Literacy – Spanning the US :: Norwalk CT :: Susanville CA :: LaFayette NY

Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

@NorwalkLibCT

Election Day With New Voters Baolin Ma & Renjiang Zhu
Patch: 12.31.2020 by William Hope

Voting is a civic duty for most people, not a life-changing event. The 2020 presidential election was a monumental event for Baolin Ma and Renjiang Zhu, grandparents who voted for the first time in their lives. The couple, born and married in China, now live in Wilton and are students of the Greater Norwalk Literacy Volunteers (GNLV) program at Norwalk Public Library.

Ma and Zhu are retired school teachers, who came to the U.S. in 2007 to be with their son and grandchildren in California. They moved to Wilton in 2015 to be near their daughter and her family, but something was missing. They felt like strangers in their adopted country. The problem was language. The problem was language. Though they were citizens and had studied some English in California, they did not feel like Americans. Ma and Zhu felt like outsiders because they spoke so little English. They had family, a church home, and some Chinese friends, but that was it. Everything else was closed off.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 7

Reading Level: fairly easy to read.

Reader's Age: 11-13 yrs. old

(Sixth and Seventh graders)

Lassen Library

Lassen Library Offers Family, Adult Literacy Programs
Lassen News: 1.03.2021

The New Year is always a good time to start taking advantage of what local organizations have to offer — especially the services offered by the local Lassen Library.

Whether it’s your goal to read more, to sign up your little ones for the Family Literacy Program or to study for your GED, the local library has much to offer.

The Family Literacy Program is a free monthly family program geared towards helping with early childhood literacy development. These monthly Saturday programs support families with children ages 0 to 5 years old and encourage and support their early reading development. During these Saturday programs children are able to participate in fun hands-on activities as well as listen to read aloud stories

According to Kelly Kreiensieck, Adult Literacy Program Coordinator, with current COVID limitations the program is a little different, but each month participating families are able to pick up a themed bag usually on the second Saturday of the month with three to four books, crafts and activities to take home.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 14

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 21-22 yrs. old

(college level)

 

@ProLiteracy

Why a Dairy Company Invested in English Language Learning Software
ProLiteracy Blog: 1.05.2021 by Laura McLoughlin

@byrnedairy

At Byrne Dairy’s Syracuse Cold Storage facility, in Syracuse, New York, managers were having a difficult time effectively communicating with non-English speaking employees. While the company provides important information and trainings in both English and Spanish, it wanted to give its employees the opportunity to overcome these language barriers to do more.

From New Readers Press, the company purchased Learning Upgrade licenses so Spanish-speaking employees can increase their English skills.

Each shift, these employees are given time to use company computers to work in the Learning Upgrade program. “They take advantage of it, and they are doing a great job,” said Syracuse Cold Storage Supervisor Jim Begay. 

Based on what employees had to say, they’re taking advantage of it because they are seeing where learning English can take them. 

🔽
These are exactly the outcomes Byrne Dairy was hoping for. Investing in its employees has not just improved employee/supervisor communication, but the higher English skills among employees creates a more efficient workplace and gives the company an opportunity to shape its team to grow from within.  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)

I Didn’t Have A Library In Burundi. In Connecticut, The Library Is My Refuge ▬ Hartford Courant

I Didn’t Have A Library In Burundi. In Connecticut, The Library Is My Refuge

@NHFPL

Hartford Courant: 11.22.2020 by Ndengo Mwilelo

I grew up in Burundi; I had no public library. My school did not have a library, either. Textbooks used in classrooms were given by the teachers for in-class use only. We were punished if we ruined them. I was reprimanded once for folding textbook pages. The teacher hit me with a wooden stick and asked my parents to report to school.

I first heard the word “public library” when I moved to New Haven seven years ago. In the summer of 2013, a friend told my family that we were eligible for a free library card. I did not know public libraries existed. The day I first entered the library, it was like entering the arena of possibilities. That library opened the doors to my literacy world.

Here, public libraries are places with endless books and all kinds of resources. Public libraries are essential and safe environments for people to gather, charge devices, get books, work on a computer, or use the printer. They even hold classes. Because of COVID-19, some classes have been suspended, and others are online. However, there are normally English and other literacy classes in many libraries.  READ MORE ➤➤

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)

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Jacksonville NC :: New Britain CT :: Los Angeles CA

Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

@IncOnslow

Onslow Literacy Council Pieces Together Words & Every Day Struggle For People Struggling To Read
WITN: 10.13.2020 by Liam Collins

The Onslow Literacy Council is trying to help to piece words and sentences together through awareness and volunteerism.

The council held its literacy awareness walk Tuesday evening to shed light on the 18% of people in the county who can’t read or write.

“We try to give them confidence, self-reliance,” said Council Chair Mini Mittal. “That’s the first thing actually we have to do working with them. Give them confidence that, yes they can do it.”

About 36 million Americans, or about 11%, cannot read or write above a third-grade reading level, according to the council. That’s much lower than the about 20% of people in Eastern North Carolina who can read or write about the same.

“After a while, they go back into a shell and get to a point where they don’t want talk to anybody,” said Literacy Council President Curtis Hildt.

It’s a problem the council is trying to solve, especially with a crucial election just three weeks away.

“They can’t read the ballot, and they can’t research the candidates because they can’t read it,” said Hildt. “So, what they have to do they have to find someone, whether they have their views or not, that just says vote for this person or goes in there to help them out. So, it’s frustrating. They can become better citizens. And they feel more fulfilled if they can read. Things that you and I take for granted, it’s a major challenge to them.”

The council tutors about 25 adults who either can’t read for education reasons or because English is their second language.

“They can’t read their prescriptions, can’t read a card that has been lovingly sent by their own grandchild,” said Mittal.

And with an increasingly technological world, they’ll continue to fall more and more behind.

“Computer skills is becoming an illiteracy,” said Hildt. “As society develops, we’ll get a lot more illiteracy skills, and these people can’t keep up.”  WATCH 02:46

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 7

Reading Level: fairly easy to read.

Reader's Age: 11-13 yrs. old

(Sixth and Seventh graders)

 

LVCC

Literacy Volunteers of Central CT Pair Finds Ways To Meet During COVID
Middletown Press: 10.15.2020

A local student and instructor with the New Britain-based Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut have found innovative ways to study together during the pandemic.

Tutor Dave Audette, tutor, and Cromwell resident Amos Huang, an LVCC student originally from Taiwan, and now an American citizen, have been meeting since 2013, according to a press release.

Over the years, they have become real friends, building upon Audette’s need to give back to the community and contribute to others, the release said. Huang’s goal to communicate better, particularly with his family.

They started with enhancing his reading and writing skills, as well as learning to use the computer and internet. Now, their sessions are centered on Huang’s interests in contemporary social, political and legal issues, the release said. Audette plays an important part in finding pertinent facts followed by sharing mutual opinions, according to LVCC.

When face-to-face tutoring in the Cromwell and Portland libraries ended due to the pandemic, both men found alternate ways to meet. Although sometimes they gathered outdoors with both faces covered with masks, they soon moved meetups primarily online through the Go to Meeting software, enabling them to share their computer screens.

They have used the Easy English News literacy newspaper, videos, and streaming sites, such as CNN, for their sessions. All of these feed into their continued and mutual far-ranging interests, the release said.  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)

 

@LAPublicLibrary

Los Angeles Public Library Providing Online Services to People of All Ages
Spectrum News1: 10.13.2020 by Lisa McRee w/ Nita Lelyveld, LA Times

While the Los Angeles public library buildings remain closed to the public, librarians from several branches have created comfortable and fun programs online. Los Angeles Times City Beat Columnist Nita Lelyveld joined us to share all the details.

"The Los Angeles Public Library system has been offering various classes and projects for people of all ages. I went to many literacy classes where people were improving their English or learning English, and I saw people from all over the world participating. There were so many different accents, and you could peak into so many other lives, and people were taking these classes that were so eager to learn that they were standing outside able to take these classes,” said Lelyveld.

Learning about people’s experiences through the resources offered by the libraries was very rewarding for Lelyveld.  WATCH 06:08

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 12

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. old

(Twelfth graders)

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Salisbury NC :: Santa Fe NM :: NY NY :: Arlington VA

Literacy: Spanning the US

Rowan Co 

Literacy Council

Literacy Council Announces Four New Volunteers

Salisbury Post: 5.03.2020

Making good use of their time during the shelter-in-place order, several new volunteers recently completed training to become Rowan County Literacy Council tutors. Tom Pickett, Steve Combs, and Cathy Ryerson completed training during the lockdown, and Shally Mendez completed her training shortly before the lockdown was announced. All four completed an online training program from home and are now certified to work with Adult Basic Education or English as a Second Language students.

Pickett, Combs, and Ryerson are retirees who decided to volunteer after reading an editorial in the Salisbury Post about the literacy council’s work with citizenship candidates. Mendez is a fourth-year student at Catawba College who plans to attend law school after graduation.

Pickett wanted to “help someone learn how to decipher the letters on a page into words, giving them a skill that no one can take away from them and letting them into the wonderful world of the written language.”

Combs was also interested in helping people in the community, noting, “When I stop to think about it, my greatest, life-long enjoyment has come from the experience of reading. Tutoring is a way of joining together with another person in the worthwhile pursuit of spreading the joy.”

Although many people are currently staying home in compliance with guidelines on social distancing, Rowan County Literacy Council Program Coordinator Laurel Harry noted that it is still a good time to think about volunteering. “We transitioned to online training for volunteers a few years ago, and in 2020 rolled out a streamlined training program that volunteers can complete from home in about three hours.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 14

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 21-22 yrs. old

(college level)

@NMAdultLiteracy

Poor Literacy Is Holding N.M. Back

Santa Fe New Mexican: 5.02.2020 by Heather Heunermund

For the first time in well over a decade, the National Center for Education Statistics released county estimates of literacy ability for adults through the U.S. Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies Skills Map: State and County Indicators of Adult Literacy and Numeracy, with county estimates for every state in the union, including New Mexico.

The Skills Map was released quietly in mid-April and went largely unnoticed, though ground-breaking. The trees noticed. The trees are screaming. Does anyone care?

Probably not because most of the quiet go unnoticed in society. The quiet are those adults who have limited literacy and language abilities. They look and act like most of us so they blend into the background like the trees. Perhaps they are our friends, neighbor or co-workers.

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We noticed, and the adult literacy programs quietly serving this population also noticed. We noticed that New Mexico ranks 49th in literacy nationwide, with its average scale score barely outpacing Louisiana. We also noticed that New Mexico is the least literate state when considering the lowest level on the scale, falling just behind California and Texas, likely due to language barriers and other factors. In New Mexico, 29 percent of adults function at literacy Level 1, 31 percent at Level 2 and 39 percent at Level 3. By contrast, the most literate state is New Hampshire with 11 percent of adults at Level 1, compared to 22 percent nationwide.  READ MORE ➤➤

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)

@LitPartners

Literacy Partners Continues Its Mission By Shifting Programs Online

Forbes: 5.04.2020 by Bettina Zilkha

COVID-19 has been hitting non-profits hard in all sectors, but this being New York City, swimming, not sinking, is the only option for can-do CEOs. Literacy Partners, whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty by educating parents of young children, has had to postpone its annual gala, a crucial fundraising tool for the organization. Anthony Tassi has been Literacy Partners’ CEO since January 2013. Tassi faces the enormous task of leading the organization through tough times ahead, and getting creative in terms of fundraising and adapting to shifting services online.

What does your job entail?

The most important job of any leader is to get the right people on the bus, define an ambitious vision, and help the team use its collective skills to get closer and closer to achieving it.

At Literacy Partners, our free adult literacy classes, community workshops, and educational media help low-income and immigrant adults build the skills they need for success in today’s economy. At the same time, our research-based curriculum enhances their capacity to promote their children’s early learning, social emotional growth and school readiness.

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You are continuing with the mission, but not in person. How does that work?

We’ve had to reinvent ourselves from an in-person education program into a remote/online learning community. We have focused our program from seven different offerings to the three that can succeed the most during the social distancing era. It has been a huge challenge, but my team has risen to the occasion and the strength of our relationships with our students has kept most them connected to us. We’ve also focused on how we can innovate in the new era and create new programs to meet the needs of our students at home – programs that I think will help parents thrive in the COVID-19 era and beyond.

What is Literacy Partners doing to plan and prepare for a new reality - perhaps a long break from in-person learning?

We have already done the work to retool our educational programs for the online context. As long as the public schools remain closed, we will continue engaging our adult students online as well. And we will continue innovating to create new digital solutions that build skills and help parents advance their education – and the education of their families.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 12

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. old

(Twelfth graders)

@CCDArlington

Catholic Charities Education & Workforce Development Classes Move Online

WSET: 5.04.2020 by Ida Domingo

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington has moved all its education and workforce development classes to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organization, which offered 56 classes at its Manassas office and five parish locations last year, provides adult education on topics ranging from English as a second language to computer literacy and GED classes.

“The economic toll the pandemic is taking on families is significant. We’re helping our students continue to push forward, acquiring the skills they need to compete in the workforce or re-enter the workforce,” said Jackeline Chavez, Program Director, Education and Workforce Development, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington.   READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 15

Reading Level: very difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate

Literacy – Spanning North America :: Westminster MD :: Westbrook CT :: Winkler MB

Literacy: Spanning North America

Literacy Council 

Carroll County

Literacy Council of Carroll County Offers Range Of Tutoring, Volunteer Programs

Baltimore Sun: 2.10.2020 by Samuel Greenholtz, Ex Dir-Literacy Council of Carroll County

The Literacy Council of Carroll County (LCCC) recently celebrated our 40th year of providing training to the citizens of Carroll County and surrounding areas.

Much of the work that is carried out by the LCCC is completed by our dedicated tutor volunteers, who believe in our students’ ability to improve their reading, writing and math skills, and to pursue a better life for themselves and their families. Our primary objectives have evolved over the years as the number of individuals who were illiterate has dropped dramatically. However, we now have a higher number of individuals who are considered to be at a low-literacy level. Many never completed high school or did not receive a diploma for various reasons. Like everyone else, these individuals have the same goal of pursuing a better life.

We also have a large community of immigrants from around the world, including Africa, Asia, South America, Central America and Europe. Our English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) program offers a full range of learning opportunities to these people.  READ MORE  ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 10

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 14-15 yrs. old

(Ninth to Tenth graders)

Literacy Volunteers 

Valley Shore

At 40, Literacy Volunteers Valley Shore Looks Ahead

Zip06: 2.12.2020 by Aviva Luria

Having celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019, Literacy Volunteers Valley Shore (LVVS) is looking ahead to its future. Its plans entail identifying ways to partner with other community organizations, making tutor training more widely accessible, and getting the word out about its services to more potential students and even employers of potential students.

The organization serves 11 shoreline towns from Guilford to Old Lyme, offering one-on-one English-language tutoring to adults. Students have come from at least 73 foreign countries as well as from the U.S.—while the majority of students are learning English as a second language (ESL), some are American-born adults who have struggled with literacy skills, sometimes due to developmental or intellectual disabilities.

To date, LVVS has tutored 1,460 students and 152 volunteers are currently busy tutoring 187 students.

LVVS nearly always has a waiting list of students and has a constant need for tutors, explained Susan Graves, workshop coordinator, board member, and tutor. But the organization often has to overcome hesitation on the part of would-be volunteers.

“How can I teach somebody who doesn’t know our language? Don’t I need to know their language to explain to them?” are common questions, said Graves. “And our answer is ‘No.’ No, in fact you really don’t want to speak in their language. You want to immerse them in English.

“Side by side, you start very basic, you read out loud, you do the exercises, there’s lots of pictures and it’s amazing how much just doing that every week that the student’s English capabilities grow,” she said.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 9

Reading Level: standard / average.

Reader's Age: 13-15 yrs. Old

(Eighth and Ninth graders)

Regional Connections

Literacy Skills A Road To Success

Pembina Valley: 2.17.2020 by Ryan Funk

Jamie Friesen-Pankratz says there is a moment when the students get a new passion for literacy.

Attending adult literacy classes isn't only for people learning English for the first time; it's also an opportunity for anyone to bring their reading and writing skills to the next level.

Regional Connections offers two programs, Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) and Adult Literacy, which is for newcomers and residents alike.

Literacy is a huge part of life, and according to Albert Guenter; not only did taking the program help both his reading and writing, but it also sparked a passion that wasn't there before.Albert Guenter

"I did not like reading or writing whatsoever, because I didn't know the language very well. When you try to read, and you can't read very well, you don't want to read because you don't understand it. As we've gone along, Jamie has taught us so much, and she would give us books just so we could get the hang of it, and it was cool. I like reading now."  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 9

Reading Level: standard / average.

Reader's Age: 13-15 yrs. Old

(Eighth and Ninth graders)