Literacy: Spanning North America
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Founder of Aurora's Dominican Literacy Center says the
need for this 25-year-old program is greater than ever
The
Beacon-News: 9.29.2018 by Denise Crosby
It may have been providence that planted the seed. But it
was a 1993 Charles Kuralt TV program about two nuns helping adults learn to
read that motivated Sister Kathleen Ryan to create the Dominican Literacy Center in Aurora.
Like most things in life, it was all about timing.
Ryan, a long-time school principal and education
administrator in the Chicago area, happened to be subbing for a fourth-grade
teacher on maternity leave at St. Peter School in Aurora when she saw the show.
Plus, Congress had just released the National
Adult Literacy Survey, and thanks to an appropriation bill passed a few
years earlier, the Illinois
Secretary of State’s office was offering one-time grants for literacy
projects in the state.
Although she initially planned to start such a program
in her hometown of Chicago, after talking to local pastors and social workers,
Ryan realized there “was such a great need” for a center right here in Aurora.
The determined nun was initially turned down, however,
because at the time she began applying for money, she only had five students,
including a 75-year-old woman who wanted to learn to read so she could use
shopping lists and be able to sing along in church.
But persistence paid off … as did lots of practice
writing “grant after grant after grant.” And by the time Ryan secured $20,000
in funding and officially opened the Dominican Literacy Center in the basement
of St. Nicholas Church, she had a total of nine students for the afternoon and
evening classes, with another three on a waiting list. READ
MORE >>
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Literacy Council of Reading-Berks Brings 50 Years of
Service to Berks County
BCTV:
10.02.2018 by Literacy Council of Reading-Berks
Literacy. The word itself means the ability to read and
write. But, to the students, volunteers, and professional staff at the Literacy Council of Reading-Berks, there is
more to the word than a simple definition.
Formed in 1968, the Literacy Council began by the sheer
determination of 13 women under the sponsorship of Church Women United, the
Fellowship House of Reading, and the Reading-Berks Human Relations Council.
These women spent the next five years, recruiting, mentoring and training 15
students to become tutors in hopes to address the illiteracy crisis in Berks
County.
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In Berks County, roughly 90,000 adults do not read well
enough to understand a newspaper article written at an eighth-grade level or
complete a job application. The effects of low literacy cost the United States
close to $225 billion each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime,
and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment, according to the National
Institute for Literacy. READ MORE >>
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Spreading the word(s): Literacy volunteers are busy in
Morristown
Morristown
Green: 10.02.2018 by Marion Filler
American hospitality is alive and well, at the Morristown
headquarters of Literacy Volunteers of Morris
County.
“We more than open books, we open doors,” is the motto
of the largest provider of free and personalized instruction in reading,
writing and English conversation to adults over 18 in the State of New Jersey.
In a typical year, 300 tutors — all of them volunteers —
assist approximately 800 students.
The majority are in English as a Second Language (ESL)
classes. But there also are native English speakers who are functionally
illiterate, defined as reading below the 5th grade level.
This is an adult who cannot not read a newspaper,
complete a job application, or understand written instructions from a doctor. READ
MORE >>
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Future is bleak
for BCLC
Bonnyvillenouvelle:
10.02.2018 by Meagan MacEachern
After 44 years of serving the community, the Bonnyville Community Learning Council
(BCLC) is exploring their options, following the province’s decision to deny
them funding through Alberta Advanced Education’s Community Adult Learning
Fund.
Disappointing, heartbreaking, and disheartening were
words used by the BCLC board to describe the news that their organization may
be forced to dissolve after four decades in Bonnyville.
“To have to disband an organization that has been so
successful is hurtful,” said Ina Smith, vice-chair of the board.
During their annual general meeting on Thursday, Sept.
27, the BCLC board decided to consider what’s next, now that they know
provincial funding won’t be coming their way.
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The BCLC provided additional learning opportunities for
adults in Bonnyville for 44 years, and relied on the province’s dollars to
operate.
Smith said they offered volunteer tutoring, and programs
to enhance math, reading, and writing skills. The organization also held
English as a Second Language courses, Spanish classes, and worked with other
community groups to host events such as the Bonnyville Community Registration
Night.
Family Literacy Night, Gardener’s Day, and the local
Community Garden were just some of the projects the BCLC spearheaded. READ
MORE >>
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