Literacy: Spanning the US
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Boosting Adult Literacy Helps Bridge Educational
Disparities
Buffalo News: 5.05.2020 by Tara Schafer, Ex Dir-Literacy New
York, Buffalo-Niagara
Our current situation is shining a spotlight on what
works – and what doesn’t work – in our society. Existing, entrenched
educational disparities are being seen, maybe for the first time.
For too long, we have minimized the challenges that
lower-income children and their families face. With school out for a few months
now, we see middle class children keeping up and lower-income children falling
behind. The leading causes for this are the digital divide and lack of support
from parents and family. This lack of support is often caused by parents
working around the clock to put food on the table – they just do not have time
to be their children’s teachers.
Lack of literacy and language skills is another main
reason. Thirty percent of adults in the City of Buffalo are functionally illiterate, meaning they read below
a fifth-grade level. Many parents are non-native English speakers.
How can these parents help their children when they
themselves have low literacy, or are just learning to speak, read and write in
English?
Adult literacy is a big issue, but no one is talking
about it. Yet without better adult/parental literacy, we are relegating tens of
thousands of children to lives where they will likely never attain success.
Children of parents with low literacy skills have a 72% chance of being at the
lowest reading levels themselves. These children are more likely to get poor
grades, display behavioral problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school
years or drop out. READ MORE ➤➤
Based on (7) readability formulas:
Grade Level: 10
Reading Level: standard / average.
Reader's Age: 14-15 yrs. old
(Ninth to Tenth graders)
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Literacy Volunteers of Beaufort County Gives Out Free
Books
WITN: 5.06.2020
A local advocacy group for reading offered free books
to the public to help people stay entertained and informed during the pandemic.
The Literacy Volunteers
of Beaufort County provided free books
to the public Wednesday at First Christian Church in Washington.
The organization promotes literacy and basic math
skills and offers private tutoring to adults to improve those skills.
Organizers say with local libraries closed and
schools out they wanted to make sure reading materials were available to the
public. WATCH 01:02
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 Council Of N.Va. Adapts To Meet Needs
During Pandemic
Inside Nova: 5.09.2020
The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia (LCNV) has replaced in-person classes with
distance-learning programs to continue providing basic English education to
students, minimizing the disruption to their learning process during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The organization serves 1,500 adult learners
annually throughout Northern Virginia. Since April, it has provided instruction
tailored to students’ technological and time restrictions. A total of 21
classes are up and running, reaching about 75 percent of the students who had
signed up for support at the start of the year.
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“The LCNV team has been heartened to see incredible
enthusiasm for our efforts to turn to distance learning by instructors,
volunteers and students,” said Roopal Saran, the organization’s executive
director. “Their desire to work hard to make sure instruction and learning is
uninterrupted affirms that there is great value in continuing to offer English
instruction at this unprecedented time.”
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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