Literacy – Spanning North America :: Sault Ste. Marie ON :: Plainfield NJ :: Lima OH

@ProgramRead

Sawyer turns page at Program Read

Sault Star: 2.25.2017 by Brian Kelly

Karen Sawyer has her nose in a book more often these days.

Her literacy skills have taken a jump since she started working one-on-one with a tutor at Program Read two years ago.

“I'm reading more books,” Sawyer told The Sault Star about how life has changed for her since getting help from the non-profit organization on Spring Street. “I never really bothered reading (before).”

She's working on her handwriting at home too. Sawyer, a part-time canteen worker at Essar Centre, is also focusing on her math skills. She wants to move from preparing food orders for spectators at the downtown arena to working cash.

Sawyer sought out Program Read because she knew her reading and writing skills needed help.

“My math wasn't very good either,” she said.  

Program Read offers adult learners 19 and up three ways to get help – in small class of up to eight students, one-on-one instruction or by learning online.  READ MORE @

Plainfield Public Library receives $10,000 American Library Association American Dream Grant

Herald News: 2.25.2017

The Plainfield Public Library District (PPLD) English Language Learner (ELL) program is expanding thanks to a grant from the American Library Association (ALA).

The ALA awarded the Plainfield Library a one-time, $10,000 grant, which will be used to purchase 20 iPads loaded with applications such as Conversation Builder, iTranslate, and U.S. Citizenship. The iPads will enhance the learning experience for participants in the Library's ELL program.

This grant is funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and awarded to public libraries by ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services in order to expand services to adult English language learners.

This is the second time the Library received this grant. In 2010, the Library used the grant of $5,000 to implement the ELL program and grow the English Language Learning resources collection.  READ MORE @

Lima Literacy

Council

Scrabble tournament aims to improve literacy

Lima News: 2.25.2017 by Craig Kelly

While having fun with wordplay, the participants helped raise money for the Literacy Council to help meet its mandate of helping adults overcome reading difficulties, a mandate it has maintained for the past 30 years.

“Our mission is working with adults to improve their reading, writing, numeracy and computer skills,” Blanchard said. “Across the nation, we have one in six adults who read at about a third-grade level or below, and it just hasn’t changed.”

Having issues with literacy or computer skills can severely limit an individual’s opportunities to lead a full life, Blanchard said, impairing opportunities for employment and other advancements.

“We see generational illiteracy,” he said. “We’ve got grandparents that we’ve seen 20 years ago and we have parents here saying they didn’t have books, newspapers, magazines, Bibles, anything. It wasn’t important to them. We see their kids struggling in third and fourth grade having trouble, and the schools can only do so much.”

As a partner of the United Way of Greater Lima, the Literacy Council has the same mandates of helping individuals in the area become more self-sufficient and employable, but it is continuing to look for help from the community.  READ MORE @