Literacy – Spanning North America :: Tucson AZ :: Pekin IL :: Red Deer AB :: El Jebel CO

Literacy: Spanning North America     

@LitConnectsAZ

Addressing Adult Literacy in Southern Arizona

Literacy Connects helped more than 50,000 people last year.

AZPM: 3.14.2018

Over the weekend, the Tucson Festival of Books brought together authors and readers from across the country. The goal was to celebrate reading and promote literacy. In Southern Arizona, that's a year-round task for Literacy Connects, which helped more than 50,000 people last year. Cydne Bolton is the nonprofit's Learning Center coordinator and shared the organization's vision with Lorraine Rivera.  WATCH VIDEO

YWCA Pekin

Pekin YWCA literacy program helps inmates

East Peoria Times: 3.14.2018 by Michael Smothers

Prison and jail isn’t all about punishment in Pekin. There are the book clubs.

There also are classes on how to be a better parent and group discussions on topics of history, subjects that most inmates likely didn’t dwell deeply on during their high school years.

About 200 are now getting their chance to learn more about history and improve their literacy skills along the way, through programs that volunteers with the Pekin YWCA offer at FCI Pekin, known informally as the Pekin federal prison, and at Tazewell County’s jail.

None of them is being forced into the programs, said Pam Ritter, director of the YWCA’s Adult Literacy Program, on Wednesday. They want to participate, even if there’s homework involved.

With 25 “highly dedicated, highly talented” volunteers, the program is thriving, Ritter said as she prepares to retire Friday after 12 years as its director.

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Outside of the prison and the Tazewell County Justice Center, volunteers will tutor about 60 more students in one-on-one sessions before the agency’s current fiscal year ends June 30.

Some are recent immigrants seeking to improve their English skills, Ritter said. Others want to obtain their GEDs as they seek jobs. Most simply “want to improve themselves. They’re older, they’ve raised their kids and grandchildren, and now it’s their turn.” That group’s average age is about 40, she said.  READ MORE >>

Red Deer Public Library’s Adult Literacy program nominated for award

Adult Literacy program offers many public programs

Red Deer Express: 3.16.2018

Red Deer Public Library’s Adult Literacy Program has been included in the 2018 People’s Choice, You Libraries Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Library Service.

The Red Deer Public Library (RDPL) Dawe Branch program offers training to volunteer tutors and matches them with adult learners who struggle with reading and writing, With help from their tutors, learners improve their English and gain confidence in their work and social life communications.

The Adult Literacy program also offers many public programs such as English as a Second Language Communication, Speechcraft and Oral Communications for Foreign Trained Professionals.

The award is allocated annually to nominated Alberta libraries offering outstanding programs or services.  READ MORE >>

English In Action

Changing lives, building bridges

Aspen Daily News: 3.18.2018 by M. John Fayhee

Editor’s note: The writer is a volunteer tutor at English in Action.

The one-on-one tutoring program that forms the backbone of the El Jebel-based nonprofit group English in Action requires of its participants a minimum six-month commitment. That might seem like a long time for people who generally have not met each other until the moment they first shake hands and begin the sometimes-tentative process of getting to know each other — a process complicated by the fact that one person may have little in the way of English and the other may have little in the way of teaching English.

Though there have been examples of fits that were not perfect, for the most part, the staff at English in Action has worked human-interaction wonders.

While many of the student/tutor pairings last only for the duration of the initial six-month commitment, many last longer. In some cases, far longer. Simon Peres and Michael McLain, for instance, are in their 13th year working together, marking a tutoring record for EIA.

And 50-year Aspen resident Linda Vitti has been a one-on-one EIA tutor for more than 10 years — working with numerous students during that time.  READ MORE >>