Literacy: Spanning the US
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PBALC Faces Difficulties
During Economic Downturn
OAOA: 4.02.2020 by Sam Waller
The coronavirus pandemic and economic
downturn have become a potentially lethal combination for the Permian Basin Adult
Literacy Center.
The nonprofit program, which in January
added satellite locations in Odessa and Big Spring to its main location in
Midland, has faced declining donations since last fall, executive director Alba
Austin said.
The developments since have left PBALC
in a precarious position.
“We have about two months of cash flow,”
Austin said.
And with bans on large gatherings, the
future looks bleak.
“Our spring fundraiser, which was
scheduled for May 1, will more than likely be canceled,” Austin said.
“Thank you to the Permian Basin
community for your continued support,” Austin wrote. “Your support matters to
PBALC and to all the non-profits doing good work.”
During the outbreak, the PBALC has
pivoted its in-person classes to virtual and distance learning classes.
“However, we are finding that some of
our students either do not have adequate technology resources and/or the
digital literacy skills for virtual classrooms,” Austin said. =“In addition,
you have to remember we serve adults, and many of our students also have
children at home at this time and are unable to log in to classes.
“The center was also unprepared to
handle distance learning classes as we did not have mobile resources such as
laptops and significant virtual learning curriculum for staff or our volunteer
instructors. However we hope to continue offering our students learning
opportunities through virtual meetings and other platforms. We are working with
our instructors to provide digital, distance, and virtual learning
opportunities for our students.”
Austin said PBALC will attempt to offer
its full range of services as long as possible. READ MORE ➤➤
Based on (7) readability formulas:
Grade Level: 12
Reading Level: difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. Old
(Twelfth graders)
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Why I'm Participating
in the Virtual #BigHouse5K: Erin Howarth
MGoBlue: 4.02.2020 by Erin Howarth
During weekly two-hour lessons, Washtenaw Literacy's
volunteer tutors teach to their adult learners' goals. Sometimes it's reading,
sometimes speaking -- whatever it takes to help them improve their lives. By
making our lessons relevant and choosing authentic materials, we keep learners
motivated to continue coming to tutoring sessions and improving their basic
skills. Our learners thrive when they understand that what they're working on
with their tutors directly and profoundly impacts their roles as parents,
workers and members of our shared communities.
In addition to their desire to learn
basic skills, improve job performance and eventually attend college, some of my
learners have healthy living goals that we've incorporated into our lessons.
We've read stories about improving their diets, developed recipes to practice
writing and learned nutrition vocabulary words. Now, I'm encouraging them to
join me in the Virtual #BigHouse5K and we'll complete the course together.
For over 20 years, Washtenaw Literacy
has been in my thoughts during nearly every run. I rely on running to reach my
own health goals and relish the hours spent outdoors in rural Sharon Township,
where we regularly spot more deer than cars. I spend my solo runs planning
lessons, developing math games and practicing workshops. Before every tutor
training, I rehearse the entire session on a long run to make sure I can
comfortably present the material without notes.
READ MORE ➤➤
Based on (7) readability formulas:
Grade Level: 12
Reading Level: difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. Old
(Twelfth graders)
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Literacy Alliance Teaches,
Celebrates Online
Journal Gazette: 4.02.2020 by Ashley Sloboda
Kami Gavilanez, a teacher with The Literacy Alliance, couldn't celebrate in person with a student when he
recently received his high school equivalency diploma.
But she and others with the organization
cheered for him virtually through video conferencing. The Literacy Alliance
embraced the technology after the coronavirus pandemic prevented the adult
education classes from meeting in person.
Modifying classes – rather than
suspending them – in response to the coronavirus-related restrictions was
especially important to The Literacy Alliance. It works with adults to improve
their literacy skills, such as adults seeking a high school equivalency diploma
and those whose first language isn't English.
It's difficult even under normal
circumstances to get students to come to class and persist, said Brian Schlichtenmyer,
director of adult programs.
“As you can imagine, with a change like
this and a completely different way of doing classes, it complicates it,”
Schlichtenmyer said. READ MORE ➤➤
Based on (7) readability formulas:
Grade Level: 14
Reading Level: difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 21-22 yrs. Old
(college level)
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Butts Brings Virtual Learning to Lee
County Literacy Coalition
OANow: 4.04.2020 by Justin Lee
Patricia Butts had a vision for this
year.
She couldn’t have seen all this coming,
though. But for her first full year as executive director of the Lee County Literacy Coalition,
Butts already had in mind a new drive to leverage technology in 2020, using
virtual meetings to make lessons more accessible for tutors and learners.
Suddenly, her vision has surged into
fruition.
And with her forward thinking, the
coalition is a bit more prepared for the coronavirus pandemic than it might
have been.
The Lee County Literacy Coalition has
seen tutor and learner pairings adapt by using technology to communicate, and
it has retooled its in-person workshops into online webinars that have gone off
smoother than the staff even expected, all as calls for social distancing have
made face-to-face teaching impossible.
The group is using video chat,
conference calling, and even new ways to teach using simple phone calls now —
all as part of an initiative that Butts was already implementing this spring,
but which seemingly overnight became more useful than anyone would’ve figured. READ MORE ➤➤
Based on (7) readability formulas:
Grade Level: 13
Reading Level: difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 18-19 yrs. Old
(college level entry)
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