Overview

85 new volunteers completed the Literacy Volunteers tutor training program this year!   They joined 106 other tutors to work with almost 500 adult students at 35 different sites in 07-08.

Student Progress

One way student progress is tracked is with the CASAS test.  It is given twice a year to each student by Literacy Volunteers staff. Results indicate changes in literacy skill levels in reading, writing, speaking the English language, numeracy, and problem-solving. Some students in Literacy Volunteers programs start out at the lowest skill levels. They have minimal skills in reading, writing or speaking English. When this student moves up a skill level it means they now can read letters, write sight words, understand more words in English and are beginning to speak English. Other students start out at higher skill levels.  For them, moving up a level means they can read a simple book, understand directions or speak English in a social or educational setting. 

Last year, 26% of the Basic Literacy students and 42% of the ESOL students enrolled in Literacy Volunteers classes moved up one level on the CASAS test. This progress is encouraging and reflects the effort of both the student and the tutor.

Programs in Meriden and Wallingford

Program Manager Lara Chiaverini works with both Basic Literacy tutors and ESOL tutors in Meriden and Wallingford. The Literacy Volunteers office is located in the Meriden Library, which serves as the “hub” for tutoring students who live in the Meriden area.  ESOL small groups meet at the Library several times a week and most Basic Literacy tutoring takes place there as well.  Tom Galentine, Bob Bailey, Anselm Schurgast, Ellen Davis, Jeanne Brooks, Helene Bush, Jackie Roper, Patty Szarka, Scott Harris, Mary Ellen Godin, and Mary Sivertson work with their students every week at the Meriden Library. 

Three small groups also met this year at the Meriden Library.  Debbie Dexter and Caroline Misarski work with a multi-level group on Tuesday evenings.  Chris Janis and Andy Yousko team teach a large group of students from all over the world on Saturday mornings.  Brenda Rapuano, one of out longest-serving tutors in Meriden, is currently on hiatus for health reasons so Lara Chiaverini is hosting her conversation class for advanced ESOL students.  Topics of conversation include idioms, politics, American culture, and current events. Nancy Charles is currently the only tutor working in the newly renovated Wallingford Library, however, we have stepped up our recruitment efforts to bring more tutors into this fantastic community resource! 

The community-based tutoring sites in Meriden and Wallingford are very popular with students. Easter Seals Head Start in Meriden offers ESOL classes twice a week for parents and members of the community.  Most are Moms with children enrolled in Head Start, but the class is open to everyone. Maria Lopez’s Tuesday class has been taken over by Debbie Dexter, who joins Wednesday’s tutor, Rita Kovacs.  The class is mixed level and always fun to peek in on.  Another community-based tutoring site is the Beat the Street Community Center in Meriden.  Melody Walton works there with students trying to pass the GED test. Literacy Volunteers received a Venture Grant this year from the United Way of Meriden and Wallingford to host Life Literacy courses at Beat the Street.  Students learned how to use a computer to apply for employment and how to manage their money once they got a job.  The first cycle worked with young adults at Beat the Street while the second cycle ran in partnership with Shelter Now. 

Bob Martin works with an adult education instructor at John Barry School Family Resource Center in Meriden.  They divide the class into two levels for maximum efficacy.  Bob has also worked with ESOL students to improve their writing skills and has tutored employees at ServPro in North Haven.  Roger Blouin worked with students at ThermoSpas in Wallingford this year.  His students have moved on and after four years of tutoring, Roger has decided to retire from Literacy Volunteers.  We wish him all the best!  Joanne Bean tutors several students at the Spanish Community of Wallingford.  This population is ever changing, most of her students have short term goals and are working hard to support their families. 

Programs in New Haven

The Literacy Volunteers office in New Haven has been located on the Boulevard for the past 8 years.  In February of 2008, that office was broken into. Computers and printers were stolen, records were vandalized and data was compromised. This prompted a decision to relocate.  Staff are now working out of two locations, the New Haven Reads Book Bank on Bristol Street and a small office at One Long Wharf.  We expect this to be a temporary arrangement.  We are actively seeking funds for a large new space to turn into a Community Literacy Center for New Haven in 2009! We hope to partner with two other literacy organizations in this venture, New Haven Reads and Concepts for Adaptive Learning. 

Basic Literacy

Program Manager Diana Grubbs works with the 43 Basic Literacy tutors in New Haven. These tutors worked with 53 students at local libraries and other sites. Most of the students are reading below the 3rd grade level.  Some come to Literacy Volunteers on their own---deciding, after many years of job setbacks and personal failures, to get help.  But an increasing number of referrals come from social agencies: mental health clinics, halfway houses for released prisoners and homeless shelters.   Every student offers a unique challenge to the tutor.  Not all of them end up making the long-term commitment necessary to break the literacy barrier.  Some leave; some of these come back.  Some struggle without much progress; some make thrilling strides. We are fortunate to have so many dedicated volunteers willing to take on the challenge.  The tutors are a diverse group – men and women, young and old, some retired but many still working, from different ethnic groups and nationalities, with education ranging from high school diploma to advanced degree.  What brings them to Literacy Volunteers – and we ask them this question when they apply – is a universal response: “I can’t imagine what it would be like not to be able to read.”

Basic Literacy tutors Manette Adams, Lloyd Ayer, Bob Glen,  Barbara Parry, Muriel Banquer, Patti Kaliss and Joan Swanekamp have been active for many years and have painstakingly guided their students towards new levels of literacy.  Our newest tutors are just starting on the road.  Among these there are several who bring teaching backgrounds to their volunteer work:  Sylvia Garland, Susan Sloin, Sarah Bader and Judy Paniccia are retired teachers, Elizabeth Czap and Sue Curley are still in the ranks.  Brenda Trim-Hinds taught in her native Trinidad.  Add to these Patrick Rogers, who hopes to get teacher certification.  Tutors like Ben Geertz and Astrid Berk-Scholl are helping young adults reach their goal of a GED or a Gateway diploma.  Others like Valerie Borek and Dietrich Burow help students reach their goal of citizenship.  Sometimes the primary focus is on getting a job; sometimes on getting a better one.   At times the goal is simply to read the newspaper, or the Bible.  Or, as is the case with a 75-year-old who has spent a lot of time in Key West, to read Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea.

ESOL

Program Manager Maggie Wickenden oversees the growing ESOL program in New Haven. This year there has been an exciting expansion of ESOL programs offered at the public libraries in partnership with New Haven’s Adult Education program.  New classes have opened at the Fair Haven Library and the New Haven Library.  Tutors Debbie Ferreira, Carole Rogers, Louise Rogers, Pam Sipala and Danielle Ward-Griffin have greatly enjoyed providing students with the additional attention they need to help them succeed. All appreciate the wonderful support they receive from the Adult Ed teacher.We also opened up a new collaborative site at Centro San Jose.  There, tutor Melissa Maiers has worked hard to help students improve. Richa Sharma helped out at the Wilson Library Saturday class, and tutors Philip and Janell Smith ran a popular conversation class at the Brundage Branch Library in Hamden through April.  Betty Brumberg will re-initiate the class in June.

Literacy Volunteers continues to offer a strong program at the New Haven Reads Book Bank, with tutoring available three days a week in small groups.  Tutors Naima Farrell, Will Shanks, Matt Verbyla and Michael Wirtz have been instrumental in meeting the needs of parents who bring their children to the Book Bank for tutoring, encouraging strong literacy skills for the whole family.  Will Shanks and Collette Wynn even meet individually with two particularly motivated students to provide extra tutoring.

Our collaborative work with Junta for Progressive Action has continued to provide opportunities for students and tutors alike.  Katherine Wasdin leads a morning class, while Maria Melillo, Lorena Barham-Moore, and Janell Smith assist students enrolled in larger classes. At the Hill Central School, our ESOL program has continued in its third year.  Mayra Thomas and Stephanie Farber lead an intermediate level class while Andrea Schieckel and Leah Jayasanker lead the beginner class.  Both groups became proficient enough to participate in the “Next Step” enrichment program funded by a grant from the Community Foundation's Fund for Women and Girls.  Students benefited from a number of informational and inspirational speakers and came to family game nights that promoted family literacy.

This spring saw the development of a new tutoring site at the Trinity Church in Branford through the dedication and hard work of tutor Otty Norwood.  He began tutoring students there in March, and tutor Lisa Davis Rucinski will offer an additional class there this summer. Tutors Sophia Diamantis, Richard Katz, Ruth Sachs and Linda Sheehan have worked with students at Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services this year.  This much-needed program assists adults who came to seek asylum and new lives in the United States.  Tutors have worked on basic survival skills, such as learning to ride the bus, shop at a supermarket or mail a letter to help these students integrate into a new culture.  La Casa Cultural, one of our largest ESOL tutoring sites, is run under the direction of Don Desmond with tutors Sandra Caro, Dorothy Chircop, Linda Davis, Gloria Dimicco, Bob Glen, Maachah Holmes, and Marion Sachdeva.  Students are divided by level to receive instruction in small groups.  The site has flourished this year as in previous years.