Literacy – Spanning the US :: Chicago IL :: Midland TX :: Danville VA

Literacy: Spanning the US       

@ChiCityLiteracy

Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition Wins Adult Literacy XPRIZE Communities Competition

Chicago Now: 4.017.2019 by Gordon Dymowski

Last week, I wrote about the Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition and their efforts to drive both digital and healthcare literacy in the city. In my previous post, I mentioned that the CCLC focuses on digital literacy as well as workforce development and healthcare literacy. As I mentioned in last week’s post, technology is at the forefront of their activities.

The Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition demonstrates a strong determination to integrate technology, community, and literacy in their work. It was that determination to make an impact that led the CCLC to apply for - and win a milestone award in the Adult Literacy XPRIZE Communites [sic] Competition.

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With three million adults in Illinois lacking education beyond high school, the economic and social benefits of the CCLC’s work cannot be understated. It is expected that more than 67% of jobs in Illinois will require postsecondary education or training by 2020. Adult literacy and education can provide $2.50 in return for every $1.00 of Illinois tax money spent, saving the state millions and reducing the need for state-funded programs like Medicaid, corrections, housing unemployment, SNAP, and public aid.  READ MORE >>

Midland Need to Read Gets A New Name

Midland Reporter-Telegram: 4.12.2019

Midland Need to Read officially will become the Permian Basin Adult Literacy Center at an open house and renaming celebration planned for Saturday. The event also marks the introduction of the nonprofit’s new executive director Alba Austin. Before the celebration, Austin, who assumed the director position in March, talked about the name change and her vision for the agency.

MRT: Why was now the time for a name change?

Austin: There were several reasons but really the name didn’t encompass the three services we provide, which are English language learning, adult education and literacy and digital literacy. Plus, even though we’re located in Midland, we serve Odessa, Big Spring, Monahans -- anyone from the surrounding areas, so this said, we serve everyone in the Permian Basin.

MRT: Are there plans for expansion?

Austin: We do have a strategic plan to expand in the next two or three years. We’d hope to expand into a bigger building, and thus grow our services. We’d also like to expand the (number) of classes we can provide for our students. That would be my vision.  READ MORE >>

Project Literacy

Project Literacy Seeks More Tutors; Nonprofit Organization Says Nearly 1 in 5 Danville Residents Can’t Read

Go Dan River: 4.14.2019 by ​John Crane

Sharon Richardson is learning how to read.

Her biggest motivation is her three children. Seeing them go to school and graduate makes her want to advance her reading skills, go back to school to earn her GED and study nursing at Danville Community College.

“I said, ‘If they can graduate, I know I can graduate,’” Richardson, 50, said during an interview Thursday.

Richardson is getting reading and math lessons from Project Literacy, a nonprofit organization started in Danville in 1986.

Project Literacy is a community-based organization dedicated to improving literacy rates among adults in Danville. The group believes that literacy is the foundation of education, opportunity and social and civic participation, according its website.

The organization owes its existence to a group of women who formed the Danville Reading Center in the mid-1960s. Nancy Jiranek served as the center’s executive director until 1986, when she became the organizer and facilitator for Project Literacy, according to the organization’s web site.

The city’s illiteracy rate is 18 percent, said Project Literacy Executive Director Laura Powell. That means nearly one in five Danville residents cannot read. The national illiteracy rate is 14 percent, she said.

Children of parents unable to read are also affected, said Powell, who has been tutoring for about three years.

“That also means their children and grandchildren don’t start as strongly as other others,” Powell said.  READ MORE >>