Literacy:
Spanning the U.S.
Solano County Counsel Dennis Bunting
wins prestigious award for lead paint fight
The
Reporter: 8.25.2014 by Melissa Murphy
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In other action, Supervisors will
consider a recommendation from the Department of Library Services for the
county to recognize September as Adult Literacy Awareness Month and honoring
the Library's Literacy Services
for 20 years of service to adults the county.
The California State Library is sponsoring a
state-wide campaign, staff explained. In 1984, the California State Library
began sponsoring library literacy programs in an effort to combat adult
illiteracy throughout California. Solano County received a start-up grant in
1994 to offer these adult literacy services to residents.
Approximately 20 percent of the adult residents in Solano
are considered functionally illiterate. This number equates to approximately
60,000 adults. Another 32 percent are considered marginally illiterate,
bringing the total of adults who struggle with reading to more than 50 percent
of the adult population.
On Sept. 8, International
Literacy Day, Library Literacy Services will host an informational and
interactive display in the lobby of the Solano County Administration Center
from 8 a.m. to - 5 p.m. Adult learners, volunteers and staff will be on hand to
talk about the work of the program and to increase awareness of adult literacy
issues in the community. A program at 9 a.m. in the multipurpose room will
feature California State Librarian, Greg Lucas, who will speak about his work
with the State Library and the campaign to eliminate adult illiteracy
statewide. Adult learners, Velma Benson and Yolanda Sixto, will talk about
their literacy challenges and successes. Literacy volunteer and county
employee, Elaine Pulido, will round out the agenda with her personal story of
her role as an adult literacy tutor for over seven years. READ
MORE !
Volunteer tutors boost reading skills
Chicago
Tribune: 8.25.2014 by Tracy Gruen
Each year, hundreds of adults learn how to
read or become better readers through the Read
to Learn program offered by Township High School District 214's community
education department.
Last year, 357 people volunteered to be
tutors and 515 students participated in the program.
"Every student has an individualized
lesson plan," said Rhonda Serafin, manager of adult education and family
literacy. "It's based on the learners' reading level and based on their
interests and some of their needs."
"We're always looking for more
volunteers," she said, adding that while a training session just
concluded, another will be scheduled in January.
The majority of participants speak a
language other than English at home, while others might have learning
disabilities or did not finish high school.
"There's a very large population of
English as a second language learners in this area," Serafin said.
"The learners learn how to read and get a lot of cultural information from
their volunteers, make friends and learn about our community. The volunteers
step into the role of a teacher and learn a lot in that role." READ MORE !
Council: Improved library services key to
economic recovery
Record Net:
8.27.2014 by Roger Phillips
It will take years for Stockton to recover
from bankruptcy, but City Council members agreed Tuesday night that a vibrant
library system would play a vital role in the city’s economic recovery.
Responding to public outcry, council
members said the city should do whatever it can to improve library services
even as Stockton struggles with post-bankruptcy economic realities likely to
stretch well into the future.
The council comments came at the end of a
City Hall meeting highlighted by a strong turnout of library supporters who
urged Stockton officials to repair the struggling system. The shape of those
reforms, however, remain to be determined.
“Literacy is really connected to our
economic recovery,” Councilman Elbert Holman said. “We need to provide a clear
vision as to where the library needs to go.”
The Stockton-San Joaquin
Public Library system serves all of the county with the exception of Lodi
and has been a casualty of Stockton’s economic hardships in the past five
years. READ MORE !
Adult literacy improves community’s
productivity, safety
Midland
Reporter-Telegram: 8.30.2014 by Katie PanKratz
Children of adults with low-literacy skills
are far less likely to attend college or obtain a high school diploma than
children of adults with average to above average skills. However, when it comes
to the topic of education in America, much emphasis is placed on programs
tailored to youth. In 2010-2011, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of
Adult and Vocational Education invested $596,120,000 in the education of
roughly 2 million students — a mere $296 per student — according to the
National Coalition for Literacy, while total expenditures for public elementary
and secondary schools in the United States during that time amounted to $632
billion — or $12,608 per student — according to the National Center for
Education Statistics. Although elementary and secondary education is important,
adult education tends to go overlooked and may very well be the missing link in
cultivating an educated, productive and safe society.
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Adult literacy not only affects the overall
education of our community, but also affects our community’s productivity and
safety. McGraw-Hill Research Foundation found that benefits of adult education
programs include increased tax revenues, greater business productivity,
decreased reliance on government financial support and reduced crime rates.
Therefore, with an investment in adult education, our community stands to yield
several valuable returns.
Local organizations such as the Midland
County Public Library offer adults the opportunity to improve their
literacy skills. The library provides information access to all people to meet
their individual, cultural, educational and recreational needs.
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Midland
Need to Read (MN2R) is another local organization with a mission to enhance
lives of Midland County adults through literacy. READ
MORE !
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