Literacy ▬ Spanning the US :: Modesto CA :: Lubbock TX :: Charleston SC :: San Angelo TX

Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

LearningQuestSLC

Eight Tenacious Students Win Awards At Literacy Network of Stanislaus
Modesto Bee: 4.18.2021 by John Holland

Eight adult students and two educators were honored with the 22nd annual awards from the Literacy Network of Stanislaus County. The [sic] were presented March 19 via Zoom.

The organizers provided these details on the honorees:

Alondra Ibarra-Torres and Sandra Rodriguez, both students at Modesto Junior College, were winners in the English as a Second Language category.

🔽
Abdul Darwe and Otoniel (Tony) Muñoz were honored in the Literacy category. Both are students at LearningQuest/Stanislaus Literacy Centers.

Darwe, a native of Afghanistan, overcame physical injuries and the constant threat of bombing in his war-ravaged homeland. He moved his mother and sisters to Pakistan, where they then obtained visas to come to the United States. He hopes to obtain a GED and eventually go into teaching or nursing.

Muñoz suffered from physical problems resulting in speech and movement difficulties. He has improved his reading from fourth-grade to ninth-grade level and has learned technology skills. He hopes to attain a High School Equivalency certificate to boost his job skills.

Turlock Adult School students Maria Luisa Avina and Nancy Contreras won scholarships of $500 each. Both are bilingual, bicultural, first-generation students.  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)

 

@LiteracyTexas

Literacy Starts In Lubbock
Lubbock Online: 4.18.2021 by Steve Banta, Literacy Texas

During the pandemic, literacy was one of the hardest-hit social services programs in Texas. As with education, mental health, and other key human learning services, the so-called “COVID Slide” significantly impacted literacy training, especially in rural areas.

Literacy Lubbock

Nonprofits like Literacy Lubbock kept their doors open throughout 2020, working with adult students juggling full-time jobs, and family responsibilities while they earned GEDs and other high school credentials. Less fortunate Texas nonprofits were forced to close, and thousands of students and families fell between the cracks of literacy education.

Texas ranks 47th in literacy nationwide, with some of the lowest national percentages of people aged 25 years and older to complete high school or GEDs. During the pandemic, job losses proved that literacy is critical to our future, and our state’s economy.

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Technology was identified as the key to bridging the learning gap. More than 71% of nonprofit survey respondents serving students listed lack of computers and internet access at home as major roadblocks to learning. Sixty-two percent were unable to communicate with students without cell phones or email addresses, and many cited cultural and language barriers as a hurdle to communication.

Moving forward, nonprofits are re-booting tele-literacy training, investing in iPads and other electronics to reach students, but nothing outweighs the desire the learn.  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)

 

@TridentLit

Everyday Hero: Pat Gibson – Trident Literacy Association
CountOn 2: 4.19.2021 by Carolyn Murray

Reading a book, filling out a form, signing your name – it’s easy to take being able to do these things for granted.

For nearly 50 years, adults have gained this skill through the Trident Literacy Association.

News 2’s Carolyn Murray shares this week’s Everyday Hero: the founder of the organization and asked what sparked the idea to help adults learn to read and write.

“A gentleman came up to me, held out a card and said, ‘do you think this card is appropriate for my grandson?’ and I looked at the card and said yes, I think he would really like it,” explained Pat Gibson.

She continued: “When I went to check out, the clerk said thank you for helping him buy a card today because he cannot read, and it was an epiphany for me. It had never occurred to me that there were adults who couldn’t read.”

Gibson quickly dismisses the notion that she is solely responsible for starting Trident Literacy, but the Virginia native planted the seed for the organization in 1972

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And Gibson says they are often hidden in plain sight – your neighbors, relatives, and friends. Thousands of people struggling to read and write in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties.

“There are 66,000 adults in the tri-county area who do not possess a high school credential and they have a problem filling out a job application form,” said Gibson.  WATCH 04:00

 

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 11

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 15-17 yrs. old

(Tenth to Eleventh graders)

 

ALCConchoValley

West Texas Non-Profit Organization Notices An Uptick In Younger Adults Earning GEDs

My Fox Zone: 4.20.2021 by Kami Simmons

According to the Texas Education Agency, thousands of adults do not have a high school diploma. A local organization is trying to fix that.

Under a little less than a year, the Adult Literacy Council of the Concho Valley said their staff has seen a different population of students use the resources they provide to get their GED and other educational resources to be able to live and work.

“We have had traditionally before COVID. We had older people that were wanting to get their high school equivalent. They had missed school. And when I say older, it could be 20, 30, 40, 50, or the 90-year-old that are wanting to get their high school equivalent. It’s in their bucket list and they want that to be done…we saw more younger kids and I’m talking about 15 to 18-year-olds that have dropped and who were not doing their classwork necessarily at school or not having a computer,” Marilynn Golightly, Adult Literacy Council of the Concho Valley program director said.  WATCH 02:07

 

Automatic Readability Checker

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)

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Elkhart IN :: Greenfield MA :: Santa Barbara CA :: Florence SC

Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

Project Scope

Nonprofit Opens Doors To Men Seeking Help Following Incarceration
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

 

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)

 

The Literacy Project

State Education Department Recognizes The Literacy Project’s Programs As ‘Exemplary’
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 ➤➤

 

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)

 

@SBPLSystem

The Challenges — and Successes — of Learning English Remotely
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 ➤➤

 

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)

 

Florence Area Literacy

Adult Literacy Center Still Combating Illiteracy During COVID
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 ➤➤

 

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)

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Midland TX :: Muskegon MI :: Kansas City MO :: Myrtle Beach SC

Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

Permian Basin 
Adult Literary Center

Permian Basin Adult Literary Center Hosting New Odessa Classes
CBS 7: 2.24.2021 with Jay Hendricks

Jay Hendricks was joined by Alba Austin, Executive Director of the Permian Basin Adult Literary Center to discuss the center’s new classes in Odessa.  WATCH 03:29

@ReadMuskegon

Community Effort In Muskegon County Aims To Tackle ‘Illiteracy Crisis’
MLive: 2.26.2021 by Rose White

About 56% of adults in Muskegon County are below proficient with their reading ability, according to a national survey.

It’s that statistic and high rates of local students reading below grade level that prompted Read Muskegon to lead a community effort to address illiteracy.

The organization partnered with the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) to host a virtual literacy summit Tuesday morning. About 100 school leaders, community members, business owners and social services agencies gathered to discuss “dire literacy needs,” said Rosa Guzman Snyder, director of community development with NCFL.

According to 2018 M-STEP data, about 62% of Muskegon County third graders are reading below their grade level, and SAT data shows about half of local high school juniors are not considered college ready in reading and writing.

While illiteracy is “much bigger” than schools, Read Muskegon Executive Director Melissa Moore highlighted those stats to illustrate the scope of the issue. She also noted the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the “intensity of the illiteracy crisis” both in Muskegon and across the country.  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)

 

@LiteracyKC

Literacy KC Adventure APP Offers Guided Tours To Black history Markers In Kansas City
KSHB: 2.26.2021 by Taylor Hemness

All this month, 41 Action News has observed Black History Month, with stories encouraging viewers to learn more about some of the impactful people and places in Kansas City.

Now, Literacy KC has developed an smartphone app to take people on guided tours of some of those locations.

One such example is D.A. Holmes School on Benton Boulevard. Built in 1904, the building now houses apartments for seniors. But during the 90 years it was a school, it became a chapter in Kansas City's educational segregation story.

It’s one of more than a dozen sites featured on the Literacy KC Adventure app.

Marquis Queen, founder of a local tech company called SLCKET, built the app. He's also a board member for Literacy KC.

“As a black inventor, I get to help bring to life, through technology that we created, this story,” Queen said. “This insight about black history in a way that people just haven't seen."

Android: buff.ly/3ubG5S2
Apple: buff.ly/3pvBjv6

WATCH 03:30

 

Palmetto Literacy 
Council

* Talking With South Carolina Authors
Palmetto Literacy Council Newsletter: Feb 2021

Palmetto Literacy Council had the pleasure of hosting its second Virtual Author Discussion on January 30, 2021 which featured two engaging and talented South Carolina authors. These virtual discussions reflect PLC’s desire to celebrate and showcase local authors who share our passion to improve literacy. Barbara Evers and Rebecca Bruff generously volunteered their time to support our mission to improve literacy while discussing their lives as professional authors.

Barbara Evers lives in Greer, South Carolina and is the author of The Watchers of Moniah trilogy. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and also a two-time Carrie McCray winner whose short stories and essays have appeared in the best-selling anthology, Child of My Child: Poems and Stories for Grandparents, The Petigru Review and moonShine Review. When she’s not writing, Barbara is a professional trainer, speaker, and freelance editor.

Rebecca Bruff, who lives in Beaufort, South Carolina, is the author of Trouble the Water. The novel received First Place/Gold awards for Debut Novel and Adult Fiction, a Bronze award for Historical Fiction from The Feathered Quill Awards, and First Place/Gold in Fiction from American Bookfest. In 2017, she was a scholarship recipient for the prestigious Key West Literary Seminar. Rebecca has also published a children’s book, Stars of Wonder.  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)

* Newsletters ◻ Blogs ◻ Stories

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Detroit MI :: Oceanside CA :: North SC :: Bradenton FL

Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

@ReadingWorks

Detroit's Literacy Providers Must Complete Reading Works' Mission
Freep: 12.28.2020 by *Paul Anger

Reading Works was born of a heartfelt commitment to Detroit. We toiled for a decade – with dedicated partners — to help extend the city’s renaissance to its workforce, its neighborhoods and its schools

From our earliest days, we described ourselves as “dedicated to improving adult literacy in metro Detroit, and promoting the idea that reading works — in the home and in the workplace.”

The strategy: Raise literacy and education levels of more adults so they could land good-paying jobs and create a family environment to help children thrive in school.

Reading Works became a backbone of community-wide efforts, and much progress was made. In early 2020, in fact, it was accelerating — until the pandemic.

But as 2021 dawns, the effort to promote literacy in the city efforts will have to carry on without Reading Works.

Like many organizations, we’ve fallen victim to the pandemic and the painful interruption of both funding and important work that needed doing.  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)

 *Paul Anger was editor of the Free Press editor from 2005 to 2009 and editor and publisher from 2009-15. He served as Reading Works chair from 2011 to 2015.

sou

@OsideLibrary

Literacy Program In Oceanside Helping Adult Learners Fulfill Lifelong Dreams
10 News: 12.28.2020 by Virginia Cha

It can be easy to take the ability to read for granted, but there's nothing easy about admitting you can't read, especially for adults. Just ask Gary Swimpson.

"I have a 7-year-old grandson that can read better than me," he says, "it hurts. I'm 61 years old, I'm supposed to be reading to him, but I can't let that get me down. I have to keep pushing forward."

Pushing forward is Gary's mantra. He exudes positivity, but it wasn't always that way.

"As far as my background, where I come from, 'the hood' and all that, you know I made a lot of bad choices coming up and so I'm trying to do the right thing in life for the first time in my life."

He says the hardest part of his journey has been having the strength to continue pushing himself to do it.

"When you never read growing up and now you're in your fifties or sixties and you try it, it's a challenge."

When Gary moved from Los Angeles to Oceanside, he decided it was time for a fresh start, beginning about a year and a half ago with the Oceanside READS Learning Center.

Chelsea Genack Eggli, the literacy coordinator for Oceanside Public Library, said, "It takes a lot of courage and it takes a lot of strength to go back to school when somebody is older in life," she says.  WATCH 02:30

Automatic Readability Checker

Readability Consensus

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)

 

North Challenge Center Closes; Volunteers Offered Adults Chance To Learn
The T and D: 12.29.2020 by Martha Rose Brown

Over the course of nearly three decades, North Challenge Center volunteers have helped approximately 1,200 families.

The center has helped adults learn to read and write, earn their GEDs and accomplish other goals.

Now the center has lost its funding due to the pandemic and is about to close.

Sandy Sigmon and her husband George, both Navy veterans, co-founded the center in 1993. She’d plan to retire in the upcoming year.

Over the years as the center’s director, her most special moments have come “when someone’s learned to read and they realize it.”  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 8

Reading Level: standard / average.

Reader's Age: 12-14 yrs. old

(Seventh and Eighth graders)

  

@GoodwillFL

Goodwill Offers Virtual ESOL Classes For Its Manatee County Employees
Herald Tribune: 12.31.2020

Goodwill Manasota is offering virtual ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes each week for team members whose primary language is not English.

@Manatee_Reads

The Manatee County virtual ESOL classes started on Dec. 7. Participants gather at the Goodwill Cortez, Ranch Lake and Corporate Campus locations. The free classes, which are taught by instructors from the Manatee Literacy Council, are provided while employees are on the clock.

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Michelle Desveaux McLean, executive director of the Literacy Council, says that 20% of adults living in Manatee County are at or below the lowest literacy level, according to the Program for the International Assessment of AdultCompetencies.  READ MORE ➤➤

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 :: North Charleston SC :: Los Angeles CA :: Livermore CA :: Savannah GA

Literacy In The News :: Spanning the US

@TridentLit

Local Organization Confronts COVID Challenges In Adult Education Programs
Live 5 News: 10.24.2020 by Paola Tristan Arruda

One Lowcountry organization is aiming to help adults get the skills they need to join the workforce, while also battling challenges presented by the pandemic.

Trident Literacy Association says there are more than 60,000 adults in the tri-county area that don’t have a high school credential. The group works with adults 17 and older to help improve their skills and get their GED.

They also work with immigrants who are learning English as a second language.

All the organization’s sites have been physically closed since March, so they have had to switch to a virtual method of teaching. The executive director, Eileen Chepenik, said they are close to being at capacity since they have had to take in fewer students.

“We have implemented a case management approach, so that we can work with students not only on their academic skills, but other issues in their lives that are so stressful right now,” Chepenik said. “We have about 60 or so volunteer tutors who are now working with our students mostly one on one by telephone, by email, and having students drive by to pick up material.”

Not only are class sizes smaller and more intimate, but class hours have also switched to accommodate students' schedules.  WATCH 02:28

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 11

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 15-17 yrs. old

(Tenth to Eleventh graders)

 

@LAPublicLibrary

Ballot Measures Discussion with the League of Women Voters
LA Public Library: 10.14.2020

Mona Field, Co-President of the Los Angeles League of Women Voters, helps us understand the 12 statewide measures, and some local measures, on the November 3, 2020 ballot.

Mona Field is a notable expert in state and local politics. In addition to her role with the League, she is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Glendale Community College and the author of California Government and Politics Today (15th Edition).

The discussion will focus on the pros and cons of the following:

➧ Property taxes
➧ Rent control
➧ Parolee voting sentence changes
➧ Approving or rejecting cash bail
➧ Funding for stem cell research                                  
➧ Reinstituting affirmative action
➧ Voting rights for some 17-year-olds
➧ Governing kidney dialysis clinics
➧ Special workplace rules for app-based companies like Uber and Lyft
➧ New consumer privacy rules

This event is being organized through Teens Leading Change at the Eagle Rock Branch Library.  WATCH 1:09:02

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 17

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate

 

@LivLibrary

Livermore Library Honors Volunteers Of The Year
Pleasanton Weekly: 10.29.2020 by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

The Livermore Library recently recognized several outstanding volunteers who have provided exceptional service to the community.

═════════►
Ed Folsom has been chosen as the Livermore Public Library's 2020 Volunteer of the Year in Support of Literacy. He has volunteered at the Rincon Branch Library with the Homework Help Center since 2010, guiding and assisting students of all ages and grade levels, motivating them with his enthusiastic and encouraging approach.

In more recent years Folsom has also volunteered with the library's adult literacy program. When working with a child or an adult, Folsom is known for understanding that learning can be hard work, especially for those with other things going on in their lives that increase the challenge.  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)

 

@RoyceLearning

Adult Education In Savannah Helps Learners Achieve Life Goals
Savannah Morning News: 10.16.2020 by Anne Hart

You’re never too old to learn more and change your life.

Stephaine Scott, 54, of Savannah is putting that advice into practice during this pandemic.

After being hospitalized with COVID-19 at Candler Hospital in June, Scott learned while quarantining and recuperating about a program that could help her do what she dreamed of...Obtain her GED.

Now Scott is enrolled in Royce Learning Center’s Adult and Community Education (ACE) classes and working toward that GED.

Then she aims to go to college and become a psychologist.

The ACE program provides an individualized learning environment for adult learners of various abilities, from enhancing literacy to preparation for GED or college. Each class is led by a certified teacher who pairs each learner with a skilled volunteer.

The ACE program classes are currently virtual due to the pandemic. The program is free. It’s $25 enrollment fee is waived because classes are virtual.  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)