All of us at the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council hope you are well.
Please consider joining us this month for a virtual Roundtable to discuss remote learning with tips and ideas for keeping your student engaged from a distance. Read on for sign-up details.
Thank you for all of the adjustments and efforts you’ve made to continue working remotely. Please know that a small number of laptops are still available for students.
Happy Valentine’s weekend and Happy February,
Jane Seiss, Executive Director
Anne Arundel County Literacy Council
We have received heartwarming news of tutors helping students navigate the pandemic and its challenges — providing guidance, over-the-phone translation help, and other resources. Staff also receive reports of students expressing their thanks with written messages and cards, home-cooked meals, offers of support, and small gifts.
Thanks to all of our tutors and students for their perseverance and kindness!
We read all of the comments you submit to us on our reporting forms and by email. We receive voicemails almost every day. Your updates are important and much appreciated.
Our tutor-student partnerships are a shining example of community cohesion. We are pleased to have a part in facilitating connection, friendship, positive influence, and possibility in Anne Arundel County.
(Thank-you card pictured above by AACLC student, Lois Lawrence.)
Student Souzan Alasafar
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Mary Anne uses cell phone videos to provide “in-person” tutoring
ESL Tutor Mary Anne Stoner has continued working with her student, Souzan Alasafar, throughout the pandemic. They are using lessons and worksheets so that Souzan may improve her English comprehension, vocabulary, and speaking skills.
Every week, Mary Anne delivers a “homework folder” filled with printed readings and worksheets to Souzan’s doorstep. Souzan reads the materials and completes the worksheets.
Mary Anne picks up the finished homework, reviews, and marks it up, making corrections. She writes up a list of any words that Souzan struggled with, keeps a copy of everything for herself, and returns the corrected work to Souzan.
Once Souzan has the corrected materials in hand, Mary Anne sends Souzan a short review video filmed on a cell phone. In the video, Mary Anne goes over the parts of the homework that Souzan found most challenging, sounding out words clearly and sometimes explaining the meanings of new vocabulary or American idioms. The videos are only a few minutes in length, but they are rich with instruction and provide a modified “in-person” experience.
Tutor Mary Anne Stoner
Mary Anne is also tutoring Souzan’s husband, Wardan. He is currently overseas, and he stays in touch with Mary Anne by email. He watches her short instructional videos too.
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Mary Anne and Bob Stoner have been AACLC ESL tutors since 2016. Serving as the Literacy Council’s ESL Training and Resource Team, the Stoner’s manage our ESL curriculum and materials. They provide training to new ESL tutors at our training workshops.
Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy’s Gap Map of the U.S.
At the end of 2020, the Barbara Bush Foundation published its literacy Gap Map. Using PIAAC survey data*, the interactive tool illustrates what literacy looks like across the United States. Not surprisingly, the Foundation notes that people often experience poverty, poor health, and low-income mobility where there is low literacy.
According to literacy scores, in Anne Arundel County, 15% of adults lack basic literacy skills. While this rate may seem low compared to numbers in other parts of the country, it means that here at home, there are tens of thousands of adult residents who score low enough to be at risk for not understanding written materials or even basic vocabulary. The ramifications of low literacy flow into all areas of life.
Visit map.barbarabush.org to explore nationwide findings and to examine literacy data for Anne Arundel County.
*PIAAC — Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies — is a survey of adult skills sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It “examines a range of basic skills such as literacy, numeracy, and digital problem solving and assesses these adult skills in a consistent manner across participating countries.” The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) administers the program in the U.S. See more information here.
We enter 2021 with great hope for our programs and students. In 2020, a collective of Literacy Council tutors, students, staff, and community partners adapted in the face of tremendous challenges to continue our progress and achievements.
Last year, students accomplished a range of goals. [click to continue…]
Maria Elena Pineda
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Congratulations to student Maria Elena Pineda who voted for the first time this year! She shared with us her thoughts on tutoring and becoming a U.S. citizen.
“It is a big dream of mine to become a U.S. citizen. It was a long road. My tutor (Karen Calhoun) and I started studying for the civics test in 2019, and I took the oath of citizenship in July 2020. Together, Karen and I made it happen. We both worked hard—I studied many hours, and she patiently explained and adapted the lessons to make sure I could understand and remember them. Karen has become an important person in my life. She is not just my tutor, she is my friend as well. I trust her, and she has helped me trust myself, to know and have confidence that I can achieve my dreams.” — Maria Elena Pineda
Many thanks to Maria’s tutor, Karen Calhoun — a Literacy Council volunteer since 2017!
December 1, 2020
This year, please remember
Anne Arundel County Literacy Council
on #GIVINGTUESDAY.
TWO generous donors will DOUBLE your donation up to $3,000!
If you haven’t submitted your AACLC Membership donation and would like to do so now, this is a great opportunity.
You can give through
OR by check.
Mail to: AACLC, P.O. Box 1303, Edgewater, MD 21037
1st Baptist Church and the Good Time Gang Provided 31 Delicious Thanksgiving Meal Boxes for AACLC Students and Their Families
Thank you — 1st Baptist Church in Glenarden, pastor John Jenkins and his wife Trina, the Good Time Gang in Gambrills, and Lee Goode a.k.a. DJ Dynasty for generously providing 31 Thanksgiving meal boxes with turkeys and bottled waters for low-income Literacy Council students throughout Anne Arundel County!
Each student received a frozen turkey along with a box containing macaroni and cheese, diced potatoes, diced sweet potatoes, mixed greens, mixed vegetables, cut green beans, and a holiday pie — bottled waters too!
We are so thankful for the generosity and kindness of the First Baptist Church in Glenarden, Pastor John Jenkins and his wife Trina, Lee Goode a.k.a. DJ Dynasty, and the Good Time Gang in Gambrills! They provided 31 boxes of delicious Thanksgiving food for our AACLC students last Saturday. Literacy Council staff and tutors delivered the boxes to low-income students throughout Anne Arundel County.
This challenging year, more than ever, we are grateful for our tutors, volunteers, students, and friends from our county and beyond. Your time, energy, and support mean the world to us as we collectively work to improve lives and impact our community.
Two of our generous AACLC supporters and donors will match donations up to $3,000 this year for #GivingTuesday on December 1! If you haven’t submitted your AACLC membership donation yet and would like to do so, this is a great opportunity. You can donate this year on our AACLC website or by check and either option will qualify to be doubled!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Jane Seiss, Executive Director
Anne Arundel County Literacy Council
Student congratulations!
Our congratulations to student TaArmo McGowan! After working with tutor John Carley, TaArmo passed the ASVAB test and is making plans to enlist in the US Army.
We are working with the Army Recruiting Stations in Annapolis and Glen Burnie to tutor students who are working towards passing the ASVAB, a military entrance exam.
