Literacy – Spanning the US :: Napa CA :: Kenosha WI :: Oceanside CA :: Texarkana TX

Literacy: Spanning the US

@Napa_Library

Tutor/Learner Story: Sue and Jael

* Napa Library Literacy Program Newsletter:  Summer 2020 by Sue D. & Jael C.

Once in a while we meet people or we make a trip that truly marks our life. Luckily, this is the case with my tutor Sue D., who I met through the Napa County Library Literacy Program in August of 2018. Since I met Sue, I knew that she was an incredible human, and during our studying sessions we started to share more with each other. Our meetings became more and more often and our confidence grew a lot. Our perspectives, differences, and likes made us know that our relationship as teacher/student was a great cultural contrast. 

Thus, these cultural differences arose two things in us: for me, more respect for Sue's cultural background, and for her, her interest in learning more about our Mexican culture (especially the Mesoamerican cultures). As a result, two or three months after we started working under the Literacy Program, I invited Sue to travel to Oaxaca. Even though this trip was planned to accompany my mom to solve some family's issues, I thought it could be a great opportunity to help Sue discover the Mexican culture that she recently found interesting.

It is important to mention that she had never traveled to any part of Mexico before. Sue said, "I was very surprised when my student, Jael, invited me to join him and his madre on a trip to his home state, Oaxaca. I had to think it over . . . for about two minutes! I decided if I turned down this opportunity, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. It was one of the best decisions I ever made, and probably the easiest."  READ MORE ➤➤

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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)

@KenoshaLiteracy

Richness In Diversity

Kenosha News: 8.08.2020 by Ashleigh Henrichs

I have been fortunate enough to have been involved with the Kenosha Literacy Council for nearly a decade.

I currently have the honor of serving as President of KLC’s Board of Directors. Whether through working for the Literacy Council, or serving as a volunteer, I have learned even more about the beautiful value and importance of diversity and inclusion.

Each year, the Literacy Council welcomes adult learners from nearly 40 different countries. All of the adult literacy coursework, tutoring and classes are conducted in English. Students come to the Council from a wide variety of backgrounds and life experiences and each one adds a new perspective to the organization.

One long-time tutor likes to say that working with the KLC’s adult learners is like taking a free trip around the world. Our volunteers and staff members work with young adults, young at heart, parents and individuals from Europe, Central America, Mexico and Asia. They also equip and empower adults born and raised in the United States.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 11

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 15-17 yrs. old

(Tenth to Eleventh graders)

@OsideLibrary

Library Offers Free Online Courses To Help The Unemployed

SD Union Tribune: 7.21.2020 by Linda McIntosh

The Oceanside Public Library provides free online skill-development courses to help unemployed, furloughed or part-time workers get back in the job market. The courses are offered through the Coursera for Workforce Recovery program, administered through the library and made available by Coursera in response to people losing their jobs because of the pandemic.

Folks can self-enroll in 40 curated collections of courses or view and enroll in any of the more than 4,000 course offerings from universities across the world.

The courses range from computer programming, digital literacy, data analytics/business analysis and software or app development to entrepreneurship, web design project management, marketing and business English among others.

Courses vary in length and can be finished online at the pace of each student. Courses provide an overview of the class, including language of instruction, anticipated length of time to complete and a syllabus detailing the learning plan. Most courses include video lectures and quizzes or other applications of learning such as projects. Intermediate computer skills are required for Coursera courses. Courses are available for a six-month period in which learners can develop new skills or sharpen existing skills. Certificates are awarded upon completion of the courses. Course selection guidance is available.

“The courses offered are taught by instructors at leading universities around the world,” said Chelsea Genack Eggli, literacy coordinator at the Library’s READS Learning Center, which offers access to the Coursera program along with other virtual learning programs.  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Readability Consensus

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 13

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 18-19 yrs. old

(college level entry)

Literacy Council Names Executive Dir, Announces Fall Classes at New Location

TXK Today: 8.12.2020 by Stephen Parker

The Literacy Council of Bowie and Miller Counties, Inc. named Jenny Walker as the new Executive Director. Richard Seymour, who previously held the role, has  retired. Walker, who started in the new position last month, said she is thrilled about the work that the Literacy Council does for Texarkana.

“Education is so powerful,” Walker said. “At the Literacy Council, we have the opportunity to give people the tools and resources they need in order to change the course of their lives. I cannot think of a better way to serve our community.”

In her first month, Walker has already worked to bring some positive change to the Council, including moving the organization to a new location – 4014 Summerhill Road in the Summerhill Square shopping center.

“We have just settled into our new location,” Walker said. “When we had to cancel our Spelling Bee because of COVID-19 in the spring, we had to find a way to make up for some of the money we were unable to raise. The easiest way was to downsize. We lost a lot of square footage in the move, but the savings can be invested into our programs, and I am really excited about that.”  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Readability Consensus

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 8

Reading Level: standard / average.

Reader's Age: 12-14 yrs. old

(Seventh and Eighth graders)

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Centreville MI :: Southern Pines NC :: Greenfield MA

Literacy: Spanning the US

SJCLC

Literacy Council Seeks Additional Tutors

Sturgis Journal: 6.12.2019 by Michelle Patrick

St. Joseph County Literacy Council was established in the mid-1980s.

The group’s primary focus is teaching adults to read, said Ron Hooker, council president.

Hooker said any adult resident of the county is eligible for free tutoring, either to learn to read or to improve reading ability.

Among 83 counties in of Michigan, St. Joseph County ranks 12th from the bottom in terms of literacy rates, Hooker said. St. Joseph County has an illiteracy rate of 9.3 percent for adults, he said, meaning those adults aren’t able to read past a third-grade level.

“If you think about it, of all the people you see walking around, one out of 11 of them can’t read past a third-grade level,” Hooker said. “People don’t know it.”

Because of the stigma of illiteracy, many adults who can’t read try to hide the fact the best they can, Hooker said. That’s why he commends each new student for wanting to better their life.

Hooker said students come to the council for various reasons, but the primary reason is to be able to read when searching for employment opportunities.  READ MORE >>

Moore County 

Literacy Council

Moore County Literacy Council Growing Its Reach

The Pilot: 6.13.2019 by Laura Douglass

Quietly working to improve lives one student at a time, the Moore County Literacy Council provides free literacy tutoring to individuals of all ages. Based in the Read Moore Center in Southern Pines, the organization serves around 100 adult students each year through one-on-one tutoring.

“I feel like we’ve been a best kept secret organization,” said Executive Director Stuart Mills, “but, we have been growing in both size and scope of our programs.”

An estimated 10 percent of Moore County’s adult population is functionally illiterate.

The Moore County Literacy Council (MCLC) has traditionally focused on providing free basic literacy education and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Instruction areas include life skills, citizenship, GED preparation, career readiness, computer skills and family literacy. The majority of MCLC’s adult students enter at a third grade level or less.

However, through grant programs and partnerships with Moore County Schools and other local nonprofits, including the United Way of Moore County, MCLC has grown its outreach programming to serve more families and children’s literacy needs.  READ MORE >>

The Literacy Project

Literacy Project Students Write, Choose Poems For Food Poetry Walk

Greenfield Recorder:  6.13.2019 by Anita Fritz

Maricella Obondo had a dream — she wanted a better life for her children, she wanted to learn English and how to read.

Today, Obondo’s poem, “The Dream,” hangs in the window of The Literacy Project on Bank Row as part of its first Poetry Walk. The walk’s theme is food.

Obondo is a student in Beth Byrne’s HiSET class at The Literacy Project in Greenfield — there is also an office in Orange. HiSET (High School Equivalency Test) is what was formerly known at GED (General Education Diploma).

“When you move from another country to start a new life, you have a dream,” she said. “My childhood was very hard, I was trying to survive every day. When I saw the United States, it felt like the promised land. I’m OK now. I feel at peace here with my kids.”  READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Livermore CA :: Milwaukee WI :: Placentia CA :: Columbus OH

Literacy: Spanning the US

@LivLibrary

Livermore Public Library Honors Volunteers Of The Year

KKIQ: 6.17.2019

Chris Irving has been chosen as the Livermore Public Library’s 2019 Literacy Volunteer of the Year. As a new retiree, Chris shared that she wanted to use her professional skills to help others. She has done exactly that since beginning to volunteer with the Literacy program three years ago. Chris’ volunteer work includes meeting regularly with her adult learner who says Chris is very nice and very patient. In addition to seeing her learner achieve significant goals, Chris assists with literacy outreach, planning special events, and facilitating the English Conversation Groups when needed. She recently served as a beta-test reviewer for a nationally developed online tutoring resource and she has also embraced the role of tutor trainer, welcoming new tutors and sharing her valuable and insightful first-hand experience. Along with her dedicated commitment, Chris is also known for the good humor she generously blends into her work.  READ MORE >>

@LiteracyWI

‘I Put That Bookbag On And Did What I Had To Do’:  How  Adult Learners Can Put High School Behind Them

Milwaukee News Service: 6.11.2019 by Ana Martinez-Ortiz

Jacklyn Isabell was 15 when she made the decision to drop out of James Madison High School.

She was pregnant, and her mother had recently died. But while taking college courses at Milwaukee Area Technical College, she learned she was not being given credit for coursework taken at other schools, including Midwest Theological Institute.

“Here I was with all these college credits and no high school diploma,” she said.

Frustrated, Isabell thought about giving up. But her children’s father encouraged her to complete her high school journey.

“I got two girls looking up at me,” she said. “I got to finish this degree.”

So, in February, the 34-year-old began taking classes at Literacy Services, 555 N. Plankinton Ave., through MATC’s high school equivalency program. In May, she completed her work and is planning to finish her associate degree in early childhood education by the end of the year.  READ MORE >>

@placentialib

SPOTLIGHT ON LITERACY: Meet Our Learners & Tutors

Explore – Placentia Library: Spring 2019

Sumi is a prolific reader from South Korea. Her love of literature lead her to sign up for the adult literacy program. Her goal is to improve her English to be able to read classic literature. We are working towards achieving this goal by reading simplified versions of classic novels, learning new words, and completing engaging lessons on reading and writing.

In Sumi’s words, “Thank you for the Placentia Library’s adult literacy program that gave me the pleasure of learning English with such a great teacher. The literacy program has had a big impact on my life.” Sumi is tutored by Raul, a recent graduate from CSUF. Raul combines his education and skills to help Sumi build her reading and writing skills. They meet every week for an hour and a half.

In Raul’s own words, “The Placentia Literacy Program has helped me develop into a better teacher so that I can be successful in my career as an ESL instructor and has given me a way to be more connected and involved in my community.”  READ MORE >>

@cbusliteracy

Columbus Literacy Council Helps Immigrants Hone English Skills, Break Down Barriers

Columbus Dispatch: 6.11.2019 BY Ceili Doyle

In a converted Downtown brownstone, a man and a woman sit at a desk in what used to be a living room, but now serves as the Columbus Literacy Council’s Tutoring Center.

A poster of flames is taped over the opening of the fireplace and banners with pictures of tutors and students imprinted with words such as “READ,” “EXCELLENCE” and “LISTEN” are pinned to the walls.

Halima Alim, 33, of the North Side, paused while she studied a mock email from a lesson in a workbook. She looked up at her volunteer tutor, Mark Dubovec, quizzically.

She is from Somalia and hopes to use these tutoring sessions to get a better grasp on the English language.

Alim wants to understand her children's school system — she has four kids all under the age of 10 — and learn how to communicate with their teachers.

"I want to help them," she said of her children.

Vilvi Vannak is the director of the Tutoring Center on 92 Jefferson Ave. She started working for Columbus Literacy Council more than 19 years ago. In 2011, Vannak began hosting one-on-one and small group conversations with students who wanted to improve their English in the council's old location, which eventually evolved into the Tutoring Center.

Vannak prides herself on her students’ success stories, which she believes happen every day — in large and small ways.

“One student I know just passed her citizenship test,” she said. “But my very first success story was an American-born man who joyfully called me one day to say because of the center’s help he was able to read the instructions on the back of a bag of microwave popcorn for the first time in his life.”  READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Salt Lake City UT :: Boynton Beach FL :: Kokomo IN

Literacy: Spanning the US

Literacy Action

Center

High 5: Beating the Odds With Adult Literacy

KSL TV: 6.05.2019 by Felicia Martinez

“What are you interested in? What do you want to know about?”

In learning to read, the students enrolled in the Literacy Action Center’s adult literacy program also learn about other topics with Dr. Deborah Young.

She has been teaching adult literacy for 35 years, taking adults with low-level reading, writing or math skills and improving them.  WATCH 03:00

@literacypbc

Literacy AmeriCorps & The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County

WRMF: 6.28.2019

In Palm Beach County, an estimated 1 in 7 adults functions at the lowest level of literacy and lacks the basic skills needed for today’s world. Nearly half of children in third grade are unable to read at grade level. Many of these adults and children who cannot read or write well desperately want to learn. Literacy AmeriCorps members address this need by teaching in family literacy and adult education programs to assist adults to learn English, serving as Graduation Coaches in local high schools with at-risk youth, and tutoring children in elementary schools, afterschool programs and libraries.  LISTEN 20:08

@LitCoKokomo

Literacy Coalition Receives A Grant From The Dollar General Literacy Foundation

Kokomo Perspective: 6.06.2019

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded the Literacy Coalition a grant last week.

The donation came as a portion of the more than $8.3 million in grants awarded to approximately 1,000 nonprofits, libraries, and schools across the nation.

"This is the third year in a row that the foundation has chosen to support our programs with a grant. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is a major promoter of adult literacy programs," said Literacy Coalition Executive Director Bob Stephenson. "They place a high value on improving the literacy skills of adults and families so our missions match very well. It is an honor to have their support again this year. Know we have their confidence motivates us to work harder to help individuals in the Kokomo area achieve their goals.”

This grant will offset the costs of giving some of the Literacy Coalition's student’s access to a new smartphone app that allows them to study more than 900 English and math lessons on their phone.  READ MORE >>

8 ways libraries impact the life of newcomers (with true stories) via Princh

8 ways libraries impact the life of newcomers (with true stories)

Princh: 10.12.2018 by Erika Naud

There are numerous reasons why a person would choose to move to another country. It could be to study or work abroad, to follow a spouse, or to experience something new. No matter the reason, expats will always need to adapt to their new country, and this period of transition can sometimes be tough.

An article on the Digital Public Library mentions that “immigrating to a new country is a daunting and complicated task. You are surrounded by new customs, new people, possibly a new language, and paperwork”. Word is that for a lot of expats, libraries can help a great deal in adapting to a new country. Indeed, by identifying newcomers as a different segment of the community and personalizing the communications to them, libraries can impact the life of newcomers in many ways.

In this blog post, a few expats around the world share their experience on how the library helped them adapt to their new life. We will also present 8 different activities that libraries are offering or can offer to help expats in their everyday life.

1. Access to a wide range of books

2. Info about the city and the library

3. Access to language classes

4. Activities for children

READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning North America :: Cleveland OH :: Cape Verde AZ :: Montgomery/Floyd Cos VA :: Campbell River BC

Literacy: Spanning North America     

@seedsofliteracy

Tutoring Provides Redemption for Cleveland Man

Seeds of Literacy Blog: 6.11.2018

At Seeds, we often ask our tutors to imagine their way into the lives of our students. Michael Gingerich doesn’t have to.

Gingerich started tutoring at Seeds’ West Side location in early 2016. He’d grown up in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, so it was something of a homecoming for him. More than that, it was a chance at redemption.

The start of tutoring at Seeds came during a dark chapter in Gingerich’s life. He’d just undergone a double knee replacement surgery, a procedure necessitated by his weight—“I was over 400 pounds,” Gingerich says. Due to various health and mobility problems, he hadn’t had a job in six years.

“I hadn’t been around other people in quite a long time,” writes Gingerich in an email. “I decided that before I would be able to work a full-time job, I needed to transition and get used to interacting with people.” He made a plan to volunteer 20 hours a week, and Seeds was part of that plan.

Literacy was a cause close to Gingerich’s heart. School had been a struggle for him, and he’d scraped by with mostly Ds. School counselors had misdiagnosed him with a learning disability when what was actually distracting him at school was secondhand trauma.

═════════►

One of the first things he did on getting sober was read the first book of his life. He was 23.  READ MORE >>

Adult Reading Program receives $5,000 from Literacy Foundation

Verde News: 6.07.2018 by Bill Helm

It takes “in the ballpark of $50,000 per year” to run the Camp Verde Adult Reading Program, according to Doug Watson.

Since the program can generally count on $15,000 from the community and another $10,000 from CVARP investments, “about $25,000” needs to come from grants, the program’s director said.

To support adult literacy, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded the Camp Verde Adult Reading Program a $5,000 grant. Said Watson, “this is the first grant we have received this year.”

“It is very difficult to get grants of any amount, as there is competition from across the country for every dollar,” Watson said.

To alleviate costs, the Adult Reading Program has “trimmed working hours for staff, closed our Cottonwood/DES classroom and made greater use of volunteers to reduce the day-to-day operational expenses as much as possible,” Watson said.

Watson said that the Adult Reading Program will use this grant “in 2018 and the future to help provide about 100 students per year with GED preparation assistance, English language learner assistance, financial education classes and computers and technology instruction.”  READ MORE >>

Library program helps parents learn English, read to children

Roanoke Times: 6.08.2018

Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library recently held its first graduation ceremony for the Family READS (Reading and English to Achieve Dreams and Success) Program, provided in partnership with Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley.

@LVNRV 

Parents desiring to improve their English skills and who had preschool children were invited to attend this free 16-hour family literacy program that gave parents new skills and knowledge to help their children be successful in school. Children were immersed in literacy activities, and families learned how to access the library’s free resources and received free children’s books.

Six families graduated from the Blacksburg Library’s Family READS Program on May 21.

Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library was selected as one of 20 public libraries nationwide to receive a $10,000 American Dream Literacy Initiative grant from the American Library Association (ALA) and Dollar General Literacy Foundation.  READ MORE >>

@crliteracy123

Campbell River literacy program for all learners

Campbell River Mirror: 6.08.2018 by Mike Chouinard

When Xiong Chen arrived in Canada a few years, she wanted to improve her English to help her adjust to life in Campbell River.

For the last few years, she has been attending an adult literacy program operated by the Campbell River Literacy Association, which runs several programs out of the Robron Centre.

“When I was first here, I only can use simple words,” she says.

Each week she has been meeting tutor Tom Bishop at the centre for two evenings for a couple of hours.

“Chen had studied English in China, and her English was pretty good,” Bishop says.

They spend the first hour or so going over assignments from a workbook, while they spend the last part of the session talking about newspaper stories or simply having everyday conversation. For example, she tells Bishop about her new experince of camping in Canada with her daughter Orenda and son Kevin. (Her husband is still working in China and in the middle of a process to get a work visa for Canada.) At one point, she has Bishop and everyone in the office in stitches with her story of discovering it was a crow rather than a naughty child that made off with some snacks from their campsite.

In China, she had mostly studied in books and wanted to learn to speak the language more fluently. She thanks Bishop for his tips on firewood and other camping essentials. In turn, she often gives him hints on Chinese cooking, such as how to make a soup using goji berries.  READ MORE >>