Carlsbad Library - Learning program's volunteer tutors help adults learn to read

Learning program's volunteer tutors help adults learn to readSan Diego Union-Tribune: March 15, 2007 by Angela Holman

Sergio Morales struggled while trying to read the word "allergic." It was the first time he had ever seen the word, but he wasn't discouraged.

Volunteer tutor Lee Shamblee asked Morales what sounds the letter "g" can make, enabling him to sound out the correct pronunciation.

A year ago, Morales, 19, wouldn't have been able to accomplish such a task.

"Now he's learned enough that, in many cases, he can spell words he's never seen before," Shamblee said. "When we first started reading, these words would have been out of the question."

Morales and Shamblee, both Carlsbad residents, were paired up six months ago through the Carlsbad City Library Adult Learning Program. They meet for 90 minutes twice a week at the program's headquarters on Carlsbad Village Drive.

The two have developed quite a rapport.

They have created a game whereby every time Morales makes a mistake that he knows he shouldn't have, it costs him $100.

He currently owes Shamblee $4,100.

"I told him, 'If I die, then I will pay,'" Morales said with a laugh.

The pair joke around and share laughs, but they also work on improving Morales' English reading and writing skills.

During their sessions, Shamblee helps Morales complete writing exercises, such as identifying misspelled words and correctly filling in the letters missing from words such as pr--st and gr--se.

Shamblee also gives Morales homework at the end of each meeting.

"I make him work hard," Shamblee said.

"I go home and go to sleep and have nightmares," Morales joked.

Morales said he's now able to read books, which is something he couldn't do before he started working with Shamblee. He just finished a book about Komodo dragons.

"It has been very helpful, because when I was little and I wanted to read to the class, people would make fun of me and I was kind of sad," Morales said. "Since I've been here, I've been able to read more each day."

Morales, who moved to the United States from Mexico when he was 3, said he has always had trouble writing and speaking, both in Spanish and in English. Shamblee explained that Morales has a normal vocabulary but has some processing difficulties.

Before graduating from Carlsbad High School last year, Morales was in one of the school's four special-education classes.

Students in those classes visit the learning center a few days a week to work on their reading and writing skills with their teacher, Judy Gaitan, and volunteer tutors.

Carrie Scott, the learning program's interim coordinator, was the first person to volunteer with the high school program when Gaitan created it in 1998.

Scott said the high school program has grown from one class with seven students and one volunteer tutor to four classes with 34 students and 18 volunteers.

The adult program, established in 1984, has really taken off, Scott said. She said the free program has served more than 1,200 people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds.

The program currently has 63 learner-volunteer pairs.

"We always need volunteers," Scott said. "At any one time we have between 10 and 20 learners waiting for a volunteer."

She said the pairs work on "plugging the holes" in the learner's education and meeting literacy goals.

"What I've learned is everyone has a different story of why they didn't learn," Scott said. "Some have vision impairments that weren't diagnosed. Some have processing problems. Others are from abusive backgrounds, and life issues prevented them from learning. Some moved constantly."

The program operates on $225,000 it receives from the city each year, as well as a small state grant, Scott said.

"Everyone is here because they are trying to improve their life, either at work or at home," she said.

"Literacy is essential to being able to participate in their lives, their children's lives, their jobs."

Santa Maria Library - The values of reading, writing

The values of reading, writingSanta Maria Times: February 13, 2007

Santa Maria officials have announced a collaborative effort to promote adult literacy. Why is this important?

A good question, with a vast array of good answers. For example:

Fifty million Americans cannot read or comprehend above the eighth-grade level. Existing literacy programs involve fewer than 10 percent of those adults.

U.S. schools have a dropout rate approaching 30 percent, compared to 5 percent in Japan and 2 percent in Russia. Many kids leave school early because they can't read or write as well as their peers. They're embarrassed and retreat into a shell of illiteracy.

The inability to read and write costs U.S. businesses more than $225 billion a year. Nearly two-thirds of prison inmates are illiterate. Almost 90 percent of juvenile offenders are illiterate. Almost half of adults who receive welfare are illiterate. Nearly three-quarters of those who can't or won't hold a job are illiterate.

And here is a compelling reason why literacy is important, at least in this country - as an individual's literacy rate doubles, so does that person's income.

So, in a very real way, literacy has a big payoff and is a worthwhile investment.

The Santa Maria program is a joint effort by the city and the Central Coast Literacy Council, but judging from the data on illiteracy, this should be everyone's concern.

The hope is to create a literacy center at the new library, with a focus on native-born, English-speaking American citizens who, for whatever reason, cannot read and write at even junior high school levels. The Literacy Council is conducting remedial classes, but only eight people are currently enrolled.

This is a project in which you can play a direct role. The council needs volunteers, and two training workshops are being held next month for anyone who is interested. Training is slated for March 17 and 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the United Way, 1660 S. Broadway. For more information, call 922-9200.

If you can help, please do so. A more literate community will be a better community.

Santa Maria Library - City, Literacy Council team up for program

City, Literacy Council team up for programSanta Maria Times: Feb 11, 2007 by Malia Spencer

The city of Santa Maria and the Central Coast Literacy Council are partnering to create an adult literacy program.Officials hope to target English-speaking adults who are unable to read and write at proficient levels with a literacy center that will be part of the new Santa Maria Library.Currently, the literacy council offers one-on-one tutoring for about eight adults, said Isa Ponce executive director for the Central Coast Literacy Council

The organization's main focus has been teaching English as a second language, Ponce said. For that program, the agency has about 150 students at various locations throughout Santa Barbara County.To establish an adult literacy center at the new library, the city applied for funds from the California Library Literacy Service. Santa Maria was one of three facilities statewide to receive such funds, according to city staff.For each of the next three years, Santa Maria will receive $34,500, and in subsequent years the funding will be based on a formula.As long as the program is viable, the funding will be ongoing, said Santa Maria Librarian Francisco Pinneli.

“What this grant will do ... is target adults, native-born English speakers, who fall between the cracks and are not reading at a sixth-grade level,” he said. “It makes it difficult for them to function fully within society.”By offering literacy training to those who need it, lives can be dramatically changed, Pinneli added.

Since funds for the program are available now and library construction completion is more than a year away, the service will be offered at the Central Coast Literacy Council offices, 521 E. Chapel St., Suite B.Eventually, the Chapel Street location will be closed and the literacy council will move into a 449-square-foot center within the library.

The literacy council has been providing services to Santa Maria since 1983. It has 42 volunteers working out of six centers in Santa Maria, one in Guadalupe and one in Solvang.

Ponce noted that the organization needs volunteers, and two training workshops are being held in March for anyone who is interested.

Training is slated for March 17 and 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the United Way, 1660 S. Broadway.For more information about the Central Coast Literacy Council, call 922-9200.

Orange Co Library - Literacy and the Pursuit of Happiness

Literacy and the Pursuit of Happiness
OC Register: Jan 24, 2007 by Jenny Sokol

Antonio (Tone) Correa will be 98 next month and the man shows no sign of slowing down. Why should he? "I'm busy," the Orange resident explains. "It's what keeps me young."

Busy indeed. Correa drives himself to the senior center where he loves to dance. He's writing three books. In his spare time, Correa volunteers with READ Orange County, the adult literacy program of the Orange County Public Library.

Bob West, outreach volunteer coordinator for READ/OC, estimates that Correa has spent well over 2,000 hours teaching 40 adults to read and write in the past decade.

An estimated 350,000 to 450,000 people in Orange County, and one in every five adults nationwide, are considered functionally illiterate. READ/OC works to reduce those numbers with its confidential, no-cost tutoring program.

Programs offered include Families for Literacy, where parents learn alongside their preschool-age children; Working for Inmate Literacy Now, where prisoners in O.C. jails hone their literacy skills; and English Language and Civics Education, where nonnative English speakers cover subjects ranging from nutrition to employment skills.

As for Correa's students, a few are learning English as a second language. "I tutor a Korean student who wants help with pronunciation," Correa says. At one time, Correa worked with a 72-year-old man who couldn't read or write but was finally ready to learn.

Currently, Correa tutors four learners twice a week, for a total of 16 weekly volunteer hours. "I'm just interested in helping," says Correa.

"See, I'm retired," he explains. "I take it easy. I don't worry about a thing. But as long as there are people who need help, I'll help." READ MORE

Hemet Library - Two residents serve as recruiters and tutors.

Two residents serve as recruiters and tutors.
Press Enterprise: Jan 29, 2007 by Jamie Ayala

Illiteracy can cause some people to risk accidentally killing their loved ones, miss out on job opportunities or forgo time with children.

If reading prescription drug bottles, applications and bedtime stories can make a difference in someone's life, Dorothy Rojas, a homemaker, and Phyllis Perea, a retiree, are determined to help.

The two AmeriCorps members work in the Hemet Public Library's adult literacy program through the statewide Library Literacy Services AmeriCorps Initiative. The library is one of 32 in California selected for the program, through which Rojas and Perea provide their help for two years.

"I feel so blessed," said Lori Eastman, literacy coordinator of the library's program, which offers basic reading and writing lessons to English-speaking adults.

Photo: Phyllis Perea, left, and Dorothy Rojas show some of the materials they use to tutor adults through the statewide Library Literacy Services AmeriCorps Initiative

Orange Co Library - Literacy and the pursuit of happiness - Antonio (Tone) Correa will be 98

Literacy and the pursuit of happiness.
Orange County Register: Jan 24, 2007 by Jenny Sokol

Antonio (Tone) Correa will be 98 next month and the man shows no sign of slowing down. Why should he? "I'm busy," the Orange resident explains. "It's what keeps me young."

Busy indeed. Correa drives himself to the senior center where he loves to dance. He's writing three books. In his spare time, Correa volunteers with READ Orange County, the adult literacy program of the Orange County Public Library.

Bob West, outreach volunteer coordinator for READ/OC, estimates that Correa has spent well over 2,000 hours teaching 40 adults to read and write in the past decade. An estimated 350,000 to 450,000 people in Orange County, and one in every five adults nationwide, are considered functionally illiterate. READ/OC works to reduce those numbers with its confidential, no-cost tutoring program.

1 . 888 . SOS . READ - Statewide Public Awareness Campaign for Library Literacy Programs

Statewide Public Awareness Campaign for Library Literacy Programs: 1 . 888 . SOS . READ

During 2005 and 2006, the California State Library

conducted a statewide survey of library literacy program participants in order to determine the most effective ways of promoting our services.

One of the results of this research: Billboard ads and Bus Stop ads are now visible on California streets and highways. The Billboard Campaign was designed and placed by Clear Channel where they actually own billboards and bus they have committed to 28 billboards and 70 bus shelters. To date s with many more to be donated. This is a huge ad space donation -- hundreds of thousands of dollars in donated space to California Library Literacy Services

.

So keep an eye open for these billboards and bus stop ads in Southern California !


Photo: Bus ad - Victory & Olive, Burbank CA