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Literacy: Spanning the US

Literacy Volunteers of 

Chemung and Schuyler Counties

Literacy In The Twin Tiers: Adult Literacy 101

WETM-TV: 9.12.2019 by Zach Wheeler

In part two of our series, “Literacy In The Twin Tiers,” we attend an adult literacy class held at the Ernie Davis Community Center in Elmira.

The class is part of the Literacy Volunteers of Chemung and Schuyler Counties program.  WATCH 02:57

@source_learning

The Learning Source Is Looking For Volunteer Tutors To Help Adult Students . . .

Denver Post: 9.13.2019 by T Stratton

The Learning Source – Colorado’s leading nonprofit resource for adult education classes and family literacy – is currently looking for volunteers in Aurora, Lakewood and Thornton. This is a great opportunity to give back to your local community and help adult students work toward their educational goals. Volunteer are critical to the process, providing the needed individual help that is often key to the success of our students.

Volunteers in the Aurora area are needed to help students in the Family Literacy Program and English as a second language (ESL) classes. Volunteers in the Lakewood area are needed to help students who want to attend college, but need more preparation before they can enroll. Volunteers in the Thornton area are needed to help students in English as a second language (ESL) classes.

Join The Learning Source’s existing volunteer pool of more than 130 individuals who find it rewarding and meaningful to help tutor adult students. Volunteer tutors help The Learning Source staff with one-on-one instruction or small group work. Interested volunteers must attend a 2-part orientation and training session. Volunteer training is being offered September 30th and October 2nd, 2019. The initial commitment is one session a week (approx. three hours) for a semester (15 weeks). No prior experience is needed.

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Founded in 1964, The Learning Source offers many programs including Family Literacy, High School Equivalency preparation (GED) and English as a second language (ELS) classes and The Learning Collaborative program, designed to help with college readiness skills.  READ MORE >>

Hough Reads

Tri-C Grad Fights Illiteracy in Cleveland’s Hough Neighborhood

Rhonda Crowder is the founder of the “Hough Reads” program

Tri-C News: 9.12.2019 by Erik Cassano

The importance of reading wasn’t fully revealed to Rhonda Crowder until she read Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as a young adult.

She had grown disinterested in reading throughout her teenage years. But soon after finishing Angelou’s book, she called Cuyahoga Community College.

“I told them I wanted to go back to school, and I did that, and I haven’t looked back,” Crowder told Spectrum News 1 in a recent article.

She later graduated from Tri-C and Cleveland State University, becoming a writer and editor. She also became inspired to set others on the path to literacy.

Crowder grew up in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood, which has a 95% adult illiteracy rate. The nearby Kinsman neighborhood has a 98% rate. Overall, Cleveland’s adult illiteracy rate is 66%.

To help combat illiteracy in the area, Crowder founded “Hough Reads,” a program promoting literacy through motivation, education and access to books.  READ MORE >>

Madison County 

Literacy Coalition

‘I’m A Different Person Now’

Literacy Coalition Improving Lives One At A Time

Herald Bulletin: 9.14 2019 by Don Knight

At the age of 58, Anita Mitchell had had enough. She was determined to learn to read.

“I wanted to get a job. I wanted to do better for myself,” Mitchell said.

She wasn’t doing it just for herself. She wanted to be able to read to her eight grandchildren.

“Now I like reading. I enjoy it, I really do,” Mitchell said. “I’m a different person now.”

She could read at a fourth grade level when she went to the Madison County Literacy Coalition for help. There, she was teamed up with literacy coach David Lehr.

For Lehr, a retired police chief, Mitchell was his first student.

The two met two hours at a time twice a week.

“We started with basic phonics. From there we started sounding out words, started breaking down words into syllables,” Lehr said.

Mitchell was motivated and moved through the program quickly, finishing in about a year.

Lehr knew she was ready to graduate when she saw a book at the library that piqued her interest and read it on her own in two weeks.

“I decided then that she probably didn’t need me much more,” Lehr said.

Mitchell was not the typical student. Most meet with their tutors for an hour once or twice a week and can be in the program for years. Many don’t turn into recreational readers but use the skill to navigate the world.  READ MORE >>