Welcome to the September 2014 edition of the Literacy Source Newsletter!
 

A note from Lynn Livesley, Executive Director:

 

September. Back to school. As a parent and former teacher, my body clock tells me the new year begins in September. I love the familiar flutter of nerves, excitement, and hope for the coming year that hits around Labor Day each year. At Literacy Source we're ready for fall classes to begin on September 15th and very excited to roll out a few changes that we think will increase educational outcomes for our students.

 

Beginning this fall, we've increased our classes from 1.5 to 2 hours twice weekly, and revamped curricula to better align with changing adult learning standards. We've worked to integrate computer skills into all of our classes and thanks to a grant from the City of Seattle and Adobe, we're adding an online component to supplement student learning time outside the classroom.

 

Additionally, we're committed to pairing all eligible students with a one-on-one tutor, and will be working even harder this fall to reduce our waiting list to zero.

 

While we're confident that these changes will better support our learners, we know that what really makes a lasting difference is the daily commitment and hard work of our students and volunteers, and the ongoing support from the community that keeps our doors open. Thank you and welcome (or welcome back!) to all. Here's to a great new year!
Advocacy: International Literacy Day and National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week
Graphic courtesy of UNESCO 
Join Literacy Source in celebrating the 47th Annual International Literacy Day on September 8th and National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week on September 22nd-26th. These events are meant to draw attention to the fact that reading, writing, and basic math remain an elusive target for nearly 800 million adults around the globe, including tens of thousands of adults in our own community. 

 

According to ProLiteracy, more than 36 million adults in the U.S. lack the most basic literacy skills, including 15 percent of adults in Seattle.

 

"Low literacy costs the nation more than 200 billion dollars each year in lost productivity, as well as an additional 1 to 2 billion in health and safety issues," said Kevin Morgan, president and CEO of ProLiteracy. "Every dollar spent on adult literacy and education provides returns to the country through higher employment, added tax revenues, reduced welfare payments, and less crime." 

 

In honor of International Literacy Day and AEFL Week, Literacy Source is inviting the community to become more involved in ending the adult literacy crisis by committing to tutor a student. Please help us spread the word that tutors are always needed. New volunteer orientations are held the first Wednesday of each month at 1 and 7 pm.   

Student Spotlight: Tadese Gebremichael

Tadese is the winner of our latest attendance raffle!  

He is one of our longest-tenured students, having been at Literacy Source since the fall of 2011. You might recognize Tadese from our holiday party last December, or our student celebration in the summer - he's a talented musician, and treated us to performances on his krar at those events!
Originally from Ethiopia, Tadese tours all over the United States playing music on weekends and school breaks. He is currently in the process of becoming an American citizen. Tadese always has a smile on, and we are very fortunate indeed to have him as a Literacy Source student.
Volunteer Spotlight: Holly Smith

Holly serves as the Tuesday night Evening Office Manager, holding down the fort and assisting students and other volunteers once a week. She also represents Literacy Source in many community events (especially at breweries), spreading the word about what we do!

 

Tell us a little about yourself.

"I spent the first 10 years of my life in a small Montana town then moved to Seattle with my family. Life has been a varied and pretty jubilant journey. My love of reading has resulted in managing bookshops locally and internationally as well as co-authoring two books about books. Another passion is traveling. Physically, I've been fortunate to have traveled to 40 countries, as well as through books, films, food, and presentations. As for what's next - a couple of ideas are percolating, though a definitive direction has yet to be revealed."

 

Why did you choose to volunteer at Literacy Source?

"Literacy Source's commitment to adult learners appealed as did your mission and vision statements. Literacy Source's ability to offer one-on-one lessons as well as small group classes promotes the human connections that I feel are key to a satisfied life plus hope for the future."
 

What do you enjoy about volunteering at Literacy Source?

"I enjoy the positive energy from the staff, students and other volunteers. I truly believe that the doors opened by being able to read can have a multiplier effect from the individual to their family and friends, to the community and out to the world, and I like being a small cog in that wheel."

 

Do you have any highlights from volunteering here?

"When volunteering at an off-site event it was a pleasure to tell folks about Literacy Source where they could volunteer or refer someone who could use their services. These people were in line to buy a drink and a percentage of that purchase was donated to LS so after my spiel and offering them a small brochure I could also thank them for drinking." 

 

What might people not know about you?
"I love this time of year when basil is plentiful and I take up my annual pursuit for the perfect pesto recipe. In my family I have 44 first cousins, 14 nieces and nephews, 16 great-nieces and nephews with another on the way and a 92 year-old mother who is one of the kindest people I know."

 

Thank you so much Holly, we appreciate you volunteering here!

Teaching Tip: Multilevel Classrooms

Try as we might to maintain homogenous learning levels in Literacy Source classes, multilevel classrooms are an inevitable part of working with our students. This can obviously pose problems - nothing disrupts a "perfect" lesson plan quite like a wide spectrum of student abilities.  

Here are some strategies to use if you feel like not all of your students are on level ground:

  1. Differentiate your instruction. Have a co-teacher? Great! Split up the class along rough ability lines (though you shouldn't make this explicit, as we don't want anyone feeling disrespected) and teach two mini-lessons in one. For example, a group of stronger readers could tackle reading a story with one instructor, while the other group could work with the second instructor on identifying components of the text (title, pictures, captions) and making guesses about what the story will contain.
  2. Differentiate your expectations. There's no need for a one-size-fits-all policy in your classroom. If you know that some students feel confident in tackling independent, challenging work, assign them more difficult tasks, like writing a paragraph for homework instead of the two sentences you gave everyone else (again, this is best done in private). Final projects are a great place to work on this - you can tailor your desired outcomes to fit individual students.
  3. Let them learn by teaching. If you have a strong, confident student that stands out among less confident learners, give that person a chance to present to the class, or field questions about how to do a particular class. This strategy is also great for partner work - assign each partner a role, and allow the stronger student a chance to try to teach/help their classmate.

Have a strategy that's worked well in your classroom already? Let us know!

Fall Volunteer Needs

New Volunteer Orientations are always the first Wednesdays of each month. The next sessions will be held on October 1st at 1 pm and 7 pm. No need to register! 

 

Work or live downtown?

Literacy Source will be partnering with Seattle Central College to support an ESL Level 2/3 Class on Tuesday/Thursdays from 10:30-12:45 at the Downtown Central Library.  We are looking for volunteers to tutor students for an hour either before or after class. Contact annes@literacysource.org for more info.    


We need daytime tutors!  
2 x 1.5 hours a week, flexible
We have many students waiting to be matched with tutors in Math, Reading, Writing, ESL & Citizenship.
 
Library Volunteers
2 hours a week, flexible

Evening Office Manager
Mondays 6-8:30 pm

 

Any questions? Please contact Caroline at carolines@literacysource.org or 206-782-2050 x107. We hope to see you soon! 
In This Issue
Take a Look at our Free Books
Aside from the hundreds of resources you can check out from our library, did you know that you can also take and keep items from our free shelf in the lobby? These textbooks, readers, and other materials are all great (otherwise we wouldn't want you to use them!), but we just don't have room in our library to keep everything. Next time you're in, check out the free shelf. If you find something you'd like to use with your student, you can keep it! 
Welcome, Lauren!

Literacy Source welcomes new AmeriCorps member Lauren Plitkins. Lauren volunteered at Literacy Source in 2013 and is excited to join the staff full time. Lauren graduated with a BA in English in 2010 from the University of St. Thomas in Houston where she served as a writing mentor to students in the International Studies program and as a staff member on the student-run literary magazine. Currently pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in writing at Pacific Lutheran University, Lauren hopes to finally finish school in August 2015.  

 

Lauren has taught ESL to middle school students in Dogye, South Korea and privately tutored ESL students ages 5-17 in Santiago, Chile. In addition to volunteering at Literacy Source in 2013, Lauren TA'ed composition and poetry classes at Edmonds Community College and co-taught creative nonfiction at Franklin High School through the Writers in the Schools program.

 

In her spare time, Lauren is the poetry and nonfiction editor of a fledgling Seattle-based literary magazine and enjoys reading, writing, running, hiking, and biking around the city on her barely-functioning Schwinn.

Upcoming Events

We've had a lot of fun these last few months being part of events in the community that have benefited Literacy Source, and we're not done yet!

 

The Fremont Abbey has donated beer and wine proceeds from 10 events this year - resulting in thousands of dollars for our programs. Join us at 8 pm on Friday, September 19th when the Abbey presents The Moth StorySLAM - a world renowned story telling event at Gage/St. Mark's Cathedral.

  

Also on September 19th: Park(ing) Day Seattle 2014 is an international event that raises awareness about creating walkable, livable and healthy cities by inviting individuals and groups to turn a parking spot into a pop-up park for a few hours. Our pop-up park will be 2 parking spots on N. 35th Street, directly across from Literacy Source, and will be set up to look like a reading room and salon. We hope to increase awareness of Literacy Source, and will create a sitting area for people to stop, relax, read a book, and learn about LS.  A local tea shop will provide tea throughout the day, and History House and the local independent book store will provide books to give away.   

 

Consider joining us for our first ever Trivia Night at Hale's Brewery (4301 Leary Way NW) on Tuesday, October 7th from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. Test your knowledge of Literacy Source themed trivia. Could you pass the U.S. citizenship test?  What about the GED?  How's your English grammar? How much do you know about the 62 nations of the world represented by our students? Space is limited and filling fast. RSVP to lynnl@literacysource.org if you're interested.

Upcoming Volunteer Trainings
Tuesday, Sept. 23rd
Understanding Adult Learners 5-7:30 pm @ Fremont Library.
 
Saturday, Oct. 4th
Lesson Planning & Best Teaching Practices
9 am-1 pm @ Literacy Source, Red Room.
Click here to register
New Office Hours
We have extended our hours! Literacy Source is now open:

Mon.-Thu., 8:30 am-8:30 pm
Fri., appointment only

Don't forget that fall classes begin next Monday, Sept. 15! 
Contact Us
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206-782-2050 
Literacy Source's mission is to build a literate community and promote self-sufficiency by providing learner-centered instruction to adults in English literacy and basic life skills. Literacy Source believes that all adults can improve their basic life skills and that community volunteers, trained and supported by professional staff, can make this happen. We welcome the challenge of developing the habit of independent life-long learning.


Literacy Source | (206) 782-2050 | www.literacysource.org | 720 N 35th St, Suite 103, Seattle, WA 98103

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