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Text Box: Literacy Council of Norristown
113 E. Airy Street
Norristown, PA 19401 Fall 2006

Text Box: IN THIS ISSUE From Our President Assistant Director’s Message LCN Computer Upgrade LCN Tutor Workshops International Potluck Dinner Literacy Council Directory LCN Office Hours Recent Student Accomplishments Articles for the Newsletter Vision and Mission

Text Box: FROM OUR PRESIDENT A Busy Autumn for LCN After our usual quiet August at LCN, a lot is happening this autumn. Our English as a second language (ESL) classes began after Labor Day, and are off to a good start. We have more than 67 students. We welcomed a new ESL teacher, Marian Watkins, who is teaching one of the beginner classes. We have four levels of classes from the beginner level to a conversation class. Our classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays. The beginner classes are from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., and the more advanced classes are from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. If you know anyone who needs to learn English, LCN is the place! Our one-on-one tutoring program is going well also. This program is for people who need to improve their reading, writing, and math skills and for students wishing to learn English as a second language. We continue to have a waiting list and are always looking for new tutors. We welcomed a new tutor trainer, Elaine Green. She joined Janet Saunders, our volunteer Tutor/Student Coordinator, and me to teach our September training. I am happy to report that we have nine enthusiastic new tutors. We will hold another evening training in November and a daytime training in January. Janet, Elaine and I worked hard to reorganize our basic training to include preparation to tutor ESL students. We have many students seeking tutoring to learn English. We were also able to make the training one session shorter in an attempt to encourage more people to volunteer. Carol Bertrand, who has been with LCN for almost 20 years, will continue to offer our advanced ESL two-session workshop. cont. on p.2

Text Box: LCN still growing - 21st Anniversary For the past twenty-one years, LCN has sustained its commitment and dedication to improving the lives of others by providing learning-centered literacy programs to embrace the huge challenge of illiteracy. Tackling the statistic of 1in 5 adults reading at or below the fifth grade level according to the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), continues to keep LCN thriving. By increasing literacy skills, we help learners accomplish their goals and empower them to become productive members of their communities. Literacy is comparable to owning a vehicle; it provides a means to reach a destination. The destination may

Text Box: ASSISTANT DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE 2005-06 Program Year Results LCN’s one-on-one tutoring program is partially funded by a grant from the state. Therefore, certain guidelines must be followed and performance standards met in order to continue to receive these funds. Information about students, tutors, training programs, etc. is reported to the state via edata (a real-time, online reporting system). It is important that each month tutors report their tutoring hours and any goals that their students have set or met. Reporting can be done by mail, phone, website, fax, or email. In LCN’s program year 2005-06, we served 137 students in our one-on-one tutoring program, 109 of whom were enrolled. A student becomes cont on p.2