Literacy – Spanning the US :: Joplin MO :: Ardmore OK :: Alexander City AL :: Azusa CA

Literacy: Spanning the US

Joplin NALA Read Opening New Lab To Teach Computer Literacy Skills

Joplin Globe: 11.17.2019 by Emily Younker

Thanks to the generosity of donors throughout the community, Joplin NALA Read is set to open a new computer lab to help residents with their computer literacy skills.

"I am just ecstatic with all the hard work that people have put into this and the opportunity it's going to give our students," said Grace Clouse, executive director.

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Joplin NALA Read has offered computer literacy classes since July and currently has a handful of adult students taking those courses. Based on feedback from participants, the class often starts with the basics — how to turn a computer on and off, how to save documents, how to search the internet, how to send an email.

"Our computer literacy class is very basic," Clouse said. "There is definitely a need for that."

In the future, those classes could be expanded to teach adult students about specific computer programs, such as Microsoft Word, she said.

The computer lab also is needed for the nonprofit's students to engage in workplace literacy and job preparedness skills as well, Clouse said.  READ MORE >>

Ardmore 

Family Literacy

National Recognition: Ardmore Family Literacy Receives Award at Kennedy Center Ceremony

News Star: 11.21.2019 by Drew Butler

The team from Ardmore Family Literacy traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to attend the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy National Summit on Adult Literacy. The summit consisted of a busy day of learning about the latest teaching methods and best practices in adult literacy and concluded with an award ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. There, AFL received the Pearl Literacy Award.

AFL Executive Director Leslie Kutz said this award was given to three different organizations: One organization that focused on children, one large organization that focused on adults, and AFL, which represented a smaller organization dedicated to adult literacy.

“This is the first year for this award, and they wanted to honor programs that showed measurable results. Programs that get people in, teach them the skills they need to receive their high school equivalency, then get them moving on to the next step in their life,” Kutz said.  READ MORE >>

Local Literacy Council Teaches Adults To Read

Alexander City Outlook: 11.21.2019 by Gabrielle Jansen

The Lake Martin Laubach Literacy Council has helped illiterate adults learn to read since 1986.

The program currently has 12 students and served 24 people last year. Volunteers use Phoenix Reading for students and it takes about nine months to a year for students to master it, according to director Rita Cream.

“This is a long-term commitment,” Cream said. “It takes a lot for people to learn to read.”

The program offers one-on-one tutoring for adults in Tallapoosa and Coosa counties. Students and volunteers meet at an agreed public location once a week and work at the students’ pace.

“There’s about 24 million Americans who can’t read well enough to write a note or read a newspaper,” Cream said. “That comes out to about one in four who don’t read well enough.”

Most of the adults who join the program want to learn to read the Bible and write.  READ MORE >>

The Dream Of Citizenship Is Alive And Well At Azusa Library

SGV Tribune: 11.21.2019 by Anissa Rivera

For Miguel Requelme, 34, of Covina, action is hope.

Born in Mexico, and brought to America at age 3, he grew up grateful that his parents sacrificed so much to give him a better life. Requelme graduated from Wilson High School in Long Beach in 2003, married in 2005 and is the proud father of two daughters. He worked his way up in the fast food industry and is now a general manager.

“As a naturalized citizen, I am looking forward to starting my own business this upcoming year,” Requelme said.

But first, he made time to celebrate Azusa’s newest crop of American citizens. Requelme, after all, is himself a graduate of the Inspired Citizenship program at Azusa City Library.

Arlene Calderon, adult literacy program coordinator at Azusa City Library, invited Requelme to speak to 33 newly-minted Americans at a Nov. 9 celebration.  READ MORE >>