San Diego Public Library - READ San Diego - Director looks back on success of adult literacy program: 5 years at the helm of READ/San Diego

Director looks back on success of adult literacy program:
5 years at the helm of READ/San Diego
Sign On San Diego: June 26, 2010 by Katie Steiner

Valerie Hardie describes her job as part traffic controller, part ninja assassin.

As literacy program administrator of READ/San Diego, an adult literacy program, Hardie keeps busy promoting the program, writing grants and reports, running the show.

And even though it can be an exhausting job, one that requires multiple cups of coffee every day, it is a job that Hardie wouldn’t trade for anything.

In August, Hardie will celebrate her fifth year as READ/San Diego’s director, a program she’s been with since its inception 22 years ago.

“It’s been an extraordinary journey,” Hardie said. “I still continue to feel very privileged to work in San Diego at a job I believe in, that I think is relevant more so now than any time.

“I see miracles happen in the workplace.”

During those 22 years, the program has helped more than 20,000 adults learn to read and write, Hardie said. Currently, 450 to 500 adults are enrolled in the program.

Plus, the program has become known locally, statewide and nationally for its work. Jose Cruz, CEO of the San Diego Council on Literacy, said much of the program’s success can be credited to its director’s longevity.

“It’s a reflection of Val’s passion for literacy and the dedication to the kind of work she’s been doing,” Cruz said. “You can’t buy the passion and you can’t replace the continuity.”

Back in 1988, when the program was in the developing stages, Hardie was a young library assistant at the San Diego Public Library. She had also worked as a tutor in the writing center at UCSD.

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Twenty-two years later, READ/San Diego has six full-time employees, three AmeriCorps volunteers and a permanent home behind the Malcolm X Library, 5148 Market St.

It also has more adults wanting assistance than it can sometimes handle. At any given time, the number of people waiting to be paired with a tutor is 80 to 150, Hardie said.

Last year, when the list had reached 150, the program had to suspend enrolling new students. Some people are left waiting for six months to a year.

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During READ/San Diego’s 20th annual tutor conference on June 12, at least 250 people, ranging in age from college students to retirees, spent their Saturday at the University of San Diego campus learning how to become better tutors. READ MORE !