Sunday, September 13, 2020

Literacy – Spanning North America :: Tyler TX :: Portage la Prairie MB : Joplin MO:: Orlando FL



It Started With 30 Students, And Became 30 Years: Crawford Retires From Literacy Council
Tyler Paper: 8.29.2020 by Jessica Dillon

Thirty years ago, Nancy Crawford, an elementary teacher who had taken a few years off to raise her young daughters, received a phone call that would forever change her life.

Would she please come to work nights – about 19 hours a week – teaching literacy courses for adults?

“There was a handful of community members here in Tyler who were concerned that adults didn’t have the skills they needed to succeed in life,” Crawford explained. “And what was on my mind at the time was making sure that parents could read to their children.”

As an elementary teacher, Crawford had seen the importance of modeling the joy of reading as often as she could.

On her busiest days inside the classroom, she’d skip social studies, science, math, “or anything.”

But never reading.

And the students would transform, right before her eyes.

“I knew it was something powerful,” Crawford said. “... How much more powerful would it be if that was happening not just at school, but if that was also happening at home?”

And so Crawford, of course, said “yes” to working evenings at the Literacy Council.

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That first year, and that first group of 30 students, changed her life for good.

“It wasn’t a plan to get big, or to accomplish all the things we accomplished. It was just wanting to help adults learn to read,” Crawford said. “I never dreamed that we would be now serving 2,000 students a year.”  READ MORE ➤➤

Based on 7 readability formulas:
Grade Level: 8
Reading Level: fairly easy to read.
Reader's Age: 12-14 yrs. old
(Seventh and Eighth graders)

Learning & Literacy Centre Prepares For New Year
Portage Online: 8.30.2020 by Tessa Lupkowski

With back-to-school around the corner, the Portage Learning and Literacy Centre is preparing for a new academic year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Education Director Laurie Collier says preparations are being made for extra cleaning of the centre and masks will be mandatory for anyone entering the building.

"This year, we're very, very happy that we can have students back in the building, so that's kind of what we're focusing on: just preparing so that that students and staff are safe," explains Collier.

Another precaution being taken by the centre is to cap class sizes to allow for physical distancing. Collier says this cap will depend on the classroom size as some rooms are larger than others.

"We'll also have waiting lists," notes Collier. "For anyone wanting to join, if somebody doesn't show up or drops out in the first two weeks then we can take another student."  READ MORE ➤➤

Based on 7 readability formulas:
Grade Level: 10
Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 14-15 yrs. old
(Ninth to Tenth graders)

The 5 Q's: Improving Residents' Literacy Skills With Grace Clouse
Joplin Globe: 8.30.2020

Q: What is the mission of Joplin NALA Read?
A: Our mission is to foster and strengthen literacy skills enabling learners to reach their full potential. To do this, we offer classes and one-on-one tutoring in literacy-related subjects. We offer tutoring in reading and math and offer English as a second language classes each week. We also have classes in computer literacy and, along with Joplin AEL, help students obtain their high school equivalency. All of the services we offer are free of charge to our learners.

Q: How has the pandemic affected the organization?
A: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, NALA had to close its offices in March. Since then, we have been working to transition as many of our current students to remote learning as possible. This includes sending copies of materials sent to students through the mail, virtual classrooms and tutoring sessions over the phone.

While virtual learning is a great resource, not all of our students have access to digital resources, so we have adapted to the needs of students to ensure they are able to receive curriculum until it is safer for us to return to traditional classroom learning. We will continue to transition and ensure that we have remote options as long as necessary.

COVID-19 has also caused us to cancel our spring fundraiser, which we look forward to each year — the Spell Ball Bonanza. Because of this, we will be holding a virtual silent auction from Facebook this fall to make up for lost income.  READ MORE ➤➤

Based on 7 readability formulas:
Grade Level: 10
Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 14-15 yrs. old
(Ninth to Tenth graders)

Adult Literacy League Holding Virtual Citizenship Classes
My News 13: 9.01.2020 by Jesse Canales

The Adult Literacy League adjusted how it conducts its citizenship classes.

What You Need To Know
Adult Literacy League offering virtual classes

Nonprofit holding citizenship classes on Zoom

Classes designed to help legal permanent residents improve their English
The nonprofit provides 20 Zoom classes as well as one-on-one sessions to help legal permanent residents improve their English speaking and comprehension, and to help them do better on their citizenship exam.

Vince Scalise, a citizenship class instructor, advised his students to continue to develop their skills during any citizenship process delay. USCIS announced there would be a bigger citizenship backlog after it made budget cuts to cancel planned furloughs.

In May, backlog was more than 700,000.

Adult Literacy League provided some tips to help legal residents better navigate through the citizenship process.

1. Check and double check your eligibility for naturalization. You can do so by visiting the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

2. Make sure your personal information is 100% correct on your N400. Remember that you are responsible for the information, and it must be correct. Use your friends and family as resources!

3. Understand all the vocabulary on the N400. Use the current processing delay to your advantage and get to studying! You have 100 civic questions to familiarize yourself with, so aim to learn a couple per week.  READ MORE ➤➤

Based on 7 readability formulas:
Grade Level: 9
Reading Level: difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 13-15 yrs. old
(Eighth and Ninth graders)


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