Literacy – Spanning the US :: Ionia Co MI :: Pittsylvania Co VA :: Rowan Co NC

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.     

Ionia Co

Literacy Council

Literacy Council Bounces Back Strong To Serve Ionia Residents

Sentinel Standard: 7.26.2018 by Mitchell Boatman

Statistically speaking, one in every five American adults struggles to read at the level needed to earn a living wage.

In Ionia County, a group of volunteers is working hard to drive that number down, despite a financial setback two years ago that threatened to derail their effort.

The Ionia County Literacy Council is a nonprofit organization that helps area residents gain the skills they need to succeed in life. The group is available to help adults learn to read and gain proficiency in other crucial skills as well, including math, writing, and speaking English.

The ICLC was founded in 1987, but took a major blow in 2016. It used to be funded through a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) grant for adult education, but the qualifications for the money suddenly changed, leaving the local group on its own to find new resources.

But in an update earlier this month to the Ionia County Board of Commissioners, the group made it clear that it has bounced back strong, and is making a real difference in the community.

“A couple of years ago, we lost state and federal funding,” Executive Director Janet Balice said. “We no longer qualify for the funding that we used to. We’ve had to find alternate funding and fundraisers to keep the organization going.”  READ MORE >>

Pittsylvania Co

Literacy

County’s Long-Standing Free Literacy Program Looking To Expand

GoDanRiver: 7.28.2018 by Halle Parker

Decades ago, Pittsylvania County’s literacy program began with a mission to serve residents of any background who have a desire to improve their reading and writing skills.

From assisting former factory employees with receiving their GEDs to find new jobs to helping a 70-year-old woman finally gain her citizenship after 25 years in the country, the program has touched countless lives.

Presently, the program is in the midst of a transition as it moves its home base to a new location, expands its reach to Gretna and hires a new director. Plus, they’re looking for new students.

According to data collected by Danville-Pittsylvania County Smart Beginnings, at least 17 percent of Pittsylvania County residents lack basic literary skills.

“There’s a lot of people that need us,” said Richard Donnelly, the chairman of the program’s board of directors. He added that future expansion of the program depends on the volume of new students who reach out.  READ MORE >>

@RCLiteracy

Breaking The Cycle, Rowan Literacy Council and United Way Teach People To Read

Salisbury Post: 7.29.2018 by K C Scott, Exec Dir-Rowan Co Literacy Council

Want your children to be successful? Read to them.

According to a study done by Georgia State University, the quality of children’s home literacy environments and mother-child joint book reading interactions is related to children’s development of early literacy skills. In simple terms, taking a few minutes to read to your child every night will have lifelong positive effects.

What about the children whose parents are functionally illiterate? Let’s start with defining that term. Functionally illiterate means an individual lacks the literacy skills necessary for coping with most jobs and many everyday situations. Going to the grocery store, signing your kid’s field trip permission slip, and ordering off a menu are impossible tasks.

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That’s where the Rowan County Literacy Council comes in. Since 1976, we’ve offered two adult programs to the Rowan County community: Adult Basic Education, which serves English-speaking students, and English as a Second Language, which serves non-English speaking students.

Then in 2016, we began serving local elementary schools with our Youth Literacy program to help students who are not currently meeting N.C. literacy standards.  READ MORE >>