adults develop reading, writing, conversation and math
skills. Author! Author! is the ALC’s signature annual event and largest
fundraiser.
“With Williamson County’s booming population, the need
for our services grows too,” Executive Director Rita Dozier said. “But
therein lies the struggle for non-profits like ours that serve one or more
of the ‘hidden populations’ within our affluent and educated county. The
need is not always visible, especially to those with the time or financial
resources needed to help keep vital services like the ones we offer
going.”
ALC’s staff and volunteers provide small group and
one-on- one tutoring at ALC’s Franklin office and in spaces hosted by
community partners. Other programs include on-site education at the
Williamson County Jail and English as a Second Language conversation
classes. Many adults have completed its high school equivalency (GED)
program. READ MORE @
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