Literacy: Spanning North America
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How A Sioux Falls Nonprofit Is
Helping Workers Improve Literacy Skills
Argus
Leader: 9.26.2019 by Shelly Conlon
It
may seem simple, but the difference between understanding words like,
"suite and sweet," can mean all the difference for Francia Weay in
understanding how to navigate around town.
It
can mean the difference between what hospital rooms she visits or how she
interacts with patients at Avera McKennan
Hospital & University Health Center.
And
it can lead to the difference in her current role and the role of others wanting
to move up in the medical field in South Dakota.
But
that difference is also what's driving her and other students to join a new
adult literacy program partnering local businesses like Sanford Health, Avera
and Grand Praire Foods with a local nonprofit to improve their overall literacy
skills to better their workplace opportunities.
After
piloting the program for about two years, Reach Literacy has officially
launched workplace academies to pair tutors with working adults wherever they
are, offering to meet an hour twice a week for eight weeks to review everyday
literacy skills.
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It
can take about 70 to 100 hours for someone to begin seeing appreciable progress
and improvement in their literacy skills, Carda said. An academy partnership
like this also allows employees to feel reassured that their employers care
about their success.
The
course builds in camaraderie, but focuses on reading skills related to
financial issues, housing, food, shopping
— practical things someone might use daily, but can also build on, Carda
said.
"People
talk a lot about workforce," Carda said. "We want to expand, and we
want people to be in that workforce, but actually physically working with
people and seeing them moving up is super rewarding." READ
MORE >>
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Faces Of Literacy Gala Celebrates
Adult Learners' Accomplishments
NBC
26: 9.25.2019 by Stacy Engebretson
More
than 12,000 adults in Outagamie County are believed to have low literacy
skills, that's according to Fox Valley
Literacy . The nonprofit organization was founded 29 years ago and has
since helped thousands of adults, 18 and older, learn how to speak English and
read and write better with the goal of improving the entire family's situation.
Rene
Delgado moved to Appleton 13 years ago.
"Looking
for a better opportunity, because it's hard in Mexico," he explained.
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While
the adult learners get so much out of the program, so does Davis.
"Just
satisfaction that they're doing so much better, and then they go on to do other
things that they wouldn't have been able to do before."
Delgado
works in a restaurant and is on a path to becoming a U.S. citizen. His
successes, and those of the nonprofit's other 350 learners, will be celebrated
during the Faces of Literacy gala. WATCH
02:23
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Learning To Read At 86: Yukon Elder
& His Tutor Receive Literacy Award
CBC:
9.10.2019 by Mike Rudyk
You're
never too old to learn.
Just
ask 86-year-old Kwanlin Dun First Nation elder Louie Smith, whose lifelong
dream was to learn to read in English.
After
four years spent working with Ted Ackerman, a tutor-volunteer with Yukon Learn, the two were recognized at
an award ceremony in Whitehorse. They are this year's recipients of the Council
of the Federation Literacy Award.
The
national award recognizes outstanding achievement, innovative practice, and
excellence in literacy.
"I
had a little bit of trouble with my eye and a cataract bothered me a little
bit, but I'm doing my best and I started learning how to read a little bit
now," said Smith.
He
says he can now go to a bank ATM and take out cash because he now knows how to
read.
Smith
was raised in a traditional lifestyle living off the land. His father taught
him Southern Tutchone and Northern Tutchone. English is his
third language. READ
MORE >>
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Starting Over In A New Land
Hilton
Head Monthly: 9.27.2019 by Jessica Sparks
In
Venezuela, Javier Campos was a petroleum engineer and Karla Losada was a
lawyer.
When
they decided to move to the Lowcountry two years ago with their two children,
they knew they wouldn’t easily step into the same professional lives.
Despite
the high number of Spanish-speaking residents in the area, the language barrier
made it hard for the couple to find work. Friends directed them to The Literacy Center, where now
they are working to become fluent in spoken and written English.
For
46 years, The Literacy Center has been helping Lowcountry residents learn
English and improve their reading skills. Today, the center is also working to
address another major problem in the Lowcountry: A shortage of trained workers
in the workforce.
“We’re
working to move from just basic ESL services that we do now to workplace
services,” said Brad Steele, executive director of the organization. READ
MORE >>
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