Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US
 |
ABC 57: 3.15.2021 by Mary Caltrider
“Elkhart
Indiana incarcerates a lot of men and women per capita probably a lot more than
other cities, and there is a lot of jobs here, so upon release a lot of men do
not have the structure or encouragement or support to be successful,” says
Derrick Mathews, Director of Project Scope.
Project
Scope was established in 1996 as an after-school
mentorship program for kids. Now, the Elkhart nonprofit is taking on a new
mission. The organization, opening up a transitional house for men. The home,
just one of two, transitional houses available in Elkhart county. Residents are
welcomed to stay in the house for 9 to 18 months where they are welcomed to
shelter, food and security.
The
organization also offering them personal finance courses, social skills, and
adult literacy to provide the foundation for men to transition back into the
community.
“These
are your neighbors, these are the same individuals who have done their time,
have paid their debt to society, and they are returning back to society and
they are going to be big impacts ya know these are the brothers, uncles,
fathers who are coming back to the community that can share their story of
their success in their lives to be able to help out the next generation and
generations to come,” says Matthews. WATCH
02:28
 |
Recorder: 3.15.2021 by Anita Fritz
Many
aspects of The Literacy Project’s
adult education programs received an “exemplary” rating in a recent quality
review conducted by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
(DESE).
The
Literacy Project, which is based out of 15 Bank Row in Greenfield but also has
classrooms in Orange, Amherst, Northampton and Ware, serves adult students who
need a second chance to earn their high school equivalency diploma. All classes
are free and open to the public.
Executive
Director Judith Roberts said the program quality review was conducted by DESE’s
Adult Community Learning Services, the division that funds adult basic
education programs across the state. She said the review is done every five
years, and it is “crucial” to funding.
“We
are delighted that DESE recognized the dedication to teaching and learning that
everyone at The Literacy Project shares,” Roberts said. “The success of our
students is at the center of everything we do.”
READ MORE ➤➤
 |
SB Independent: 3.16.2021 by Leslie Dinaberg
Admiring
Adult Literacy Programs
at the Santa Barbara Public Library
Pivoting,
but still paving the way to knowledge, despite budget cuts and so many services
shut down during the pandemic, the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Adult
Education Programs have found creative ways to provide service during the past
year. I recently joined the City Library Advisory Board and was impressed with
all of the free programs they still offer, despite their physical doors being
closed to the public.
Headed
by Devon Cahill, an adult education librarian and former volunteer tutor, the
Adult Literacy Program trains volunteers to work one-to-one with learners to
help them achieve language literacy and other adult education goals. Prior to
the pandemic, the tutor-learner pairs would meet up at the library to work on
their language skills together. Since last spring, they’ve switched to 100
percent remote and have about 50 tutor-learner pairs working together.
Though
it’s challenging, Cahill said that pandemic learning has been a success. Grants
provided funding for Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots for those that needed them.
“Our success rate normally is over 90 percent with learners reaching the
literacy goals that they have set,” he said. “During the pandemic, we’re
working with fewer learners and tutors, but our success rate has gone almost up
to 100 percent —it was at 98 percent last quarter.” READ
MORE ➤➤
 |
Everyday Life News: 2021
The
county has about 138,000 residents, but 33% of the adults in the county are
functionally illiterate and do not read above a 5th grade level.
Florence Area Literacy Council combats that
by providing one-on-one tutoring to the adults in the county, but COVID is not
making it easy.
Executive
Director of the Florence Area Literacy, Christina
Lawson, said when students come to FALC, they are working towards taking the
GED test.
“Our
average student probably reads on a third or fourth grade level,” she said.
Lawson
said reading levels vary. She said typically a student cannot pass the GED test
if they are reading at a fifth grade level, but for the test they need to read
at least on a 10th grade level.
While
reading levels may vary, in order to pass the GED test, students have to study
English/Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies.
Lawson
explained students come to FALC for other reasons as well.
“We
have students who come to us who already have a high school diploma, but are
working towards getting a new job,” she said. “A lot of jobs require testing
before you are interviewed or hired.” READ MORE ➤➤
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment