Adult Literacy
Over 100,000 adults in Stanislaus County have difficulty using an ATM machine or reading a bus schedule. Not being able to read well affects everything from a person's ability to find a job, to read to their child, to filling out health forms. Stanislaus Literacy Center has partnered with Stanislaus County Library to provide the ReadingWorks Adult Literacy program which offers free educational services to adults.
How the Program Works
Volunteers like you are recruited and trained to work individually with adult learners and help them learn to read and write in a way that will allow them to achieve their goals. Free curriculum materials are provided to assist tutors. Together, the tutor and learner set goals and thus begins a partnership of learning that literally changes the life of the adult learner. In 2007-2008, of students who tutored at least 50 hours, 83% improved their reading skills and 100% met a goal they had set. Click this link if you want to learn more about volunteering as a tutor.
Contact Information
Stanislaus County Library
Contact: Kara Washington or Dotti Young
Phone: 209-558-4505
Email: washingtonk@readingworks.net
dyoung@scfl.lib.ca.us
Location
1500 I Street
Modesto, CA 95354
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday-Thursday
Success story
Because of a learning disability, Stephanie Lee, 47, never learned to read very well. She said she charmed her teachers and because she was a good athlete, she was passed from grade to grade. "I always maneuvered my way through situations without being able to read. It's hard being able to function in society, though, and not be able to read."
The most powerful of the motivations for Lee to learn to read were her three grandsons, ages 6, 7 and 8. "When my oldest baby kept asking me why I couldn't read better, I knew I needed to get help. I also couldn't help him with his homework and he'd say, ‘You should know this, you are grown, how come you don't know this?" Another issue with her grandsons was her middle grandson who was struggling in school and Lee recognized the signs of a learning disability having experienced it herself. She proactively went to the school to express her concerns and when the teacher didn't respond in a way she found appropriate, she was successful in getting her grandson moved to a different teacher. This teacher has worked well for him and he's now reading at grade level with extra tutoring help after school. "I thank God for my grandchildren, because if I didn't have these grandbabies, I don't think I would have tried so hard to learn to read. I would have given up, but they keep me motivated," Lee said. Lee recently graduated from an Adult Learner Leadership Institute. Lee said, "I was nervous about going and could hardly sleep the night before the first meeting. But when I got there, I found out everyone there was just like me and wanted to read better. I never completed anything in my life until this."
Watch this video about another adult learner who received help learning to read.
