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Literacy: Spanning the US       

@literacynj

Linden Woman To Be Honored at Literacy NJ Conference

RLS Media: 4.17.2019

Literacy NJ - which provides free adult literacy programs and U.S. citizenship classes in eight New Jersey counties - will be honoring Anita Alvarado of Linden at this year’s Literacy NJ conference for her efforts to advance adult literacy.

The award will be presented on April 27th at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

Officials say the event brings together 200 students, tutors, adult educators and board members from across the state for a day of professional development.

Anita came to Literacy NJ in March 2015 to improve her English so she could help her children with their homework, talk with their teachers, and read notes from the school. After quickly improving her English skills, she offered to volunteer in the office making phone calls and helping out with assorted tasks. It quickly became clear that Anita was organized, dedicated, had a wonderful phone manner, and generally enjoyed being able to give back for the help she had received as a student.

Organizers say in September 2017, Anita joined the staff of Literacy NJ as an Administrative Assistant.  READ MORE >>

Culpeper Literacy

Culpeper Literacy Council Helps Spread Health Literacy To Seniors

Inside Nova: 4.17.2019 by Jeff Say Culpeper

The Culpeper Literacy Council partnered with the Culpeper Wellness Foundation to help teach seniors at the Culpeper Senior Center health literacy.

The eight-week program helped provide health literacy to individuals in the community and then helps train medical professionals to identify behaviors or language barriers for someone lacking health literacy said Leslie Mary, with the Culpeper Literacy Council.

“It gives health literacy to individuals that normally wouldn’t have health literacy,” Maryk said. “It gives them the opportunity to understand medical terminology, current healthcare topics and what’s considered a standard processing practice.”  READ MORE >>

@LAPublicLibrary

Spotlight on Adult Literacy: Dreams Achieved

LAPL BLOG: 4.03.2019 by Randall Hinson, Librarian, Office of Education and Literacy

Adult literacy learner Gregory Hill at the Exposition Park Branch Library

For 35 years, the Adult Literacy program at the Los Angeles Public Library has helped adults all over Los Angeles improve their reading and writing skills. Gregory Hill is one of our inspiring learners.

Gregory was passed from grade to grade throughout his elementary, middle, and high school years even though he couldn’t read or write. He graduated from high school, but was unable to fill out forms or applications, and found applying for jobs difficult. Gregory tried numerous programs and classes to improve his situation, but always found himself back where he began, unable to read or write.

Then one day, while in the Exposition Park Regional Library, Gregory saw a sign over a door that read, “Adult Literacy Center – Read, Learn, Help”. Inside, he met dedicated former literacy coordinator June Brandon, who reassured him that he was in the right place. She promised him that regardless of what happened in the past, she was going to do everything in her power to help him learn to read and write. From that day forward, Gregory was on the path to literacy—not in a school, but at his local library.  WATCH 01:36

Butte Literacy

Butte Literacy Program Sees Extreme Growth, Success With Adult Students

Montana Standard: 4.18.2019 by Maddie Vincent

“It’s like confetti falling from the sky.”

That’s how Butte Literacy Program coordinator Tenney Hammond described the tutoring group's success in recent months.

Since June 2018, the free one-on-one adult tutoring program has gone from servicing 8 students to 64, and from 5 to 15 tutors. This significant growth and the $15,800 the local literacy program has cumulatively received through local, state and national grant awards are very exciting for Hammond and the program — and a little surprising.

“I’m one happy camper, I never thought we would see this kind of growth,” Hammond said. “We did what we could do and are doing what we said we would do.”

The Butte Literacy Program has been providing free tutoring since 1987 to adult learners looking to improve skills in a variety of subjects, often to earn their high school equivalency certificate. According to ProLiteracy, the national adult literacy organization Butte’s program partners with, more than 36 million adults in the United States cannot read, write or do basic math above a third-grade level, as previously reported. That’s over 10 percent of the country’s total population.

In Butte-Silver Bow, that national statistic rings true: roughly 10 percent of county adults do not have a high school diploma, according to the Butte Literacy Program data. Over 40 percent of the program’s students are unemployed.  READ MORE >>