Literacy – Spanning the US :: Stoughton MA :: Ridgefield CT :: Glynn Co GA

Stoughton library literacy coordinator named state Unsung Heroine

Stoughton Wicked Local: 7.03.2017

The Stoughton Public Library’s Smadar Gekow, of Sharon, was recently honored as a member of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women’s 2017 class of Unsung Heroines.

Rep. Louis Kafka, D-Stoughton, recommended Gekow for this recognition because of her work with the adult immigrant community of Stoughton. Gekow was honored with the other Unsung Heroines for her contributions to the Stoughton Adult Literacy Program in a ceremony in the Great Hall of the State House.

Gekow came to the US in her early teens from Israel as an immigrant, along with her family. She was hired as the adult literacy coordinator at the Stoughton Public Library in 2006, originally as a part-time employee, and has been responsible for growing the program to meet the needs of the immigrant community. Her position became full time last year, but she has always worked more than the hours on the schedule, helping expand the program in Stoughton and Sharon. Her office provides 18 hours of training and constant support for the volunteer tutors, and tried to meet the wide variety of needs for the adult students. This program has helped to settle thousands of newcomers to Stoughon, and to the surrounding area over the past 19 years, with very little financial support or fanfare, and Gekow has played a key role in the many successes and accomplishments by adult students over the past 11 years.  READ MORE @

Students sought to teach English to low-income adults

Easton Courier: 7.12.2017 by Nancy Doniger

The founder of a newly formed foundation is looking for four good students to teach literacy and life skills to low-income men and women in the Danbury area.

Terri Jennings of Easton founded the Ledgeway Literacy Foundation to improve the lives on non-English speakers in the area. She teamed up with school Superintendent Dr. Thomas McMorran and Dr. Gina Pin, Joel Barlow High School principal, to make it happen.

Non-English speakers are often afraid to do simple things, like go grocery shopping, because they can’t understand the language, Jennings said. They are at a disadvantage workwise, so the goal is to improve their English to improve their job prospects and earning.  READ MORE @

Adult education program seeks to break cycle of generational poverty

Brunswick News: 7.13.2017 by John Hammel

The problem of generational poverty does not belong to one single generation. Whether it’s a grandparent taking classes so he can read bedtime stories to his grandchildren, a parent earning her GED so she can help her children with their math homework or a high schooler taking extra courses to ensure he graduates — education is often what makes the difference in breaking the cycle of generational poverty.

The instructors at the Coastal Pines Technical College adult education program see many different age groups come through the doors of their numerous locations throughout Glynn County. Regardless of age, students are there to learn. The program is federally funded and free to any student who is willing to commit to 20 hours of instruction a week.

“We break the cycle,” said Kemso Keith, an instructor at the program. “When we look at some of the schools with behavioral problems, schools with high absenteeism, a lot of those children are the children of our students (in the adult education program) … If we can get the parents to go back and finish (school) then they’ll encourage the children to finish.”

With what was once taught in high school now being taught in middle school, it can often be overwhelming for parents to help their children with their education — especially for those parents who never finished school themselves.  READ MORE @