For easy access to ProLiteracy training and instructional webinars, visit ProLiteracy’s YouTube Channel, where you can watch at your convenience. The YouTube Channel offers videos on all subject areas…
The Literacy Council congratulates tutor Tyler Sweatt on his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy and admission to naval flight school, where he will train as a pilot. Tyler joined our volunteer team this summer while still in Annapolis.
Originally from Newton, New Jersey, Tyler studied nuclear engineering at the Academy and knew his degree would apply to tutoring in math. He trained with us and started tutoring right away. “I used to help my friends out with math all the time in high school, so I already had experience with this,” Tyler said. He enjoyed finding ways to make difficult math concepts digestible.
Tyler appreciated his time as an AACLC tutor. “I gained a greater sense of community by participating in the program. It is important to help others and to give back, and I was able to realize this through volunteering.”
Excited to start the next part of his life and career, Tyler said he will miss Annapolis and the people he has met here. We wish Tyler all the best as he continues his training and service in the United States Navy.
Literacy Council partner Small City Big Dreams will provide turkeys to families in Annapolis this Thanksgiving. If you’d like to donate or know of a family in need, please call or text 443-979-2640. The deadline to donate is November 24. Gift cards to Giant and Safeway are welcome.
The Community Resources page on our website at icanread.org features an organized list of government and community resources available to residents of Anne Arundel County. It includes websites and phone numbers for government departments and services, library resources, education, employment, immigration, and food assistance.
The Community Resources page is available in Spanish.
En Español: Recursos comunitarios.
This resources page, published by the Anne Arundel County Food Bank and updated regularly, provides information on where to find free food and basic necessities throughout the county. Pantry locations, contact numbers, and hours are included. Visit the resources page to download a pantry map that lists food, baby, and senior pantries all over Anne Arundel County.
The OMA engages with multicultural communities in Anne Arundel County to connect, inform, and elevate the county’s diverse voices. It provides guidance on family preparedness for immigrant families.
Connects Anne Arundel County residents to immigration legal counsel and related support services. aijnetwork.org
Free virtual ESL classes at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Call OIC’s partner, the Center of Help (Centro de Ayuda), at 410-295-3434 to enroll.
Wednesday, November 19, 6 – 7 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-197893
Monday, November 17, 6 – 7:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-200720
held every month
Seeds 4 Success office
The group is most suited to Spanish speakers, and space is limited to 15 people. The evening features a welcoming atmosphere, enjoyable conversation, games, and light refreshments. Literacy Council tutors or students should email Wendy if they plan to attend.
This Thanksgiving and every day, we are grateful for all you do to make a difference in the lives of Literacy Council students, their families, and our communities. Thank you for doing good where your work and support matter most.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Jane
Our September 27 book fair was a huge success!
More than 60 volunteers made the event possible, and at least 75 households, neighborhoods, and other groups donated gently used fiction and nonfiction. We sold thousands of books, raising much-needed funds for our free adult tutoring programs.
This year, we partnered with Discoveries Library and Old Fox Books & Coffeehouse owner and author J. Lynwood Holmes to offer a children’s reading of her 2025 book Copernicus.
After the event, we donate the remaining books. This year, they were delivered to Books for International Goodwill in Annapolis (BIG).
Thank you for supporting our book fair and adult tutoring programs!
Thank you for participating in our fifth-annual book fair in all the ways that you did — as a donor, supporter, volunteer, shopper, partner, or sponsor! The event was a tremendous community success, with the highest turnout we’ve ever seen.
Every person who supported the book fair had a positive impact on our ability to provide free assessments, materials, and tutoring for adults in Anne Arundel County. We will transform more lives because of you.
Please see essential updates on the GED test and the U.S. Citizenship test.
We’re also sharing the inspiring story of long-term Literacy Council student, Ida, who has been empowered to read as an adult, see the post.
Many thanks for all you do,
Jane
On October 20, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services implemented a new naturalization civics test with more possible questions and a higher standard for correct answers. The new test will be administered to anyone who applied for citizenship starting October 20, 2025. Those who had an application in process before then will take the 2008 version of the test. For more information, read ProLiteracy’s news update or visit the USCIS website’s Citizenship Resource Center*.
*As of October 10, study guides on the USCIS website are for the 2008 version of the test. In January 2026, ProLiteracy expects to publish updated test study materials. The Literacy Council will provide citizenship test materials for students and tutors on request.
The GED now offers all four subject tests in Spanish, including Reasoning through Language Arts (RLA).
While our tutors do not typically tutor in Spanish, if a student wants to study on their own in their first language, we can provide a Spanish GED prep book.
The price for one subject test is $36 in Maryland. However, there are ways to pay less! Maryland offers a Discount Voucher Code for the first attempt of each subject test, so a student would pay only $14.25 for each first attempt.
If a student needs to take a retest at a test center, the first retest will be discounted to $10, the second will cost the full price of $36, and the third will be discounted to $10 (from the Maryland Dept of Labor website). There are no discounts for retests of the Online Proctored (OP) Exam.
Maryland offers a program called 4th and Goal, which applies to GED test-takers who have completed three of the GED subject tests and just have the fourth one remaining. This program offers short-term assistance for classes and tutoring, and it also covers the costs of a practice test and the exam fee for the final subject test. A test-taker must apply online for 4th and Goal benefits.
Please feel free to contact us for information and guidance regarding the GED. You may also explore these resources:
The best starting point for GED information is the GED.com website.
Check here for more specific GED information relevant to Maryland.
Find valuable online GED information through the Maryland Department of Labor website.
AACPL.net offers online GED resources. Go to the library’s Student Center to access the Brainfuse Adult Learning Center and Peterson’s Test and Career Prep.
