Dear Program Managers and Volunteer Tutors,
As President of Literacy Florida! volunteers (LF volunteers), I am pleased to announce that we are sponsoring a new in-service for tutors, trainers and program managers on February 1, Friday, in Sarasota. This training is for programs needing new strategies to reach the very lowest level adult and teen learners.
Fast Track Reading System for Volunteer Tutors
February 1, Friday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Sarasota
Explore the “Fast Track Reading” course developed specifically
for lower-level readers by the Jacksonville Public Library.
The system incorporates a unique, accelerated approach to reading instruction that
focuses on syllable division, syllable types, and other word attack strategies.
LFv is hosting this free workshop at the Selby Public Library, the downtown library in Sarasota,1331 First St, on February 1, Friday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. EST. The library has found proven instructional strategies that work with basic reading students who have not succeeded in other programs. Sharon Hastings Jaskula, long time manager of the Jacksonville Public Library’s award winning literacy program, is the program presenter. Register today by sending your name, program name, telephone number, fax number and e-mail to literacyflorida@hotmail.com. Also include your title (Program Manager, Tutor Trainer, Tutor, Teacher etc.)
The Jacksonville Public Library developed this program with funding from a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), a federal grant administered by the State Library and Archives of Florida.
Check out the LFv blog for information on health literacy, board management, fundraising, grants, recruiting trainers, and how to become a member of LF! volunteers member.
I also want to thank you for all of your hard work and wish you a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Sandy Newell,
President, LFv
literacyflorida@hotmail.com
850-245-6624
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Volunteer Literacy Program Resources
Read more below about health literacy, board management, fundraising, grants, recruiting trainers, and how to become a member of LF! volunteers.
Health Literacy
As tutors and adult learners know, coping with poor health and hospitals is more difficult if you struggle with reading. Patients entering hospitals are asked if they have an advance directive, but the form is too hard for many to read. A simpler form is now available.
Typical written advance directives are written at a 12th grade level. This form is used by patients to document end-of-life treatment wishes, designate decision-makers, and promote discussion on treatment. An easier to read advance directive form written in a 5th grade level can be downloaded for free in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese at http://www.iha4health.org/
Volunteer programs can use this and other medical forms as real life examples in lessons.
Board Management
Many of Florida’s literacy programs are run by nonprofit boards. To learn more about board basics go to:
Frequently Asked Questions About Nonprofit Board Management
http://www.allianceonline.org/FAQ
This site compiles questions related to Board Development, Strategic Planning, Fundraising, Financial Management and Risk Management.
At your next board meeting, use the following list of fundraising tasks to evaluate your program.
BOARD FUNDRAISING TASKS
Have input into fundraising plan
Organize and participate on fundraising committee
Identify and cultivate new prospects/donors
Ask peers for donations
Always be an advocate for the agency
Make introductions for staff to follow-up
Accompany staff on key visits to funders
Help with expressions of thanks when appropriate
Give to the volunteer literacy program
STAFF FUNDRAISING TASKS
Accompany staff on key visits to funders
Help with expressions of thanks when appropriate
Research new and existing donors
Write case materials
Assist board in any way possible
Write proposals
Accompany board members on solicitation visits
Ask for money when appropriate
Take care of all logistics related to fundraising activities
Plan, plan, plan
Grants
Dollar General
The Dollar General Adult Literacy Grants award funding to non-profit organizations that provide direct service to adults in need of literacy assistance. Organizations must provide assistance in one of the following instructional areas:
Adult basic education;
General education diploma preparation; or
English for speakers of other languages.
The next open solicitation for request for proposals will be in January 2008. Please check in January at http://www.dollargeneral.com/community/communityinvestments.071019.aspx
If you would like advice on grant writing, contact Sandy Newell, 850-245-6624 or literacyflorida@hotmail.com.
Florida Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants
The next application for LSTA grants is due March 2008. The application will be available at http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/bld/Literacy/Funding2.html Libraries can use the 2007 application as a template to develop a draft. There will be no major changes in the grant application for 2008. Technical assistance for libraries on grant writing is available through Sandy Newell snewell@dos.state.fl.us
Recruiting Trainers
One of the most interesting and challenging aspects of running a volunteer tutoring program is training tutors. Well trained tutors is the basis for a successful literacy program.
Programs need to offer volunteers additional opportunities to help your program. Recruit and mentor new trainers. Look for those who do well in the tutor training workshop. Observe their communication skills and understanding of how to work with adults. Candidates include experienced tutors and people with good facilitation and communication skills. Potential trainers need to know how to provide quality, interactive learning experiences for adults.
New trainers can attend a train the trainer workshop at a preconference to the 2008 Florida Literacy Conference. Technical assistance on program improvement and training trainers is also available from LFv. To get the latest on the 2008 preconference, go to http://www.floridaliteracy.org/con2008.html.
Health Literacy
As tutors and adult learners know, coping with poor health and hospitals is more difficult if you struggle with reading. Patients entering hospitals are asked if they have an advance directive, but the form is too hard for many to read. A simpler form is now available.
Typical written advance directives are written at a 12th grade level. This form is used by patients to document end-of-life treatment wishes, designate decision-makers, and promote discussion on treatment. An easier to read advance directive form written in a 5th grade level can be downloaded for free in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese at http://www.iha4health.org/
Volunteer programs can use this and other medical forms as real life examples in lessons.
Board Management
Many of Florida’s literacy programs are run by nonprofit boards. To learn more about board basics go to:
Frequently Asked Questions About Nonprofit Board Management
http://www.allianceonline.org/FAQ
This site compiles questions related to Board Development, Strategic Planning, Fundraising, Financial Management and Risk Management.
At your next board meeting, use the following list of fundraising tasks to evaluate your program.
BOARD FUNDRAISING TASKS
Have input into fundraising plan
Organize and participate on fundraising committee
Identify and cultivate new prospects/donors
Ask peers for donations
Always be an advocate for the agency
Make introductions for staff to follow-up
Accompany staff on key visits to funders
Help with expressions of thanks when appropriate
Give to the volunteer literacy program
STAFF FUNDRAISING TASKS
Accompany staff on key visits to funders
Help with expressions of thanks when appropriate
Research new and existing donors
Write case materials
Assist board in any way possible
Write proposals
Accompany board members on solicitation visits
Ask for money when appropriate
Take care of all logistics related to fundraising activities
Plan, plan, plan
Grants
Dollar General
The Dollar General Adult Literacy Grants award funding to non-profit organizations that provide direct service to adults in need of literacy assistance. Organizations must provide assistance in one of the following instructional areas:
Adult basic education;
General education diploma preparation; or
English for speakers of other languages.
The next open solicitation for request for proposals will be in January 2008. Please check in January at http://www.dollargeneral.com/community/communityinvestments.071019.aspx
If you would like advice on grant writing, contact Sandy Newell, 850-245-6624 or literacyflorida@hotmail.com.
Florida Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants
The next application for LSTA grants is due March 2008. The application will be available at http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/bld/Literacy/Funding2.html Libraries can use the 2007 application as a template to develop a draft. There will be no major changes in the grant application for 2008. Technical assistance for libraries on grant writing is available through Sandy Newell snewell@dos.state.fl.us
Recruiting Trainers
One of the most interesting and challenging aspects of running a volunteer tutoring program is training tutors. Well trained tutors is the basis for a successful literacy program.
Programs need to offer volunteers additional opportunities to help your program. Recruit and mentor new trainers. Look for those who do well in the tutor training workshop. Observe their communication skills and understanding of how to work with adults. Candidates include experienced tutors and people with good facilitation and communication skills. Potential trainers need to know how to provide quality, interactive learning experiences for adults.
New trainers can attend a train the trainer workshop at a preconference to the 2008 Florida Literacy Conference. Technical assistance on program improvement and training trainers is also available from LFv. To get the latest on the 2008 preconference, go to http://www.floridaliteracy.org/con2008.html.
Here are more tips for recruiting trainers:
Recruit teams to work together.
Provide a “quality” workshop template with easy to follow instructions for the tutor
Invite potential trainers to a training workshop to share their experiences in specific area.
Observe new tutors and tap those who are most effective.
Contact experienced tutors who can not tutor regularly. They may not want to commit to tutoring a student weekly now, but may be willing to give a block of time within a couple of months to present the 10 to 16 hours needed to provide a workshop.
Always be on the look out for trainers and list this and other "jobs" as a volunteer opportunity on your tutor intake form.
Have a tutor trainer job description with specific duties and amount of time needed to prepare and give a workshop.
How to Become a LFvolunteer Member:
Individuals can join LF!v for only $15 and a group cost $25. Go to http://www.aflo.freeservers.com/membership.htm
for the membership form.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Dear Literacy Florida volunteer community,
Here are some recent happenings with adult literacy and Literacy Florida! volunteers.
LFv Wiki
We are sponsoring a Wiki to share and collect information beneficial to the volunteer literacy community if Florida at http://literacyflorida.wikispaces.com/
Please check it out and add information. You are welcome to set up a page for your volunteer literacy program’s activities or add pages on topics you are interested in.
To learn more about what a Wiki is go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
LFv has a new address
2925 Optimist Drive Suite AMarianna, FL 32448
Telephone: 850-482-9296 Fax: 850-482-9297
Blog on Volunteer Literacy
As you see, we have set up a blog to keep you informed about happenings that impact Florida’s literacy programs. We are posting our newsletter on this blog as well as other happenings at http://literacyfloridavolunteers.blogspot.com/
We also are using this blog to hear from you. Please add your comments and suggestions through the blog. A comments section can be found at the end of each of the posts. Click on that and a box will appear to add your comments. You need to be signed in with a Google account to post a comment. The account is free. As you post, you sign in with your e-mail address as your user id and set up your own password. If you do not have an account, click “sign up here” at the point of making a post to create an account with your name, e-mail address and a password.
Please join our literacy community and add comments today. Let us know what is happening with your program as well as questions or thoughts related to volunteer literacy.
Student Persistence and Transition Project: NEXT STEP
After adults gain their basic skills with help from a caring volunteer, they often need to transition into an adult education class to gain additional skills. This is especially true for the many needing a high school diploma. This transition was an area identified at Literacy Florida!’s board retreat held in Fort Lauderdale in fall 2006. As a result, we applied for and received a federal leadership grant administered by the Florida Department of Education. We partnered with five local volunteer literacy programs to study student persistence transition and develop a tutor training component on this topic. The five programs selected were: Literacy Volunteers of Leon County, Broward County Library Learning Services, Calhoun County Public Library, Learn to Read of Northwest Florida, Inc., and Literacy Volunteers of Collier County. As a result of this project a training curriculum was created by Literacy Volunteers of Leon County.
Annual Meeting
The Literacy Florida, Inc.! Annual Meeting will be during the 2008 Florida Literacy Conference sponsored by the Florida Literacy Coalition http://www.floridaliteracy.org/. The Conference will be May 7-9, 2008 at the Grosvenor Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
New Board Members
Three new board members were elected to the board at the May 2007 annual meeting. Joses De Moranville, a Literacy Supporter in Jacksonville, is Vice President. The other new board members are from libraries in central and northwest Florida. Erika Greene is the coordinator for the Lake County Public Library Literacy Program. Sharon Hastings Jaskula manages the Jacksonville Public Library Literacy Program.
Regional Training for Volunteer Literacy Programs
As a result of a recent survey of members, Literacy Florida! volunteers (LFv) is hosting regional training and networking meetings this year. The first meeting was at the downtown Gainesville library on Saturday, August 11 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Representatives from programs in Marianna, Tallahassee, Live Oak, Tavares, Jacksonville, Gainesville and Sarasota attended. Everyone got a notebook of resources to help improve their programs.
The second meeting is planned for Sarasota after the first of the year. If your literacy organization would like to host one of these programs/meetings, please send an e-mail to literacyflorida@hotmail.com.
Libraries and Literacy
The American Library Association (ALA) has compiled a diverse selection of resources useful for adult literacy programs in libraries which can be found at http://www.ala.org/ala/olos/outreachresource/servicesnewnonreaders.htm
ALA has a Committee on Literacy and a Literacy Assembly. The Chair for 2007-2008 is Sandra O. Newell. Newell is President of Literacy Florida! and works as a library program specialist with the State Library and Archives of Florida Office of Community Development.
ProLiteracy America Trainer Certification System
In January 2006, ProLiteracy America introduced a new trainer certification system.
ProLiteracy America offers a number of supportive features as part of the certification system, such as: An online Tool Kit containing diverse resources that address training skills and content
The Florida Literacy Coalition, http://www.floridaliteracy.org/ provides a train the trainer workshop each year at the Florida Literacy Conference to help programs get new trainers. This training helps experienced tutors get the basic skills they need to give a workshop. It is not a required step in the ProLiteracy certification process.
Literacy Florida! Inc. is exploring ways we can help every program have a qualified trainer. E-mail us at literacyflorida@hotmail.com to share ideas of how we can help.
Program Accreditation
One way to prove to funders that you provide quality literacy services is to get accredited by ProLiteracy. Accreditation costs $400 and lasts four years. After applying programs have a year to meet all criteria. If full accreditation is not right for your program, managers can do their own self evaluation. Literacy Florida! has the expertise to help you evaluate your program or prepare for accreditation.
For more information about ProLiteracy accreditation, send questions to accreditation@proliteracy.org or call Mark Cass, accreditation coordinator, at (315) 422-9121 ext. 313. For general assistance on program improvement or technical assistance on accreditation, e-mail literacyflorida@hotmail.com.
LFv Wiki
We are sponsoring a Wiki to share and collect information beneficial to the volunteer literacy community if Florida at http://literacyflorida.wikispaces.com/
Please check it out and add information. You are welcome to set up a page for your volunteer literacy program’s activities or add pages on topics you are interested in.
To learn more about what a Wiki is go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
LFv has a new address
2925 Optimist Drive Suite AMarianna, FL 32448
Telephone: 850-482-9296 Fax: 850-482-9297
Blog on Volunteer Literacy
As you see, we have set up a blog to keep you informed about happenings that impact Florida’s literacy programs. We are posting our newsletter on this blog as well as other happenings at http://literacyfloridavolunteers.blogspot.com/
We also are using this blog to hear from you. Please add your comments and suggestions through the blog. A comments section can be found at the end of each of the posts. Click on that and a box will appear to add your comments. You need to be signed in with a Google account to post a comment. The account is free. As you post, you sign in with your e-mail address as your user id and set up your own password. If you do not have an account, click “sign up here” at the point of making a post to create an account with your name, e-mail address and a password.
Please join our literacy community and add comments today. Let us know what is happening with your program as well as questions or thoughts related to volunteer literacy.
Student Persistence and Transition Project: NEXT STEP
After adults gain their basic skills with help from a caring volunteer, they often need to transition into an adult education class to gain additional skills. This is especially true for the many needing a high school diploma. This transition was an area identified at Literacy Florida!’s board retreat held in Fort Lauderdale in fall 2006. As a result, we applied for and received a federal leadership grant administered by the Florida Department of Education. We partnered with five local volunteer literacy programs to study student persistence transition and develop a tutor training component on this topic. The five programs selected were: Literacy Volunteers of Leon County, Broward County Library Learning Services, Calhoun County Public Library, Learn to Read of Northwest Florida, Inc., and Literacy Volunteers of Collier County. As a result of this project a training curriculum was created by Literacy Volunteers of Leon County.
Annual Meeting
The Literacy Florida, Inc.! Annual Meeting will be during the 2008 Florida Literacy Conference sponsored by the Florida Literacy Coalition http://www.floridaliteracy.org/. The Conference will be May 7-9, 2008 at the Grosvenor Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
New Board Members
Three new board members were elected to the board at the May 2007 annual meeting. Joses De Moranville, a Literacy Supporter in Jacksonville, is Vice President. The other new board members are from libraries in central and northwest Florida. Erika Greene is the coordinator for the Lake County Public Library Literacy Program. Sharon Hastings Jaskula manages the Jacksonville Public Library Literacy Program.
Regional Training for Volunteer Literacy Programs
As a result of a recent survey of members, Literacy Florida! volunteers (LFv) is hosting regional training and networking meetings this year. The first meeting was at the downtown Gainesville library on Saturday, August 11 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Representatives from programs in Marianna, Tallahassee, Live Oak, Tavares, Jacksonville, Gainesville and Sarasota attended. Everyone got a notebook of resources to help improve their programs.
The second meeting is planned for Sarasota after the first of the year. If your literacy organization would like to host one of these programs/meetings, please send an e-mail to literacyflorida@hotmail.com.
Libraries and Literacy
The American Library Association (ALA) has compiled a diverse selection of resources useful for adult literacy programs in libraries which can be found at http://www.ala.org/ala/olos/outreachresource/servicesnewnonreaders.htm
ALA has a Committee on Literacy and a Literacy Assembly. The Chair for 2007-2008 is Sandra O. Newell. Newell is President of Literacy Florida! and works as a library program specialist with the State Library and Archives of Florida Office of Community Development.
ProLiteracy America Trainer Certification System
In January 2006, ProLiteracy America introduced a new trainer certification system.
ProLiteracy America offers a number of supportive features as part of the certification system, such as: An online Tool Kit containing diverse resources that address training skills and content
The Florida Literacy Coalition, http://www.floridaliteracy.org/ provides a train the trainer workshop each year at the Florida Literacy Conference to help programs get new trainers. This training helps experienced tutors get the basic skills they need to give a workshop. It is not a required step in the ProLiteracy certification process.
Literacy Florida! Inc. is exploring ways we can help every program have a qualified trainer. E-mail us at literacyflorida@hotmail.com to share ideas of how we can help.
Program Accreditation
One way to prove to funders that you provide quality literacy services is to get accredited by ProLiteracy. Accreditation costs $400 and lasts four years. After applying programs have a year to meet all criteria. If full accreditation is not right for your program, managers can do their own self evaluation. Literacy Florida! has the expertise to help you evaluate your program or prepare for accreditation.
For more information about ProLiteracy accreditation, send questions to accreditation@proliteracy.org or call Mark Cass, accreditation coordinator, at (315) 422-9121 ext. 313. For general assistance on program improvement or technical assistance on accreditation, e-mail literacyflorida@hotmail.com.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Tax Cuts Cause Brevard Library to Cut Literacy Program
One of the first casualties of Florida's statewide tax cut is the library's volunteer literacy program in Brevard county.
Camille Johnson asked the Florida Literacy Coalition to remove the library's Literacy Program from the Coalition Website last week. Johnson, Director of the Central Brevard Library and Reference Center and supervisor of the program, reported the cut was due to the property tax cuts required by the state this year.
Susan Buchanan, their former Adult Literacy Coordinator, retired in February 2007 after overseeing getting the Brevard program accredited by ProLiteracy. Susan also wrote the family literacy manuals for the new Read and Write Around Florida program which uses short stories to bring book discussions to adult learners who are parents and their school age children.
Camille Johnson asked the Florida Literacy Coalition to remove the library's Literacy Program from the Coalition Website last week. Johnson, Director of the Central Brevard Library and Reference Center and supervisor of the program, reported the cut was due to the property tax cuts required by the state this year.
Susan Buchanan, their former Adult Literacy Coordinator, retired in February 2007 after overseeing getting the Brevard program accredited by ProLiteracy. Susan also wrote the family literacy manuals for the new Read and Write Around Florida program which uses short stories to bring book discussions to adult learners who are parents and their school age children.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Summer 2007 Newsletter
News and Tips for Volunteer Literacy Programs
Literacy Florida! Inc.
Electronic Newsletter
Summer 2007
To become a member of Literacy Florida! Inc. go to MEMBERSHIP at http://www.literacyflorida.org/
Regional Training and Networking Meeting August 11
Do you want to know more about program management, volunteer recruitment and more? Would you like some fresh ideas to incorporate reading into your family literacy program and English Language Learner conversation groups? Are you struggling to retain adult learners? Then attend a free networking program on August 11, Saturday, at the downtown Gainesville public library from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to share and learn more.
Participants will receive a new tutor training curriculum on learner persistence and transition called Next Step and a how to manual on the Read and Write Around Florida program. Come and find out how to start book discussions using short stories that are read by a facilitator. The afternoon session will cover two different reading programs. One is for parents and their school age children. The other is for adult English Language Learners using Florida short stories. The how to manual includes tutor lesson plans for the family literacy program.
The program will be at the Alachua County Library District at 401 E. University Avenue (352-334-3910). Registration is required, please submit your RSVP to literacyflorida@hotmail.com by August 7, 2007.
Board Update
New Leadership
Sandy Newell was elected President at the Literacy Florida! Inc. annual meeting at the Florida Literacy Conference in May. Newell is currently Chair of the American Library Association Committee on Literacy, Secretary of the Florida Literacy Coalition and a member of the Florida Department of Education family literacy practitioner’s task force. She works in library development at the State Library and Archives of Florida.
Three new board members joined the board at the same meeting. Joses De Moranville, a literacy supporter in Jacksonville, serves as Vice President. Erika Greene coordinates the Lake County Public Library Literacy Program, and Sharon Hastings Jaskula manages the Jacksonville Public Library Literacy Program. Together they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of adult literacy to the work of the board.
Advisory Board Formed
Jim Wilder wrapped up his two year term as President by getting membership approval to form an advisory board for LFv. The initial board will be made up of past members of the LFv operating board. Kevin Freer, a LFv past President and long time leader in volunteer literacy, Roberta Reiss, moderator of the ProLiteracy trainer list serve and director of the Collier County Library Literacy Program, and Vonda Bryant, the literacy director of the Broward County Public Library program have agreed to serve on this new board. Sharon Wedel, past Secretary and newsletter editor, has also agreed to be an advisor. During this year, Wilder will work with this new group to formalize their activities.
Program Management
Learner Persistence and Transition Strategies
Adult literacy programs struggle to retain students. This article shares strategies of how five programs improved their services. The volunteer programs represented a cross section of volunteer literacy in Florida. Managers focused on removing barriers, updating program entry orientation and intake forms, goal setting and record keeping to improve persistence and transition for adult learners.
Here are a few specific ideas:
{ Call Students: The Calhoun County Library and Learn to Read of Northwest Florida use staff to call students regularly to see how they are doing. They reported that students were more comfortable sharing concerns with someone who was not their tutor. Volunteers who are not tutoring could also make these calls.
{ Real Life Material: The Literacy Volunteers of Leon County set up “tutor tubs” in study rooms. Managers had observed that tutors rarely used this material; even through it was covered in tutor training workshops. By making the tubs convenient, tutors included more practice with real life material in their lessons. The tubs include sample forms, job applications, manipulatives, games and more. Studies have been shown that practice with real life material helps transfer what they learn into daily life.
{ Goal Setting and Suggestion Box: Literacy Volunteers of Collier County, located in southwest Florida, added goal setting to their workshop training and created a “suggestion box” to promote better communication.
{ Library Card Lesson: The Broward Library Literacy program encouraged tutors to develop a lesson around getting a library card. As a result, more students got library cards and started using the library. Staff reported that 90% of their students stayed in the program as a result of the persistence and transition project.
This project was federally funded through the Florida Department of Education, and directed by Ellen Lauricella, project consultant, and as LFv board member, Glenda Norvell supervised the collaborative project. Norvell is the administrator of the Region 1 Adult Literacy Center and is Secretary of LFv. Rural and urban programs from Pensacola to Fort Lauderdale participated.
Trainer Tips
Evaluate Instruction
Literacy instruction is the heart of every volunteer program. It is up to tutor trainers and program managers to assure that volunteers are using the most effective reading instruction. Verizon Literacy has a new program self assessment tool for adult literacy and early literacy. Trainers and program managers can use this online tool to measure whether or not your tutors are using the most appropriate instruction. It takes two people to complete the online assessment and must be done in one session. A paper copy of the assessment can be printed so that you can collect data to input ahead of time.
The tool uses a 1 to 5 ranking to evaluate student assessment, alphabetics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Go to http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/Free-Online-Courses.21.0.html
to access this tool.
Tutor Tips
Verizon Literacy has a new online course, called A Way With Words: Strategies for Strengthening Adult Learners' Vocabularies. Experienced tutors will learn methods to help their student increase their vocabulary, a must for fluent reading. Go to http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/Free-Online-Courses.21.0.html
to view this and other online courses for tutors.
Health LiteracyHealth Literacy KitThe AMA Foundation has released an updated health literacy kit, Health literacy and Patient Safety: Help Patients Understand. The kit can be used to educate health care professionals and the public on the issue of health and literacy. The video is also a good orientation for tutors or potential donors on what it means to struggle with reading while navigating the health care system. The health literacy kit includes:* an instructional video on DVD and CD-ROM (also available on VHS*)* an in-depth manual for clinicians * Continuing Medical Education credit for physicians* additional resources for education and involvement The two main components of the kit, the instructional video and themanual for clinicians, are available to download at no charge onthe AMA Foundation health literacy website atwww.amafoundation.org/go/healthliteracy
Links
Online Games for English Language Learners
http://iteslj.org/games/
Health Literacy Month -- October
http://www.healthliteracy.com/hl_month.asp
Literacy Florida! Inc. website for volunteer literacy programs
http://www.literacyflorida.org/
Calendar
Literacy Florida! Inc. 2008 Annual Meeting and 2008 Florida Literacy Conference, May 7-9, 2008, Walt Disney World Resort.
Literacy Florida! Inc.
Electronic Newsletter
Summer 2007
To become a member of Literacy Florida! Inc. go to MEMBERSHIP at http://www.literacyflorida.org/
Regional Training and Networking Meeting August 11
Do you want to know more about program management, volunteer recruitment and more? Would you like some fresh ideas to incorporate reading into your family literacy program and English Language Learner conversation groups? Are you struggling to retain adult learners? Then attend a free networking program on August 11, Saturday, at the downtown Gainesville public library from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to share and learn more.
Participants will receive a new tutor training curriculum on learner persistence and transition called Next Step and a how to manual on the Read and Write Around Florida program. Come and find out how to start book discussions using short stories that are read by a facilitator. The afternoon session will cover two different reading programs. One is for parents and their school age children. The other is for adult English Language Learners using Florida short stories. The how to manual includes tutor lesson plans for the family literacy program.
The program will be at the Alachua County Library District at 401 E. University Avenue (352-334-3910). Registration is required, please submit your RSVP to literacyflorida@hotmail.com by August 7, 2007.
Board Update
New Leadership
Sandy Newell was elected President at the Literacy Florida! Inc. annual meeting at the Florida Literacy Conference in May. Newell is currently Chair of the American Library Association Committee on Literacy, Secretary of the Florida Literacy Coalition and a member of the Florida Department of Education family literacy practitioner’s task force. She works in library development at the State Library and Archives of Florida.
Three new board members joined the board at the same meeting. Joses De Moranville, a literacy supporter in Jacksonville, serves as Vice President. Erika Greene coordinates the Lake County Public Library Literacy Program, and Sharon Hastings Jaskula manages the Jacksonville Public Library Literacy Program. Together they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of adult literacy to the work of the board.
Advisory Board Formed
Jim Wilder wrapped up his two year term as President by getting membership approval to form an advisory board for LFv. The initial board will be made up of past members of the LFv operating board. Kevin Freer, a LFv past President and long time leader in volunteer literacy, Roberta Reiss, moderator of the ProLiteracy trainer list serve and director of the Collier County Library Literacy Program, and Vonda Bryant, the literacy director of the Broward County Public Library program have agreed to serve on this new board. Sharon Wedel, past Secretary and newsletter editor, has also agreed to be an advisor. During this year, Wilder will work with this new group to formalize their activities.
Program Management
Learner Persistence and Transition Strategies
Adult literacy programs struggle to retain students. This article shares strategies of how five programs improved their services. The volunteer programs represented a cross section of volunteer literacy in Florida. Managers focused on removing barriers, updating program entry orientation and intake forms, goal setting and record keeping to improve persistence and transition for adult learners.
Here are a few specific ideas:
{ Call Students: The Calhoun County Library and Learn to Read of Northwest Florida use staff to call students regularly to see how they are doing. They reported that students were more comfortable sharing concerns with someone who was not their tutor. Volunteers who are not tutoring could also make these calls.
{ Real Life Material: The Literacy Volunteers of Leon County set up “tutor tubs” in study rooms. Managers had observed that tutors rarely used this material; even through it was covered in tutor training workshops. By making the tubs convenient, tutors included more practice with real life material in their lessons. The tubs include sample forms, job applications, manipulatives, games and more. Studies have been shown that practice with real life material helps transfer what they learn into daily life.
{ Goal Setting and Suggestion Box: Literacy Volunteers of Collier County, located in southwest Florida, added goal setting to their workshop training and created a “suggestion box” to promote better communication.
{ Library Card Lesson: The Broward Library Literacy program encouraged tutors to develop a lesson around getting a library card. As a result, more students got library cards and started using the library. Staff reported that 90% of their students stayed in the program as a result of the persistence and transition project.
This project was federally funded through the Florida Department of Education, and directed by Ellen Lauricella, project consultant, and as LFv board member, Glenda Norvell supervised the collaborative project. Norvell is the administrator of the Region 1 Adult Literacy Center and is Secretary of LFv. Rural and urban programs from Pensacola to Fort Lauderdale participated.
Trainer Tips
Evaluate Instruction
Literacy instruction is the heart of every volunteer program. It is up to tutor trainers and program managers to assure that volunteers are using the most effective reading instruction. Verizon Literacy has a new program self assessment tool for adult literacy and early literacy. Trainers and program managers can use this online tool to measure whether or not your tutors are using the most appropriate instruction. It takes two people to complete the online assessment and must be done in one session. A paper copy of the assessment can be printed so that you can collect data to input ahead of time.
The tool uses a 1 to 5 ranking to evaluate student assessment, alphabetics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Go to http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/Free-Online-Courses.21.0.html
to access this tool.
Tutor Tips
Verizon Literacy has a new online course, called A Way With Words: Strategies for Strengthening Adult Learners' Vocabularies. Experienced tutors will learn methods to help their student increase their vocabulary, a must for fluent reading. Go to http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/Free-Online-Courses.21.0.html
to view this and other online courses for tutors.
Health LiteracyHealth Literacy KitThe AMA Foundation has released an updated health literacy kit, Health literacy and Patient Safety: Help Patients Understand. The kit can be used to educate health care professionals and the public on the issue of health and literacy. The video is also a good orientation for tutors or potential donors on what it means to struggle with reading while navigating the health care system. The health literacy kit includes:* an instructional video on DVD and CD-ROM (also available on VHS*)* an in-depth manual for clinicians * Continuing Medical Education credit for physicians* additional resources for education and involvement The two main components of the kit, the instructional video and themanual for clinicians, are available to download at no charge onthe AMA Foundation health literacy website atwww.amafoundation.org/go/healthliteracy
Links
Online Games for English Language Learners
http://iteslj.org/games/
Health Literacy Month -- October
http://www.healthliteracy.com/hl_month.asp
Literacy Florida! Inc. website for volunteer literacy programs
http://www.literacyflorida.org/
Calendar
Literacy Florida! Inc. 2008 Annual Meeting and 2008 Florida Literacy Conference, May 7-9, 2008, Walt Disney World Resort.
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