Literacy – Spanning the US :: Shasta Co CA :: Indiana PA :: San Diego CA

Library's literacy program turning man's life around

Redding Record Searchlight: 8.04.2017 by Mike Chapman

A Bay Area transplant has found a new life and a renewed purpose in Redding with help from the Shasta Public Libraries' Literacy Program.

Alonzo Scott, 48, tells an inspiring story that reaches back to his days of drinking and doing cocaine in his small San Francisco room to being tutored by a Foothill High School grad half his age at the Redding Library with the goal of earning his GED diploma.

"I was sick and tired of drinking and drugging myself," Scott said Thursday from his Redding home. "I'm glad I came here. I've met a lot of good people and they gave me a chance."

Scott found himself taking a bus to Redding after being notified that, following a four-year wait, his application for Section 8 subsidized housing in the city suddenly had been approved. He stayed at the Good News Rescue Mission until he found a place to rent with his HUD voucher and also spent time at the library, within walking distance from his home.

"I started volunteering there (at the library) instead of hanging out outside," Scott said. "I hit it off with most of the staff."

He said Kayla Menne, the library's literacy coordinator, asked him one day if he'd be interested in her program. Scott said since he didn't make it past the ninth grade, he signed up and for two months he's been attending sessions to earn a high school equivalency diploma.  READ MORE @

Adults Look to Get Their Diploma

Kittanning Paper: 8.07.2017

ARIN’s Adult Literacy Coordinator Tammy Blumling takes a call about services available to help adults get their diploma.

As summer comes to an end, the focus turns to ‘Back to School’ preparations. Students this year not only include kids, but also adults.

Tammy Blumling is an Adult Literacy Coordinator for ARIN’s Center for Education. She said her goal is to let the people of Armstrong County know ARIN is available to service adults.

“We’re trying to reach out to Armstrong (County adults) and expand servicing the people because the issues here in Armstrong is (it’s) so rural. So a lot of it has to do with transportation and consistency. The State would like to see us run classes, but that is very challenging in a rural (area) because they don’t always come. We have to be very adaptable. ”

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Thanks to the collaborative effort of some local service providers, a new option for those preparing to study for their adult diploma will be launched on August. 14. According to Blumling, this program is unique to Armstrong County and will offer a blended approach to working with students by integrating both traditional classroom lecture and web-based, distance learning strategies. Scheduled to occur on Mondays and Wednesday at the ACCL, Blumling feels that the additional site and instructor will enable ARIN to offer greater flexibility for meeting the differing learning and scheduling needs of students.  READ MORE @

@SDLiteracy 

Literacy for all: From letters to wings

San Diego Union Tribune: 8.06.2017 by Jose L Cruz, CEO-San Diego Council on Literacy

It is ironic, or maybe not, that I have devoted my life to literacy. Like many children, I had a rough start with learning to read. Wholly intimidated by my first book in school, I made too many mistakes, and, at the age of 6, I keenly felt what my teacher was thinking — that I was a bad reader, not smart and not even a good little person.

Eventually, though, I began to see the connections between the letters and the sounds they made, and I started putting them together to make words happen, which was an exciting discovery! I built upon what I had learned and, thereafter, needed very little help.

Like most children, I was in love with the Dr. Seuss books. My brother once brought us a copy of “Green Eggs and Ham.” At home, we never had books of our own, so if any found their way into the house, we were entranced.

I made it through and became an enthusiastic reader — unlike too many of my classmates. And too many others who came after me. They didn’t make it either. The sad incidence of illiteracy was America’s best-kept secret. But eventually, and happily, help finally came for those who had been left behind.

At the San Diego Council on Literacy, with our partners, we are grateful for the opportunity to enhance the lives of so many adults and children through literacy services.

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Today, over 175,000 residents of all ages annually receive no-cost services from the 29 affiliated programs of the San Diego Council on Literacy. We are making a difference and making more dreams come true.

Through its support of the San Diego Festival of Books, The San Diego Union-Tribune brings the community together around our shared love for literature and the importance of literacy. There’s never enough to say about how reading turns letters and words into wings, helping us to fly through history and space, guiding us as we navigate through this complex world. We would do well to join together to ensure that fewer of us are left on the colorless ground looking longingly and upward at how literacy, if mastered, could change our lives.  READ MORE @

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Collier Co FL :: Tyler TX :: Leesburg VA

Fostering literacy: Jail libraries provide books, education to inmates

Naples News: 8.03.2017 by Ashley Collins

Through the front doors of the Naples Jail Center and up the second floor past the sleeping quarters, a couple of inmates spend most days organizing thousands of books in a library-like room.

The inmate librarians — part of a workforce program with the Collier County Sheriff's Office — order the books on shelves based on the Dewey Decimal System and then administer them to other inmates, or library patrons, throughout the day.

The genres range from self-help, romance and mystery to best-sellers written by James Patterson and Stephen King.

"The library is one more aspect that helps educate inmates, but also gives them some normalcy from the outside world," said Tanya Williams, Collier County Public Library director.  

Since the 1980s, the Collier County Public Library has partnered with the Sheriff's Office to provide a library at both the Naples and Immokalee jail centers.  READ MORE @

Literacy Tyler

The Graduating Father-Son Duo

ProLiteracy Blog: 8.03.2017 by Jennifer Paulding Student Stories

From playing catch and reeling in the biggest fish, to working on cars and cheering on sports teams together, there is a very special bond between a father and son. The bond between one father-son pair who inspired each other and worked together to achieve their dreams, however, is one for the books. Edmundo Fuentes and his son Levi Fuentes, took to the stage together to receive their GED diplomas Tuesday, May 16, in Tyler, Texas.

Edmundo went for a drive one day when he passed a billboard that displayed a message about the high dropout rate of high school students.  The message inspired him to research different ways he could get his GED, leading him to register for classes at Literacy Council of Tyler (LCOT). LCOT provides English Language Learning instruction, GED test preparation, higher education and vocational training, and more.

Edmundo convinced his son Levi, who dropped out of high school in his senior year, to enroll and take classes with him. While both worked full-time jobs during the day, they spent the last year taking night classes to prepare for the GED® test.  READ MORE @

Loudoun Literacy

Literacy Council Moves out of the Classroom and into the Workplace

Loudoun Now: 8.03.2017 by Danielle Nadler

Fabbioli Cellars was busy with employees hard at work on a recent afternoon. One man broke a sweat building a deck off the barrel cellar, while another chopped and neatly stacked wood, and a woman tidied up the tasting room in preparation for a weekend of thirsty visitors.

And at the far north end of the property, a language lesson unfolded beneath the shade of an Asian pear tree.

“What do you do with the pears?” Sarah Ali asked her students, 20-year-old Lupe and 25-year-old Arturo.

“Make…I don’t know how to say in English,” Arturo said.

“Brandy?”

“Yes,” Lupe confirmed.

“Excellent,” Ali said with a nod.

Similar scenes are playing out more and more throughout the county as part of Loudoun Literacy Council’s new teaching strategy to deliver language lessons to the workplace. The nonprofit organization started in 1980 to tutor recently arrived adult immigrants, and shortly after, it offered free or low-cost English courses in an effort to arm them with basic literacy skills. But it’s typically provided lessons to 10 to 20 students at a time in a classroom setting. Now, they’re finding there is a better way.

“It’s one thing to teach vocab in a room. It’s another thing to walk with them in their job—in their day-to-day environment,” said Ali, the organization’s new executive director.

Loudoun Literacy pairs a volunteer tutor with one or two students. They coordinate schedules and meet at the job site weekly. The tutors ask the students to walk them through their typical work day and explain each of their tasks in English.  READ MORE @

International Literacy Day :: September 8

International Literacy Day :: September 8

Literacy in a digital world

This year, International Literacy Day (8 September) will be celebrated across the world under the theme of ‘Literacy in a digital world’. On 7 and 8 September, 2017 a special two-day event will be organized at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris, with the overall aim to look at what kind of literacy skills people need to navigate increasingly digitally-mediated societies, and to explore effective literacy policies and programmes that can leverage the opportunities that the digital world provides.

The 2017 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes awards ceremony will also take place to recognize and reward excellent literacy practices from around the world in connection with this year’s theme and as a key target in Sustainable Development Goal 4.

The international conference on ‘Literacy in a digital world’ and the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes Awards Ceremony will take place on 8 September 2017 at UNESCO headquarters, Paris, France. The event, by invitation only, will gather participants from all regions in the world who are active in the field of education, policy-making, literacy and digital technology.

The objectives of the international conference will be:

To deepen understanding of what kind of literacy skills people need to navigate in a digital world and what this means for literacy teaching and learning;

To share and analyse promising practices with regard to policies, programmes, monitoring and evaluation as well as financing that advances literacy in a digital world;

To explore how digital technologies can support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal 4, especially Target 4.6 on youth and adult literacy.

READ MORE @

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Tulare Co CA :: Wichita Falls TX :: Nevada

Tulare County Library Literacy honors tutors

Porterville Recorder: 8.02.2017

Tulare Co

Literacy

The Tulare County Library’s Read to Succeed literacy program provided a luncheon Saturday for all their literacy tutors at 210 Café in Visalia.

Win Doyle, with the Tulare County Library, said the event was a ‘thank you’ for the generous commitment of time and knowledge that the tutors make to the learners in the literacy program.

“These wonderful individuals committed over 5,000 hours of their time,” Doyle said.New Literacy Manager Edward William expressed his and the staff’s gratitude for the work of the tutors.

“I’m familiar with the literacy programs in California,” William said. “This is one of the best programs I’ve seen and it is thanks to you amazing tutors.”

Doyle said the Literacy’s tutors come from all walks of life and share a common goal of teaching those in need. Doyle said many of the volunteers provide one-on-one tutoring to learners who lack functional and academic literacy skills.  READ MORE @

Wichita Adult

Literacy Council

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@natlitdirectory 

ESL In Home

ESL In-Home Program's trained community volunteers teach one-on-one or in small groups of 2-5, providing the opportunity for students to progress comfortably at a fast pace through personalized attention. Students and tutors generally meet at the tutor's or student's home or at public sites at mutually convenient times for both.  READ MORE @

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Centerville MI :: Akron OH :: Newport News VA

Changing lives one page at a time

St. Joseph County Literacy Council offers free tutoring for adults

Three Rivers News: 7.28.2017 by Kate Kulwicki

St Joseph Co

Literacy Council

Free literacy tutoring is being offered to adults in St. Joseph County.

The St. Joseph County Literacy Council was formed in 1986 and gained federal 501C3 nonprofit status in 2005.

John “JD” Yoder, executive director, said the organization’s main goal is to improve adult literacy in the county.

“The stats say that 11 percent of the St. Joseph County adult population does not know how to read,” Yoder said. “The main thing we do here is help those 18 years or older, who cannot read above a third grade level, learn to read.”

Ron Hooker, president, said any St. Joseph County adult resident can receive tutoring at any time of the year.

Hooker said the program tutored 70 adults last year, ranging from young adults to grandmothers.

“I tutored a grandmother who only wanted to learn how to read so she could read to her grandchildren,” he said.  READ MORE @

@LJFamFoundation

@projectlearn 

Peninsula

READS

Peninsula Reads fights adult low-level literacy, teaches English

Daily Press: 7.31.2017 by Natalie Joseph

After closing the main building for a month, Peninsula Reads classes resumed Monday.

The adult literacy organization in Newport News serves about 350 people ages 18 and older in three programs annually.

The main building, at Fishing Point Drive in Newport News’ City Center, was closed to regroup and reorganize, said Executive Director Paula Bazemore. The organization typically only closes for the week during the July 4 holiday.

Students and tutors worked together one-on-one while the building was closed.

According to the most recent study by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, more than 30,000 adults in the Virginia Peninsula have low-level reading skills. The study was released in 2003.

Since 1968, Peninsula Reads has been trying to decrease that number by focusing on adults so they can be better equipped for self sufficiency in their daily lives — including filling out job applications and teaching their children how to read.

“We are for adults who have nowhere else to go if they have low-level or no-level literacy skills,” Bazemore said. “If it weren’t for us, a lot of people wouldn’t have a resource. We are the place to go if you are starting over or starting from scratch.”  WATCH

EveryLibrary Speaking Tour

EveryLibrary Speaking Tour!

EveryLibrary: 8.08.2017 by pcsweeney

@EveryLibrary

We are excited about traveling across the country in the next few months and speaking to librarians in dozens of states about building a better future for funding libraries through political organizing and action. Our webinars, keynotes, staff workshops, and panel discussions focus on training librarians to understand their political environment and how to influence local voters and politicians to support libraries to improve funding. The political strategy that we teach is based on data and research as well as practical experience from over 60 ballot campaigns in small towns and large cities and from our work organizing communities of library supporters against closures and defunding initiatives from local, state, and federal officials.

If you’d like more information about hiring EveryLibrary to speak at your event or training opportunities for your staff or to contact us for speaking engagements please visit us here.  READ MORE @