Literacy – Spanning North America :: Wilmington NC :: Nova Scotia :: Anne Arundel Co MD :: New Mexico

Literacy: Spanning North America     

@cfliteracy

Lessons In Success

WilmingtonBiz: 11.15.2017 by Yasmin Tomkinson, Ex Dir-Cape Fear Literacy Council

At Cape Fear Literacy Council, we help adults transform their lives through the power of education.

Each year, about 500 diverse learners with real-life challenges participate in our programs for Adult Literacy and English as a Second Language (ESL). Our capable staff and volunteer tutors personalize instruction so students can achieve their goals.

A great example of the literacy council’s impact is Jean Pierre “JP” Saintard, a personal trainer who owns the business, RipXfit. His success story centers around hard work and determination.

JP earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and was a personal trainer for four years in his Chile, his native country. But when he came to America, he – and potential employers – found his English skills were “definitely not good enough for interacting with clients.”

He got a job bussing tables – a position that didn’t require him to speak English – and started looking for classes.  READ MORE >>

@DartmouthLearn

HRM learning networks delivering on literacy programs

Chronicle Herald: 11.13.2017 by Sheryl DuBois

Literacy and numeracy skills are essential for navigating life in today’s society. More and more jobs require proficient reading, comprehension, math and, more recently, digital skills.

To help identify the status of literacy in Canada, researchers of adult literacy developed a five-point literacy scale to categorize one’s level of literacy. Generally speaking, at level five on the scale, the individual is entirely equipped (in terms of literacy) to work in a knowledge-based, rapidly changing, digitally-driven economy.

At level three, the individual is on the cusp of having enough reading and comprehension skills to get along in a workplace where understanding and conveying information are key skills.

The statistics show, explains Alison O’Handley, executive director of the Dartmouth Learning Network (DLN), “about 50 per cent of adults in Nova Scotia have yet to reach that level three [of literacy] and are deprived of opportunities to live and work [more fully] in a modern environment.”

Canadian society, as a whole, did not fare much better. And the stakes of literacy deprivation are incredibly high.

“Canadians with low literacy skills have lower incomes, higher unemployment, poorer health and die earlier than Canadians with higher levels of literacy,” reads the Bedford-Sackville Learning Network’s “Literacy Facts” webpage.

The good news is, entirely free and proven literacy programming is available to adult residents of HRM wanting to acquire more literacy, numeracy and digital skills.  READ MORE >>

@AACLC 

Literacy Changes Lives: When Life Grew Difficult, She Didn’t Give Up

ProLiteracy: 11.16.2017 by Jennifer Paulding Student Stories

Since 1977, the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council (AACLC) has served adult learners across Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The nonprofit organization founded by six tutors provides one-on-one coaching in reading, writing, and spelling for adults who are not functionally literate, or who cannot efficiently speak or use the English language in their day-to-day lives.

The AACLC’s mission is to teach adults and out-of-school youth the skills they need to live happy, fulfilling lives. By teaching low-level learners basic reading, math, and English language skills, they can gain the self-esteem and independence needed to support their families, and become active, contributing members in their communities. As long as students don’t give up, AACLC’s volunteers commit to their successes.

Jessica Fumando is one of those students. From being a child in foster care, leaving school at a young age, and struggling to earn an accredited diploma, she never gave up. Here is Jess’s story.

Since April, Jessica has been training twice a week with AACLC tutor John Carley her [sic] for the math section of the GED® test.

Despite juggling three jobs, Jess is committed to finding time for her academic studies. Although she has faced many difficulties while working toward her high school diploma, Jess stresses “as long as you’re committed, it is possible.”  READ MORE >>

Literacy program helps participants turn the page to a new life

Santa Fe New Mexican: 11.19.2017 by Robert Nott

At 33 years of age, Jose Martinez had one simple goal in life: read the Bible.

But first, he had to overcome a big challenge.

He couldn’t read.

He wasn’t alone. Nationwide, some 21 percent of adults are reading below the fifth-grade level, according to 2014 statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy. Representatives of the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy, a statewide nonprofit that works to improve adult literacy rates through a number of programs, including one-on-one tutoring, believe that number is significantly higher in New Mexico, with some 46 percent of the state’s adults struggling to read.

As the coalition celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, representatives of its chapters around the state say many people remain unaware of just how many adults around them are unable to master this basic skill. In some ways, it’s one of New Mexico’s deepest secrets. And yet, oddly, it’s often in plain view.

Many of the adults lacking literacy skills dropped out of school after failing to grasp reading year after year. Jobs are hard to find for those who struggle to read, and when they do land jobs, the wages are often low. Many end up in jail. A recent report from the New York-based nonprofit ProLiteracy — the largest literacy organization in the country — says 72 percent of Americans who are behind bars either lack a high school diploma or have low-level literacy skills.  READ MORE >>