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Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

Cathay Reta Discusses Her Career In Adult Literacy.
Literacy Update: Winter 2020

Cathay managed the Adult Literacy program for 5 years at the Azusa City Library. She has left a mark on our program with the addition of the Grassroots ESL and Inspired Citizenship programs. Cathay was the catalyst of the Grassroots ESL partnership. Along with Azusa Hispanic Foursquare Church, Canyon Christian Fellowship, Dalton Elementary School, Foothill Family Service, Lee Elementary School and Neighborhood Homework House they began providing ESL tutoring sessions around the community. Use the link below to listen to our conversation about her expansive work in literacy.  LISTEN 13:50

 

Literacy Chicago

Best Life: New Program To Help Adults Learn How To Read
WMC5: 3.08.2021

It’s a crisis hidden in plain sight, about 20 percent of people in the United States cannot read at all and 50 percent of adults can’t read past an eighth-grade level. Literacy Chicago.  WATCH 02:07

 

Literacy Achieves

Winter Storm Reminder Of Chronic Disrepair In Dallas Neighborhood Many Immigrants Call Home
KERA: 3.08.2021 by Stella M. Chávez

When the power went out and temperatures dipped below freezing, Dallas resident Ana Lopez sought shelter at a friend’s place.

The Mexico native has lived in the ethnically diverse neighborhood known as Vickery Meadow for more than a decade. Many residents are either refugees or immigrants. Most live in apartments.

“People live here because that’s what they can afford,” she said. “The apartments here are very old. They have many deficiencies."

🔽
Ashley Holm is the director of outcomes and evaluation for Literacy Achieves, a nonprofit that teaches English as a second language to many residents in the neighborhood.

“When the power went out, it really affected this neighborhood,” Holm said. “These apartment buildings are in disrepair. They’re older, not great condition. This is probably the last neighborhood that needed the power and water to go out.”

Holm’s organization distributed food, water, diapers and other supplies for several days after the storm. She said they’re also planning to provide financial assistance.  LISTEN 04:07

 

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 9

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 13-15 yrs. old

(Eighth and Ninth graders)

 

@LiteracyNY

Remarkable Women: Ruth Colvin

WSYR-TV: 3.09.2021

During the month of March, NewsChannel 9 is highlighting remarkable women in the Central New York community nominated by you, the viewers.

Our top four finalists will be highlighted each week. The first is a serious trailblazer named Ruth Colvin.

104-year-old Ruth Colvin gets 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine at NYS Fairgrounds

“Age is just a number. It’s what you do with that number that is important,” says Colvin.

From how she lives to what she eats, you can credit her longevity to living a balanced life.

“I look at myself like a car. You can have the best car in the world — best tires, best motor — but if you don’t put gas in it, it’s no good,” Colvin explains.

Colvin is known for starting a volunteer literacy program when she had no experience as a teacher or nonprofit leader, which she eventually turned into Literacy Volunteers of America, now one of the largest adult literacy programs in the world. Through that, Colvin has taught literacy training in 62 countries including many developing countries.

Ruth Colvin

Documenting her remarkable journey, Colvin penned in her 12th book. A memoir.

“I’ve written a lot of books on literacy and the other things I do and they wanted this and I said, ‘No. Who would want to hear about this old lady?‘ So they talked me into it.”

In her latest publication, Colvin shares her successes and failures, saying she’s learned from both. “If you do nothing, you won’t ever make a mistake but you wouldn’t have done anything.”  WATCH 03:21

 

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 7

Reading Level: standard / average.

Reader's Age: 11-13 yrs. old

(Sixth and Seventh graders)

LiteracyCNY’s Fate Signals Trouble Ahead For NY Nonprofits ▬ Syracuse.com

LiteracyCNY’s Fate Signals Trouble Ahead For NY Nonprofits (Editorial)

LiteracyCNY

Syracuse.com: 11.08.2020

After six decades of teaching many thousands of adults how to read, the nonprofit LiteracyCNY will suspend operations at the end of this month. The agency became a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, New York’s cratering finances and the state’s bureaucratic indifference to paying its bills on time.

New York state owed roughly $100,000 to LiteracyCNY, some from last year and most from this year’s contract payments that were suspended under a pandemic executive order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Unable to raise that kind of money, unsure when the state would come through with what it owed and uncertain about what next year would bring, the agency’s board decided it had no choice but to wind down operations.

It is a profound loss for the adult literacy movement that flowered in Syracuse, and a cruel blow to Ruth J. Colvin, the 103-year-old dynamo who founded its precursor, Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse, in her basement in 1962.

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Local pride aside, we fear LiteracyCNY’s fate awaits other nonprofits, with harmful consequences for the people and communities they serve.

In a July letter to the governor, 700 nonprofits warned of their rapidly deteriorating finances as the state froze contract payments and the executive order suspended prompt payment laws. “Many nonprofits entered this pandemic at a breaking point caused by underfunded and late contracts, late payments, high staff turnover, stagnant wages, fully tapped-out credit lines, and limited or nonexistent cash reserves,” the letter stated.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 13

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 18-19 yrs. old

(college level entry)

Ruth Colvin '59, H'84: Lifelong Learner ▬ Cuse Conversations Podcasts

Ruth Colvin

Ruth Colvin '59, H'84: Lifelong Learner: Episode 42

Cuse Conversations Podcasts: 8.07.2020

Ruth Colvin '59, H'84, the founder of Literacy Volunteers of America (now ProLiteracy), has traveled the world in pursuit of knowledge. She is a proud lifelong learner, the recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom and a member of the National Women's Hall of Fame.

At 103 years old, Ruth still golfs and walks 2,000 steps a day, as tracked by her iPhone. She recently published a memoir: My Travels Through Life, Love and Literacy. In this 'Cuse Conversation, Ruth shares some of her stories, secrets and the significance of her lifelong connection to Syracuse University.  LISTEN 22:02  Transcript

Ruth Colvin :: At 103 Years Young, CNY Woman Writes Memoir – And What A Story It Is! via Local Syr

At 103 Years Young, CNY Woman Writes Memoir – And What A Story It Is!

Local Syr: 6.01.2020 by Bridge Street

Ruth Colvin is a living legend who calls Central New York home.

She began a volunteer literacy program when she had no experience as a teacher or nonprofit leader, which she eventually turned into Literacy Volunteers of America, now one of the largest adult literacy programs in the world. Through that, Ruth has taught literacy training in 62 countries including many developing countries.

Ruth is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the President’s Volunteer Action Award, and is also a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Now, at 103 years young, she’s just penned a memoir titled My Travels Through Life, Love, and Literacy – A Journey Over One Hundred Years In The Making.  WATCH 07:15

An Hour with Ruth Colvin, Founder of Literacy Volunteers of America via Jose Cruz, San Diego Council on Literacy

An Hour with Ruth Colvin, Founder of Literacy Volunteers of America

WS Radio: 3.26.2019

Our March 26, 2019 show was fully devoted to an interview with the legendary Ruth Colvin, founder of Literacy Volunteers of America. Still going strong at age 102, Ruth talks about her upbringing, education, careers, travels, and the motivation for forming LVA in the early 1960s. Ruth’s story is rich, made from compassion, intuition, and acts that called for risk-taking and courage. Listeners will want to hear all four segments.

@SDLiteracy

Literacy for All radio show is here to enhance access to information and promising practices that support the national and international literacy network and those they serve.

About the Host:

Jose L Cruz began his work in literacy in 1985. The San Diego Council on Literacy was formed one year later. Since then, both have worked to unite the San Diego community to support literacy. Jose has worked in collaborations for literacy at all levels. He has a 26 year history with the SDCOL, the last 12 years as CEO. The pride of the SDCOL is its network of 27+ affiliated literacy program partners that annually serve over 179,000 San Diego residents of all ages at no cost. Everyday, these partnerships help emerging readers, students, parents, heads of households, and workers function and thrive through the power of literacy.  LISTEN 57:57

At 101, This SU Alumna is Influencing Readership in Syracuse and Beyond via Daily Orange

At 101, this SU alumna is influencing readership in Syracuse and beyond

Daily Orange: 3.26.2018 by Sandhya Iyer

A Way With Words

After reading an article on U.S. Census Bureau statistics in 1961, Ruth Johnson Colvin was shocked to learn that 11,000 people in her hometown of Syracuse could not read. Although Colvin said she knew other places in the world had this issue, she was astounded by the prevalence of illiteracy in Syracuse.

She started by visiting a class in the area that helped adults learn English. An avid reader herself, Colvin decided to take matters into her own hands. She set up an office in her basement, sought out volunteers and worked with local organizations to create Literacy Volunteers of America, designed to help adults learn how to read.

March is National Reading Month — a month dedicated to literacy, just as Colvin is. Colvin, now 101 years old, graduated from Syracuse University in 1959 and has since influenced literacy worldwide while remaining young as ever at heart.

In 2002, LVA merged with Laubach Literacy International to form ProLiteracy Worldwide. At first, Colvin thought making a change in Syracuse was going to be the end goal for her organization. Today, ProLiteracy has more than 1,000 volunteers in the United States and a presence in about 30 countries.

There are about 36 million people in the U.S. who have reading levels below that of a third-grader, said Michele Bellso, director of marketing at ProLiteracy Worldwide. But literacy isn’t as black and white as learning to read and write, she added. ProLiteracy serves individuals who are learning English as a second language, who need workforce training and who have reached high-school fluency levels, in addition to those who can’t read at all.

People generally think if you can’t read, you must be unintelligent, Colvin said. But when she heard the stories of illiterate people and how they survived, she realized they were “extra smart.” They had figured out ways of getting by without being able to read things most people take for granted, such as street signs and bottle labels.

“And it’s only because (illiterate people) didn’t have the opportunities I had or others had, not because of something they did,” Colvin said. “People are very important to me … It’s not things, it’s people.”

Since graduating from SU, Colvin has been recognized with an honorary Ph.D. from the university. In September 2017, she attended and spoke at the ProLiteracy Conference on Adult Literacy, which took place in Minneapolis, Bellso said. After Colvin’s speech, a woman hobbled up to her and said, “I think you’re amazing. I’d like to do what you do, but I think I’m too old.”

When Colvin asked the woman how old she was, she replied that she was 80 years old. Colvin responded by saying she was 100, so if Colvin could do it, so could the other woman. She said she saw the woman stand up a little higher and walk away a little more proud.  READ MORE >>

Ruth Colvin, the Mother of the Adult Literacy Movement, Turns 100 on December 16

Ruth Colvin, the Mother of the Adult Literacy Movement, Turns 100 on December 16

Colvin has dedicated more than 50 years of her life to literacy, and shows no signs of stopping.

PR Web: 12.14.2016

“To many people the word “illiteracy” prompts images of downtrodden, starving people in third world countries. But illiteracy in America? How can that be possible? Our tax money provides schooling for every child.” These thoughts were expressed by Ruth Johnson Colvin in 1960. But when Colvin saw a 1961 newspaper article on the US Census figures that noted her hometown of Syracuse, New York had over 11,000 people who could not read, she knew something needed to be done. "Not in Africa. In my city. An educational city," Colvin said. “If I don’t do something, who will?”

Her life was transformed as she undertook the necessary steps needed to help correct the situation. Colvin determined that traditional classroom methods would not work and instead focused on the development of community networks that empowered adult learners. The organization developed effective tutor training programs to teach basic literacy and English as a second language with an ongoing support system.

Colvin earned support from Syracuse’s Church Women United (CWU) organization to sponsor a local literacy tutoring effort. She recruited volunteers and set up an office in her home’s basement. Under her leadership, the literacy volunteer movement quickly spread across the United States, and the national organization, Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., was incorporated in 1972. Ruth and her husband, Robert, also spent more than 50 years traveling the world together to provide literacy training in more than 60 countries at the invitation of ministries, governments and universities.

During her more than five decades of literacy work, Colvin has published nine books, and visited or worked in more than sixty countries. She has been the recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and in 1987 she was given the highest award for volunteerism in the United States, the President’s Volunteer Action Award from President Ronald Regan [sic]. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006 from President George W. Bush, and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1991.

In 2002, Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. merged with Laubach Literacy International to form ProLiteracy Worldwide. Colvin still serves as a lifetime member of the board of directors of ProLiteracy, is an honorary member of the board of directors of Literacy New York, and a member of the board of directors and a tutor at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse.  READ MORE @