Literacy: Spanning the U.S.
Tutors
needed for expanding literacy program
Citizen Times: 2.27.2018 by Leigh Anne Rhodes
The
ability to read this sentence is something many take for granted. The need for
literacy education remains, however, as evidenced by an increasing number of
local residents enrolling in a growing Madison County Public Libraries program.
MCPL
staff launched Literacy Connections two years ago in
response to an increasingly common scenario. Students who drop out of high
school often find themselves in limbo, without the level of education needed to
pursue advanced degrees at schools like A-B Tech, according to Madison County
Library Director Melanie Morgan.
The
situation led Morgan to start the Literacy Council for Madison County. With the
support of the Madison County Board of Commissioners and A-B Tech, the organization's
formation paved the way for grants to create reading programs benefiting
students of all ages.
Funded
by a federal grant, Literacy Connections aims "to empower learners of all
ages with the opportunity to reach their highest potential through diverse
literacy and high school equivalency instruction" according to its mission
statement. Suzanne DuVall has overseen the program's development since its
start two years ago. READ MORE >>
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Nonprofit
improves Utah Valley citizens’ lives through reading
Daily Universe: 2.27.2018 by Laurie Bradshaw
Provo
nonprofit Project Read has impacted thousands of
people in Utah Valley by teaching adults to read.
Project
Read, headquartered in the Provo City Library, has provided tutoring to about
100 people per year since it started in 1984, according to Project Read Office
Manager Aleah Spencer. The program aims to change lives and provide
opportunities through reading.
“They’re
making a better life — not just for themselves, but for their children and
their grandchildren,” said Project Read Executive Director Shauna Brown.
Brown
has been with the program for over 17 years and said she has seen significant
changes in the students she works with.
An
experience Brown finds particularly memorable is a student who, through
reading, improved not only her career, but also her health.
“She
came to us in her 50s and was reading probably at a fourth-grade level,” Brown
said.
“She
weighed 341 pounds. One of the most important things for her to learn was how
to read food labels, and she lost 181 pounds.”
Brown
said after learning how to read, this student was able to take computer classes
at UVU, giving her a new, marketable skill.
“It
has changed her health; it has changed her employment; it has changed her
relationships, just because of her confidence in herself,” Brown said.
“Literacy is something that can be really embarrassing. It’s not something
people can see.
It’s not something you share.”
READ MORE >>
Turlock
woman among those recognized for literacy achievement
Turlock Journal: 2.27.2018
Three
outstanding adult students — including one Turlock woman — and two advocates
for adult literacy will be recognized at the 2018 Celebrate Literacy awards
ceremony.
The
awards banquet will be hosted by the Literacy Network of
Stanislaus County, and will take place 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
March 2 at the Petersen Event Center, 720 12th St. in downtown Modesto. Awards
will be presented for outstanding achievement in English as a Second Language,
Literacy, and High School Diploma or Equivalency.
The
Betty Mulnix Service Award will be presented to a distinguished practitioner in
the field of literacy and the Jean and Clyde Dunlap Award will be presented to
a Stanislaus County administrator who has made outstanding contributions to the
cause of literacy.
Turlock
resident Arowa Ghazi will be presented with the High School Diploma or
Equivalency Outstanding Achievement award. She was born and raised in the
traditional culture of Yemen where she was entitled to the Bride Price for her
hand in marriage. Instead of demanding
material items like money, clothes, or a house, she made her fiancé promise to
provide her with an education. He
agreed, but did not follow through after the wedding — that was just the
beginning of Arowa’s story. READ MORE >>
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