The Forgotten Workforce :: Time For Literacy Organizations To Be Brought In via Buffalo News

Editorial: The Forgotten Workforce

Buffalo News: 12.28.2019 by News Editorial Board

On one side, Buffalo is home to significant population that has graduated or otherwise left high school unable to read at a 10th-grade level.

On the other, we see a stable of local employers struggling to fill jobs with qualified candidates, a problem that threatens the health of Western New York’s revived economy.

Any ideas?

The match may not have been made exactly in heaven – making it work will be challenging – but it’s an obvious one: Buffalo needs to train its unemployable workforce to fill jobs that now go begging. It’s good for those who would land new positions, good for employers who need those workers and really good – make that necessary – for a region that needs to protect its improved economy from stalling.

═════════►

It begins with literacy. The inability to read is a slamming economic door. On one side is the possibility of success, while on the other is a guarantee of failure. Illiteracy makes prosperity all but impossible, taking with it the likelihood of good nutrition, good health and general stability.

How do you write a rent check or even open a bank account? How do you read a recipe or a prescription bottle, let alone understand how to use sophisticated job machinery? How do you avoid putting succeeding generations at the same educational disadvantage?

═════════►

State and local governments, economic developers and the private sector need to make a mission of focused job training and, where necessary, they need to begin that work with literacy. That requires funding and commitment.

It’s not as though the area is unequipped to provide that help. While job training programs in the area attract millions of dollars, little of it goes to literacy problems such as Literacy New York Buffalo-Niagara. That’s a frustration for its executive director, Tara Schafer.

“Emphasizing the missing link of that literacy piece has been a real challenge for us,” she told Watson. “So when funding gets to our community, we feel left out.”

It’s time for such organizations to be brought in.  READ MORE >>

National Literacy Directory

 Local Adult Literacy Programs!

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Workplace

2019: Global Skills Index, Coursera

2018: A Stronger Nation: Learning beyond high school builds American talent, Lumina

2017: UpSkilling Playbook for Employers, Aspen Institute

2015: Skills Gap Report, NAM-MI

2010: Literacy & The Entry-Level Workforce - The Role of Literacy and Policy in Labor Market Success, Employment Policies Institute

2008: Reach Higher America: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce, NCAL

2007: America’s Perfect Storm, ETS

2007: Can California Import Enough College Grad's. Meet Workforce Needs?, PPIC

2007: Mounting Pressures: Workforce . . . Adult Ed, NCAL

National Literacy & Library Events :: January 2020

National Literacy & Library Events :: January 2020

Literacy & Library Events & Conferences

Events-National & International Events

Events-International: Language Magazine

Braille Literacy Month

Jan. 04      Hawaii International Conference on Education Honolulu HI

Jan. 14      Future of Education Technology Conference FETC Miami FL

Jan. 14      Poetry at Work Day

Jan. 18      Thesaurus Day

Jan. 23      Handwriting Day

Jan. 23      National Reading Day

Jan. 24      ALA Midwinter 2020 Philadelphia PA

Jan. 24      International Day of Education

Jan. 25      I Love My Librarian 2019 Award Philadelphia PA

Jan. 25      Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Jan. 27      Literacy Week Florida

Jan. 27      Family Literacy Day Canada

Jan. 29      ATIA Conference & Exhibition        Orlando FL

Jan. 29      Mentoring Summit Washington DC

Jan. 29      Plain Talk about Literacy and Learning New Orleans LA

Jan. 31      Reading Horizons Conference Florence AL

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

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Houston TX :: Newburgh NY :: Indianapolis IN :: Glen Ellyn IL

Literacy: Spanning the US

@harriscountypl

Harris Co. Libraries Offer Free Citizenship Classes To Public

ABC 13: 11.14.2019 by Pooja Lodhia

More than a dozen Harris County Libraries are offering free ten-week-long citizenship classes.

"Our immigrant community is vibrant, diverse, and energetic," said volunteer teacher Deannie Allen. "They add a lot to our community. I want to help them become citizens because someone helped my ancestors become citizens."

Allen is a retired school teacher who has helped dozens of people pass their citizenship tests.

She incorporates rhymes and songs into her teaching.

Curious to see what questions are on the citizenship test? Here is a list of 100 questions that can appear on the exam.  WATCH 02:24

Literacy Programs Available In Newburgh

MidHudson News: 11.15.2019

Literacy Connections Inc., a non-profit organization in existence since 1975 opened a Newburgh branch this week to serve students with low literacy levels.

Located at 436 Robinson Avenue, Literacy Connections also serves immigrants lacking English language skills.  Executive Director Marisol Rodriguez noted that they serve residents of Dutchess, Columbia, Greene, and Orange Counties.  According to Rodriguez, illiteracy or low literacy is a family issue and it is addressed through their “Adult and Family Literacy Program” while the “Book Buddies Program” brings volunteers to read with children in schools that are struggling to read.

Literacy Connections of the Hudson Valley, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) non- profit organization founded in 1975. We serve adult students with the lowest literacy levels and immigrants lacking English language skills in Dutchess, Columbia, Greene, and Orange Counties. Recognizing that illiteracy or low literacy is a family issue, our Adult and Family Literacy program also offers reading enrichment to children through our Book Buddies program, which brings volunteers to read with children in schools struggling with reading.  READ MORE >>

@indyreads

Empowering Hoosier Adults Through Free Literacy & Certification Classes

Hiring Hoosiers — Removing Barriers

Indy Channel: 11.15.2019 by Amanda Starrantino

Hiring Hoosiers is all about opening the book to resources and tools to help you write the story for your career. A program that has been around Central Indiana for three decades is working within an all-new model that brings illiterate adult Hoosiers together to master the skill of reading.

Indy Reads hopes these classroom-based lessons will help Hoosiers land a job or get promotions within their current jobs to excel in their career goals and make the community as a whole a stronger place.

The ABC's come as a simple skill for many Hoosiers. But the reality in Indiana is that it is not a tool to take for granted. One in every six adults read below a 5th-grade level, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Michelle Smith is one of them. She did not learn how to read as a child.

"No, they passed me on through, they just passed me on through," explains Smith. "[Went to school,] but didn't learn anything."

This 58-year-old from Indy's east side is working re-write her past.

="I am learning more now than I did when I was going to school since I have been in this program," says Smith.  WATCH 03:08

@LiteracyDuPage

Literacy DuPage

NCTV 17: 11.15.2019

Literacy DuPage recruits and trains volunteer tutors who teach adults English. Since 1972, they have been equipping a big-hearted army of tutors to sit side-by-side with adults in DuPage County who cannot understand, speak, read, or write English.  WATCH 09:00

12 Ways Libraries Are Good for the Country via American Libraries

#LibrariesTransform

12 Ways Libraries Are Good for the Country

American Libraries: 12.21.2019

Americans love their libraries, and advances in technology have multiplied the ways in which libraries enrich the quality of life in their communities. Whether they are in an elementary school or a university, a museum or a corporation, public or private, our nation's libraries offer a lifetime of learning. To library supporters everywhere—Friends, trustees, board members, patrons, and volunteers—American Libraries magazine offers this gift of 12 ideals toward which librarians strive as they provide comprehensive access to the record of human existence. It will take all of us, in a spirit of pride and freedom, to maintain libraries as a living reality in a free nation through the 21st century.

1. Libraries sustain democracy.

Libraries provide access to information and multiple points of view so that people can make knowledgeable decisions on public policy throughout their lives.

2. Libraries break down boundaries.

Libraries of various kinds offer services and programs for people at all literacy levels, readers with little or no English skills, preschoolers, students, homebound senior citizens, prisoners, homeless or impoverished individuals, and persons with physical or learning disabilities.

3. Libraries level the playing field.

By making access to information resources and technology available to all, regardless of income, class, or background, a public library levels the playing field and helps close the gap between the rich and the poor.

4. Libraries value the individual.

Libraries offer choices between mainstream and alternative viewpoints, between traditional and visionary concepts, and between monocultural and multicultural perspectives.

5. Libraries nourish creativity.

By providing an atmosphere that stimulates curiosity, libraries create opportunities for unstructured learning and serendipitous discovery.

6. Libraries open young minds.

Children’s and young adult librarians offer story hours, book talks, summer reading activities, career planning, art projects, gaming competitions, and other programs to spark youthful imaginations.  READ MORE >>

Originally published as a cover story in American Libraries, December 1995. Adapted and updated by Leonard Kniffel, December 2010

Improving Health Literacy for All via Health Literacy Partners

Health Literacy in Nursing

Improving Health Literacy for All

Health Literacy Partners: 12.10.2019

Health Literacy in Nursing: Providing Person-Centered Care is an award-winning book that provides a thorough overview of health literacy, and presents the magnitude and implications of low health literacy.  A distinctive feature of Health Literacy in Nursing is that it also includes dedicated chapters, written by subject matter experts who care for specific patient populations for whom health literacy is often overlooked.

This book concludes with five chapters that will assist nurses who specialize in providing care to specific patient populations such as:

End-of-Life and Palliative Care

Pediatrics

Mental Health Disorders

Older Adults

Research Participants

READ MORE >>

NCFL :: 30 Days of Families Learning Together

30 Days of Families 

Learning Together

30 Days of Families Learning Together

NCFL

NCFL’s guide to 30 Days of Families Learning Together provides a month’s worth of family literacy activities and practices designed to inspire family memories rooted in imagining, playing, and learning together. These hands-on and wonder-filled activities were hand-selected from our signature programs, Wonderopolis and Family Time Machine.

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Los Angeles CA :: Mariposa CA :: St Charles IL

Literacy: Spanning the US

@LAPublicLibrary

Enfoque en la alfabetización: un sueño hecho realidad

LAPL Blog: 8.07.2019 by Randall Hinson, Librarian, Office of Education and Literacy

En julio del año pasado, tres estudiantes emprendieron su camino hacia la alfabetización a través de Leamos, un programa de alfabetización a base de computadora, en la Biblioteca Pacoima. Leamos provee a hispanohablantes, quienes no tuvieron la oportunidad de asistir a la escuela en su niñez, un curso de lectura y escritura en su idioma nativo. También los capacita en nociones básicas del uso de la computadora y sirve como precursor a clases de inglés como segundo idioma.

Nueve meses después de comenzar el curso, dos estudiantes aplicadas y trabajadoras siguen trabajando hacia su sueño de poder leer y escribir. La Sra. Ana Teresa Batrez y la Sra. Silvia Barahona García llegan a la biblioteca cada lunes, por dos horas, a reforzar y extender sus conocimientos. Hasta la fecha, han leído textos de todo tipo - incluyendo: libros infantiles, titulares de periódicos, solicitudes de empleo, etiquetas de comida y medicina, pistas de crucigramas, horóscopos y reflexiones de estudiantes que han cumplido el curso.

La meta de Ana es escribir la historia de su vida, la cual ha sido un triunfo sobre la adversidad, para compartir con otros e inspirarlos. Silvia quisiera usar su alfabetización para avanzar en su trabajo y ser reconocida como la persona capaz que es. Cada una de ellas está modelando para sus hijos y/o nietos la importancia de perseguir un sueño y mantenerse en curso. No cabe decir que también han sido una fuente de inspiración para sus maestros.

Focus On Literacy: A Dream Come True

Randall Hinson , Librarian , Office of Education and Literacy

In July last year, three students embarked on their path to literacy through Leamos, a computer-based literacy program, at the Pacoima Library. Leamos provides Spanish speakers, who did not have the opportunity to attend school in their childhood, a reading and writing course in their native language. It also trains them in basic notions of computer use and serves as a precursor to English as a second language classes.

Nine months after starting the course, two applied and hardworking students continue working towards their dream of being able to read and write. Mrs. Ana Teresa Batrez and Mrs. Silvia Barahona García arrive at the library every Monday, for two hours, to reinforce and extend their knowledge. To date, they have read texts of all kinds - including: children's books, newspaper headlines, job applications, food and medicine labels, crossword clues, horoscopes and reflections of students who have completed the course.

Ana's goal is to write the story of her life, which has been a triumph over adversity, to share with others and inspire them. Silvia would like to use her literacy to advance her work and be recognized as the capable person she is. Each of them is modeling for their children and / or grandchildren the importance of pursuing a dream and staying on course. It cannot be said that they have also been a source of inspiration for their teachers.  READ MORE >>

Mariposa County 

Library

Write to Read Radio Program

KRYZ

Where local people read what they write.  A literacy program brought to you by Karen Dusek of the Mariposa County Library.

Sunday at 4pm

​Tuesday at 7pm

Are you a writer? Why not share your written words with the community on Write to Read? Doesn’t matter if you are published or not, or if you are a professional writer or just happen to write for your own pleasure. All writing types welcome, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, Haikus, etc.  LISTEN

Literacy Volunteers 

Fox Valley

Difference Maker: Peg Coker, Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley

WBBM: 11.12.2019 by Julie Mann

Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley helps adults learn to read, write, speak, and understand English more effectively by matching them with volunteer tutors who work with them one to one.

Peg Coker is the Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley and has been for decades. She said what they provide is more than just an English lesson.

"We are helping people adapt to the community so they can be better workers or effective parents and more involved community members," Coker said.

She said they work with anyone who needs help practicing their English.  LISTEN 01:13

Test Your Health Knowledge: FLC’s New Quiz App Aims to Improve Health Literacy

@FloridaLiteracy

Test Your Health Knowledge: FLC’s New Quiz App Aims to Improve Health Literacy

FLC Blog: 10.15.2019 by Heather Surrency

FLC has released the new Staying Healthy Quiz app, a fun and interactive learning opportunity to help adult learners build health knowledge and vocabulary. Based on the popular Staying Healthy curriculum, users can choose from three different quiz levels: easy, hard, or a mix of questions from both levels. Educators can use the app as a standalone learning tool or in conjunction with classroom lectures or reviews. Instructors can keep track of student scores and even set up friendly score competitions.

There is a growing recognition that limited English language and literacy skills can have a significant impact on one’s health. People who lack health literacy skills are much more likely to take medications incorrectly, be hospitalized and spend more time in the hospital than people with higher health literacy, and are four times more likely to have poor health. The potential for financial savings and increased health outcomes as a result of healthy literacy skill improvements are significant. Adult education, literacy, and family literacy programs play an important role in helping people to acquire these skills.

“This interactive quiz is an entertaining way to gain knowledge about topics vital to health and well-being,” says Greg Smith, executive director of the Florida Literacy Coalition. “In order to make good choices, people need access to high quality information written in an easy-to-understand format.”

The app is available for download on Android devices on the Google Play Store. This app is available thanks to a grant from the Florida Department of Education, Division of Career and Adult Education. Thanks to the instructors and students of the New College of Florida for their generous donation of technical assistance.  READ MORE >>

Building Beautiful Book Bentos via SLJ

Building Beautiful Book Bentos

Book Bentos

Cedar Mill Library OR

SLJ: 5.4.2019 by Joyce Valenza

My friend Jennifer LaGarde recently introduced me, and our Young Adults Reading and Literacy students at Rutgers, to the idea of Book Bentos.

Highly visual, creative and interactive the book bento strategy invites book lovers to create, hyperlink and share book titles in an artfully arranged interactive collage

If you are new to Book Bento, these tips will help:

➧ Gather all the physical stuff that might help you tell your story–the book cover, relevant news or magazine clippings, artifacts/objects, images.

➧ Assemble the items artfully on an intentionally selected background in the share of a square, keeping in mind design elements like spacing, connections, color, etc.

➧ Take a photograph. (You can make the image even more beautiful by bringing it into your favorite image editing program– Canva, Picmonkey –for enhancement.)

➧ Bring your photo into an application that allows you to make it interactive. Thinglink, Buncee, Piktochart, Kapwing , Glogster, or perhaps Word, Powerpoint, Google Docs or Google Slides.

➧ Add media, text–reviews, author interviews, trailers, lessons, discussion guides, historic background, etc.–anything you find or create on the web to enhance, explain, engage or market.

➧ If you are working with a class, create a gallery of these works to share with students, parents, colleagues on Instagram, Pinterest, Pearltrees, Destiny Collections, Wakelet, Google or Microsoft applications or your LMS or LibGuides.

➧ If you’d like your work to be discoverable, tag everything with #bookbento or #digibookbento

And you will definitely want to check out the growing collections of inspiring, tasty and tempting examples for inspiration:  READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Ada OK :: Sacramento CA :: Bridgewater NJ :: Napa CA

Literacy: Spanning the US

Ada Library

Ada Public Library Nets Health-Related Programs Grant

Ada News: 10.22.2019 by Eric Swanson

With the help of a state grant, the Ada Public Library is offering tai chi classes to the public this fall.

The library recently received a $4,000 Health Literacy grant from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. The grant, which was funded by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, will pay for the tai chi program and a series of educational sessions on various health-related topics.

APL has already rolled out the tai chi classes, which take place at 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays at the library, Director Jolene Poore said Monday. The classes are free and open to the public.

“As an outreach, we will be able to also offer that starting next year at the senior center,” Poore said, referring to the new Irving Center. “We’ll be able to actually offer classes at two different locations, two classes a week. It’s been a very popular thing.”

Poore said the library is currently developing a series of classes on topics including diabetes and heart disease, which are designed to give people the tools they need to make informed decisions about their health care.

This is the second year that the library has received a $4,000 Health Literacy grant from ODLS. Last year’s grant paid for several projects, including special notepads that patients can take to any health care provider’s office.  READ MORE >>

@saclib

1,000 People Expected At Sacramento Literacy Walk

KCRA: 10.25.2019

About 1,000 people are expected to take to Sacramento streets on Saturday for the Walk 4 Literacy event.

The sixth annual event highlights a hard truth: More than half of Sacramento County children cannot read at grade level.

The Sacramento Public Library Foundation is hosting the walk. The nonprofit provides a community literacy map for families, breaks down the reading level at schools across the county and provides resources for students.

"One out of three brains can read super easy -- really easy, no help needed. They just pick up the phonics -- that's one out of three brains,” Sacramento Public Library Foundation spokesperson April Javist said.  WATCH 01:10

@Litsomerset

Celebrate National Family Literacy Day on November 1

Woman Around Town: 10.26.2019 by Marina P. Kennedy

For the past 23 years, schools, libraries and organizations have celebrated “National Family Literacy Day.” Political and educational leaders, including the National Center for Families Learning’s President and Founder Sharon Darling recognized that parents’ educational attainment and their children’s educational outcomes were related. To draw attention to this work, the NCFL worked with Congress in 1994 to designate November 1 each year as National Family Literacy Day. 

For the past five years, I have been volunteering with Literacy Volunteers of Somerset County (LVSC) in New Jersey. It is an organization that serves the adult community with free programs that include one-to-one and small group tutoring, English Conversation Groups, and United States Citizenship preparation courses. LVSC serves more than 450 adults each year with their 235 active tutors.

My journey as volunteer tutor started over 20 years ago when I received training by a literacy organization and experienced how the education of a parent affects a child. The first student I was matched with was a young mother who was living in a shelter with her four year-old daughter who accompanied her to lessons.  READ MORE >>

Easy English 

Times

In a Hyperpartisan Era, A Napa Newspaper Brings Unbiased News To Readers Learning English

Napa Valley Register: 10.27.2019 by Courtney Teague

Don’t let the name fool you. It’s no cake walk putting out the Easy English Times.

Four thousand copies of the Napa Valley-based adult literacy and English-as-a-Second-Language newspaper are printed at a Healdsburg press and sent to readers across 20 states, 10 times per year, said publisher and co-founder Betty Malmgren.

The eight-page paper, written in straight-forward English, features personal essays and other content from readers, plus articles related to current national events, citizenship matters, sports, health, holidays and American traditions that are mostly written by Malmgren and Editor Lorraine Ruston.

@Napa_Library

“It kind of reinforces the pleasure in reading and also feeling like part of your community,” said Robin Rafael, who oversees literacy services for the Napa County Library. “It also gives you hope that you can read and you can participate in civil life.”

The publication is a hit with the library’s literacy students because the reading isn’t as dry or heavy as a textbook. Readers can keep up with current events in a format that they understand. The opportunity for student-submitted essays is a good motivator for students to practice writing, she said.  READ MORE >>