Literacy – Spanning the US: Sutter Co CA :: NJ :: Baltimore MD

Literacy:  Spanning the U.S.

Naturalization ceremony set for Friday

Appeal Democrat: 6.24.2014 by Chris Kaufman

The Mid-Valley will be adding 50 United States citizens to its population during the Northern California regional naturalization ceremony on Friday in Yuba City, according to officials.

People from five counties will be part of the fifth Yuba City ceremony.

Representatives from the U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services Department of Homeland Security will be officiating the 10 a.m. event at the Veterans Building.

Immediately following the ceremony will be a community celebration.

"It grew out of the idea that somebody needed to recognize our new citizens," said Mary Alice Shumate, director of the Sutter County Library Literacy program and citizenship coordinator.

In 2006, Shumate began honoring those who went through the county's literacy program and earned their citizenship.

She cited Andre Tureene, a former literacy program tutor, as the one who pushed for the ceremony.

Tureene, who immigrated to the U.S. at age 10 from France, was in the Air Force and has since moved away.

"There are so many people who have helped with citizenship — in and out of the community," Shumate said.

Tjinder Kaur of Yuba City is a Sutter County Library assistant who went through the program and earned her citizenship in 2003.  READ MORE !

Statewide merger of literacy groups aims to increase access to reading, educational programs

NJ.com: 6.30.2014 by Martin Griff, The Times

With more and more illiterate adults asking for help, literacy programs across the state have come to a simple conclusion: They can’t do it alone.

In the hopes of freeing up resources to focus on literacy education, eight local and statewide nonprofit groups — including Literacy Volunteers of Mercer County — have merged into Literacy New Jersey, one organization that will offer programs for illiterate and non-English speaking adults throughout the state.

In 2012-13, the groups provided nearly 8,000 students with free services, but business operations often require just as much attention as classroom activity, Literacy New Jersey CEO Elizabeth Gloeggler said last week.

“We can do things better, more effectively and more efficiently by joining forces,” Gloeggler said. “Our whole idea was to bring together all of our strengths and tackle this problem together.”

Instead of each group devoting time and energy to behind-the-scenes operations — such as serving on boards, filling out IRS forms and conducting audits — the whole business side of the operation will be based out of Literacy New Jersey’s headquarters in Roselle.  READ MORE !

Anne Arundel organization tackles adult literacy

Baltimore Sun: 6.02.2014 By Joe Burris

Deborah Bias began taking adult literacy classes last August, and since then the Annapolis resident has vaulted from a kindergarten reading level to third grade, picking up about a thousand words along the way.

Her instruction comes courtesy of an individualized tutoring program from the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council, a nonprofit that has offered one-on-one coaching in reading, writing and spelling since 1977.

Bias' instruction often involves words on flashcards that she spreads out over a table, glimpses, memorizes, then writes out.

Sometimes, she says, she'll become so immersed in learning new words that if her phone rings, the caller is sure to hear "Leave a message."

"I have to focus on the one word for a while, and then I will know the word," said Bias, 52, who said she no longer needs help reading food labels or street signs.

She said she hopes someday to teach others to read.

"When I told my family I was going to read and write, they were happy," Bias said. "You're not supposed to give up. You have to focus on what you want to do."

Bias is among scores of Anne Arundel residents who take advantage of free instruction from the Annapolis-based literacy group. The organization says its clients come from all backgrounds, yet most are between the ages of 18 and 55 and read at a fifth-grade level or lower. Some students have learning disorders such as dyslexia, while others have endured hardships that curtailed education opportunities.  READ MORE !