Literacy – Spanning the US :: Williamsburg VA :: Redlands CA :: Florida :: Farmville VA

Literacy: Spanning the US

@WRLibrary

Williamsburg Regional Library Recognized For Program For Spanish-Speaking Community

VA Gazette: 5.24.2019 by Rodrigo Arriaza

Teaching early literacy skills and serving the area’s Spanish-speaking community are the two tenets at the core of “Cena Con Cuentos,” a new program series from Williamsburg Regional Library that was recently recognized by the Virginia Public Library Director's Association.

The series serves preschool-age Spanish-speaking children and their families, and was started by youth services librarian Sara Meldrum, who said she wanted to establish a stronger connection between the library and Williamsburg’s Spanish-speaking population.

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“Cena Con Cuentos,” or “dinner with stories,” began last January as a weekly series of programs where young children and their families were invited to enjoy meals, get to know each other and to learn about the library and practice language skills in English and Spanish.  READ MORE >>

@AKSmileyPL

‘Seedfolks’ Named 2019 Community Read by Redlands Adult Literacy Program

Redlands Daily Facts: 5.03.2019 by Diane Shimota , Adult Literacy Coord-A.K. Smiley Library

Springtime in Redlands is a time of abundant color and planting of spring gardens. Adult learners who have improved their reading and writing skills in the Redlands Adult Literacy Program also grow, forming new relationships in their families and community.

Recognizing this connection, the Redlands Adult Literacy Program selected “Seedfolks” by Paul Fleischman as the 2019 Community Read. Adult learners, their tutors and community members are encouraged to read “Seedfolks,” which highlights the impact on individuals and a neighborhood when the diverse backgrounds and strengths of local residents meet in a community garden.  READ MORE >>

@FloridaLiteracy

Florida Blue Foundation Sponsors

Statewide Health Literacy Grants Program

Florida Literacy: 5.20.2019

Fourteen programs across the state of Florida have been awarded one-year, $5,000 grants for the implementation of a health literacy program to benefit their adult education, ESOL, and family literacy students.

Congratulations to the following organizations:

 Adult Literacy League, Orlando

 Atlantic Technical College, Arthur Ashe Jr. Campus

 Broward Community Schools

 Collier County Adult Education

 El Sol Jupiter’s Neighborhood Resource Center

 Families of the Treasure Coast

 Hands Together for Haitians

 Language Learning Center at Maitland Presbyterian Church

 Learn to Read of St. Johns County

 Literacy Council of Sarasota

 Miami Dade College, Hialeah Campus

 Sarasota Family YMCA

 School District of DeSoto County

 United Food Bank of Plant City

These mini-grants, awarded by the Florida Blue Foundation and the Florida Literacy Coalition, integrate health and nutrition information into the programs’ curriculum. The focus is to help students acquire the knowledge; literacy skills; and resources required to navigate the health care system and make informed health decisions. More than 18,000 students from programs throughout Florida have benefited from this Initiative since 2009.

There is a growing recognition among health care providers and adult educators around the country that limited English language and literacy skills can have a significant impact on one’s health. According to the National Adult Assessment of Literacy, 14 percent of Americans cannot comprehend basic health information. The study indicates that health illiteracy is especially prevalent among: 1) adults who did not complete high school, with 49 percent having below basic health literacy, and 2) foreign-born adults who speak English as their second language.

People who lack literacy and health literacy skills are much more likely to use medications incorrectly, have at least one chronic disease, spend more time in the hospital, and are four times more likely to have poor health than people with higher health literacy skills.  READ MORE >>

@STEPSincVA

Literacy Efforts Teaches Future Tutors

Farmville Herald: 5.28.2019

Training for seven future adult literacy tutors was held Wednesday, May 8, in the STEPS Inc. administration building.

Mora da Silva, adult education transitions specialist at Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC), instructed the participants in the complexities and intimacies of tutoring. She was assisted by Joyce Nelson, director of the Charlotte County Adult Learning Center, and Lonnie Calhoun, who has been the lead advocate for reviving adult tutoring efforts in Prince Edward County.

STEPS Inc. and the Prince Edward County Literacy Council are looking to re-establish or strengthen local Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language, and Family Literacy efforts. A litany of community organizations and groups has gotten behind the endeavor.

Introducing and walking the group through concepts such as different learning methods based on fictional students, da Silva stressed the components of reading instruction, such as word analysis, vocabulary development and fluency practice. Participants practiced writing what were intended to be effective and fun lesson plans.

“The alphabet is a code and we are trying to teach students how to decode the written word,” she told the group.

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A pilot tutoring effort will begin in June and the primary effort will commence in late August or September. Organizers have said the pilot will focus on one-on-one and small-group instruction.  READ MORE >>

National Literacy & Library Events :: July 2019

National Literacy & Library Events :: July 2019

Literacy & Library Events & Conferences

Events-National & International Events

Events-International: Language Magazine

Read an Almanac Month

July 02       National Literacy Day Proclamation 5507, 1986

July 05       Conference on Books, Publishing & Libraries Granada Spain

July 08       Summer Learning Week

July 08       Literacy Symposium 2019 CyberSpace

July 09       Autism Society National Conference Bethesda MD

July 10       Clerihew Day 

July 11       Bowdler's Day

July 11       Scholastic Reading Summit Orlando FL

July 12       Literacies for All Summer Institute Columbia SC

July 14       Summer Literacy Inst Lesley Univ Cambridge MA

July 15       Summer Literacy Inst Hamline School of Education Saint Paul MN

July 16       Scholastic Reading Summit Austin TX

July 18       Comic-Con International San Diego

July 18       Scholastic Reading Summit Greenwich CT

July 20       Phillis Wheatley Book Awards Columbia Univ NY

July 25       National Storytelling Summit Fremont CA

July 25       Summer Literacy Institute Longwood University Farmville VA

July 27       Librarians Day Romance Writers of America NY NY

July 27       “Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing RWA NY NY

July 28       Correction Education Assn Conference Detroit MI

July 30       Paperback Book Day

State Library Associations :: Conferences

African American Book Events

Book Fairs by State Library of Congress

Children’s Book Council Kid Lit Events

College Children’s & Young Adult Literature Conferences Festivals

Everfest Book Festival Calendar

ILA :: Literacy Calendar Worldwide

Storytelling Events

US Book Festivals

Simple Tips To Help Read Quicker And Comprehend More via Ebook Friendly

Quick Tips

Simple Tips To Help Read Quicker And Comprehend More (infographic)

Ebook Friendly: 6.16.2019 by Ola Kowalczyk

Do you consider yourself a smart reader? You can do even better with these quick tips that have just been shared by Macmillan Education, a pioneer in providing solutions to enhance the learning experience.

The infographic includes two areas. One is focused on how to comprehend more during reading through mapping the main ideas. The other one is aimed at helping you increase your reading speed.  READ MORE >>

Health Literacy Training Is Important For People Of All Ages via MHLP

In The Know MHLP Newsletter

@MNHealthLit

Health Literacy Training Is Important For People Of All Ages

Health Literacy MN Blog: 2.06.2019

Learning how to maintain good health and understand the health care system can – and should – start early in life and continue throughout. Adolescents are already becoming increasingly involved in their own health care, using health information learned in school and through the media to inform their own actions and behaviors. As more young people engage in their own health care, educators and health professionals have the opportunity to help teach them the basic skills needed to adopt and practice healthy behaviors, as well as how they can best navigate the health care system.

Health literacy (or the degree to which a person is able to process and understand basic health information) is a crucial element of being informed about your own health and the health care system at large. That’s why the Minnesota Health Literacy Partnership recommends health literacy be taught to people of all ages, as a key priority of the Minnesota Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy.

Here are some ways that educators and health professionals can share health literacy with people of all ages:

Provide health literacy education in K-12 schools.

Being “health literate” means you understand the basic vocabulary and processes of the health care system.

Develop health literacy content for adult learners.

Health care and insurance can be overwhelming for all ages.

Train health professionals in health literacy.

Health professionals, insurance representatives, and others in the health industry speak a language that can be difficult for many people to understand.  READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Golden Gate FL :: Zanesville OH :: Moncks Corner SC

Literacy: Spanning the US

@GPNaples

'The Reason We Are Here': Grace Place Graduates Celebrate Milestone With Their Children

Naples Now: 5.15.2019 by Rachel Fradette

Four days a week, Susana Beristain walked into Grace Place in Golden Gate with her son. They would separate to go to their respective classes, but meet up right after classes ended.

Both of them are learning English. It's something they are doing together from start to finish, so marking a successful year is a part of the deal.

With her son Manuel, 4, in tow, Beristain, 36, made her way across the stage Wednesday at Grace Place in Golden Gate to receive a certificate for her work in the Bright Beginnings program. The program focuses on family literacy.

"Grace Place means a lot to me," Beristain said. "They've been helping me. Being together, they (her children) are learning, I'm learning too at the same time."

She was recognized with 32 women who also reached this milestone. Kids were celebrated for their work in the program, donning graduation caps, while their mothers received red roses.

Grace Place, a local nonprofit, offers resources to families in the Golden Gate community through English language classes, literacy programs, adult education and a weekly food pantry.  READ MORE >>

Muskingum County 

Literacy

Literacy Council Encourages Community-wide Effort To Improve Reading Skills

City News: 5.16.2019 by Christine Holmes

With the school year coming to an end, the Muskingum County Literacy Council is making a push to keep reading skills fresh over the summer break.

On Saturday, the Council, in partnership with the Muskingum County Library System and Muskingum County Education Service Center, will be hosting a Family Reading Festival at the Colony Square Mall.

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“We need to get books in the hands of children, but we need to let parents know the importance of reading to their children, ultimately,” said Lawyer.

The momentum doesn’t stop with educating children. Lawyer said she’d like to see the community take and active role in teaching adults to read and encouraging them to get their high school diploma. READMORE >>   

Unchained

Former Lowcountry Inmate Helps Former Prisoners Rebuild Lives

ABC News4: 5.20.2019 byBrodie Hart

A former Lowcountry inmate is working to help former inmates rebuild their lives.

"You don’t have to go back into the prison systems," said Ramona Stillwaggon, who works as a construction superintendent. She says she served 14 months in prison two decades ago, and came out a changed person. "You’re not given an opportunity to plan your life out when you’re incarcerated."

She said her time behind bars led her to form Unchained, which she uses to teach life skills to former inmates. She teaches literacy, employment stability, financial security, and interview skills.

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Stillwaggon said her next meeting for Unchained is June 1st at the Moncks Corner Public Library. It's free and open to the public.  WATCH 02:23

Women’s Perspectives: A Journal of Writing and Art by Adult Learners via WE LEARN

@welearnwomlit

Women’s Perspectives: A Journal of Writing and Art by Adult Learners

Women’s Perspectives 14: 2019

First Steps: The Journey Begins showcases original writing and artwork by adult education students across all levels. Student writers and artists were encouraged to reflect and to share ideas on the theme: “First Steps.” This means something different to everyone, so the selections in this journal cover a range of subjects.

WE LEARN (Women Expanding Literacy Education Action Resource Network)

My New Journey Caroline Wang – Pleasanton Library: The Pleasanton Reads Project

Hero’s Journey: First Steps p.65

I began a new journey when I was 40. In 2014, my daughter and I moved from Beijing, China to Pleasanton, California. One year later, my son joined us.

Many people have asked me about what made me move to the States. My children's education was one of the reasons but not the only one. Everybody occasionally feels the need to change, but the feeling is usually followed by “someday.” At 40, I found the courage to ask, “Why not right now?” I was afraid the courage that I had then might fade away. So I decided to take action immediately.

I held a senior position in the human resources department of a multinational company and was in charge of talent development. One of my jobs was to select successors for key positions through a series of well-developed assessment tools. One of my key findings was that we could not instill certain key leadership competencies, such as risk-taking, creativity, entrepreneurship, and even teamwork. Some middle-level managers were very good at one position, but when we asked them to lead an organization or a cross-functional team, they could not do it well. Although the company invested a lot to develop those skills in some individuals, they would fail in managerial positions. Because of this, new general managers were often hired from overseas. I thought maybe some leadership competencies needed to be developed during their education period since leadership training did not help that much. This observation made me recognize a significant difference between the American and Chinese education systems.  READ MORE >>

Thank You

to the participating programs that encouraged their students to send us their work

Pleasanton Library – The Pleasanton Reads Project Pleasanton, CA

Fulton Academy Johnstown, NY

Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution New Castle, DE

Seeds of Literacy Cleveland, OH

CUNY Start, Borough of Manhattan Community College NY

South Brunswick Public Library Monmouth Junction, NJ

Greenwood County Library Adult Literacy and ESL Program Greenwood, SC

Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA) Belmont, Trinidad

San Diego Continuing Education – Basic Education-DSPS at ECC San Diego, CA

Lehman College Adult Learning Center Bronx, NY

We Must Act Today To Address The Hidden Cost Of Financial Illiteracy via The Hill

S&P Global FINLIT

We Must Act Today To Address The Hidden Cost Of Financial Illiteracy

The Hill: 6.12.2019 by Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz

With bipartisanship in short supply, Congress must search for areas in which cooperation is both possible and beneficial for the health of our nation—and financial literacy would be a wise place to start. The lack of financial literacy is blind to politics. It affects young and old, rural and urban, and every ethnicity, gender and creed. The passage of the bipartisan criminal justice reform bill late last year and recent bills addressing retirement are evidence areas do in fact exist on which both parties can come together for our nation’s greater good. I believe financial literacy is among these pressing issues of mutual concern and bipartisanship.

Despite its status as the world’s largest economy, the U.S. ranks just 14th in Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey with an adult literacy rate of 57 percent. For context, that percentage is significantly behind similarly developed peers like Canada and Germany. Perhaps because we lack financial literacy, more than half of Americans have no emergency savings (FINRA), and 72 percent of Americans say they are stressed about money (APA).

The ramifications of financial illiteracy are numerous, as it impacts not only an individual’s personal standard of living but also our nation’s ability to compete on a global scale. We know, for instance, that financial illiteracy limits workforce participation and impacts employee productivity, the latter of which cuts across all walks of life, irrespective of socioeconomic status, race or gender. It also strains our social services when individuals are unable to secure their own financial future and must rely heavily on financial safety nets like Social Security.

As an issue of national impact, it is ripe for Congressional action.

This action should take two forms.

First, financial literacy should be required as part of the public-school curriculum. Although a variety of states teach financial literacy in schools already, these efforts are fragmented and underfunded. Since 2016, not a single state has added financial literacy to their curriculum, and fewer than 16 percent of U.S. students are required to take a personal finance course to graduate high school.

Second, Congress should encourage private enterprises to include financial literacy in their workforce development programs.

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That legislation, the “Investing in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act of 2019,” was introduced in January by Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) and provides a business-related tax credit for employers who increase spending on certain forms of worker training. Its goal is to stimulate the economy by both upskilling existing employees and educating potential employees to fill the growing skills gap within the U.S.  READ MORE >>

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Financial

Financial Literacy Survey, NFCC

General Literacy Surveys, Jumpstart

2016: S&P Global Financial Literacy Survey, George Washington Univ School of Business

2016: State-by-State Financial Capability Survey, FINRA

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Tullahoma TN :: San Bernardino Co CA :: Zanesville OH :: Athens AL

Literacy: Spanning the US

Literacy Council

‘I Felt Like I Had Won The Lottery’

Tullahoma News: 5.12.2019

George Cruz, of Tullahoma, struggled in school as a child. He said he felt he “wasn’t smart enough to keep up with the other kids.”

He fell behind during the first years of school. He never asked for help.

“That was my main problem,” Cruz said.

Cruz earned his high school-equivalent diploma about 20 years after his peers graduated from high school.

Grateful for this opportunity, he now encourages others to always look ahead and not let the past prevent them from fulfilling their dreams.

He shared his experience at the April 24 Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast hosted by the Literacy Council, the organization that helped Cruz achieve his goal of passing HiSET (High School Equivalency Test).  READ MORE >>

Literacy Can Lift Lives Out Of Poverty

Highland Community News: 3.06.2019 by James Folmer

Half-a-million adults living in the San Bernardino County can’t read.

That’s according to county Librarian Michael Jimenez, who reports this disturbing number in his application for a $10,000 federal Community Development Block Grant from the city of Highland. He cited the most recent U.S. National Assessment Report, which says one in seven Americans have difficulty reading anything more challenging than children’s picture book.

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Jimenez says adult illiteracy contributes to unemployment and incarceration.

Jestina Sunwabe, a 25-year-old Highland resident, has been coming to the library since September for reading lessons.

Her tutor is Greg Vojtko, a former Press-Enterprise photographer and lover of libraries.  READ MORE >>

Muskingum County 

Literacy

Proclamation For Literacy at City Council Meeting

WHIZ: 5.13.2019 by Jennifer Henry

Improving the literacy in Muskingum County was a topic of discussion at Monday’s city council meeting.

Community Literacy Liaison, Cindy Lawyer, spoke with city council regarding a collaboration with the Muskingum County Literacy Council and the idea of promoting literacy in the area. The Literacy Council has a mission of providing resources and opportunities to promote literacy solutions for children, adults, and families.

“To make people aware of the opportunity that they have. Not only for children to have the opportunity to read, but also adults. Adult reading literacy is huge,” said Lawyer.

Mayor Jeff Tilton presented a proclamation to Lawyer during the meeting. The proclamation makes sure the Literacy Council is committed to Zanesville to promote reading. Lawyer said the proclamation represents literacy awareness. WATCH 01:19

Learn-to-Read

Dollar General Foundation Awards Grants To Local Literacy Agency

News Courier: 5.14.2019 by Adam Smith

Two programs offered by a local literacy agency received a helping hand recently from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

The Learn-to-Read Council of Athens and Limestone County received two grants last week — one for $10,000 and another for $1,000. Rhonda Andrews, director of the organization, said the larger grant will be used for the adult program and the smaller grant will go toward the summer youth program.

The adult literacy program includes an English-as-a-second-language tutoring component and a computer learning lab if a tutor is not available.

“We try to find a tutor eventually or they can sit at the computer and learn some base knowledge,” Andrews said. “Dollar General was key in helping get that started.”

The summer youth program is for students who may be struggling in school and need to retain what they learned the previous year. She explained Dollar General’s Literacy Foundation has offered assistance to the Learn-to-Read Council of Athens and Limestone County for more than 15 years.  READ MORE >>