Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

Introducing Dr. Carol Tacket

December 10, 2014

Dr. Carol Tacket has been appointed Vice President of our Literacy Council’s Executive Board. Carol is a strong supporter of the Literacy Council and has tutored three students over the past two years. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland. Dr. Tacket’s primary research interest has been in conducting phase 1 and phase 2 studies of candidate vaccines against enteric infections. Dr. Tacket has authored or co-authored more than 100 research papers and book chapters on infectious disease topics.

“The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being.”

~ Lee Iacocca

Congrats To Our October 2014 Tutor Class!

December 7, 2014

Thirty-six talented volunteers completed our two-day tutor training on October 11th and 18th. Trainers Deborah Stoeckle, Jill Mischo and Al Odierno were assisted by tutors Maggy Cullman, Harry DeLong, Suzy Ochs, Susan Shillmann, and Cindy Toft. Tremendous thanks goes to our trainers and tutors for their dedication of time and talents, and to Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church for graciously hosting our tutor training.

Giving Tuesday: Donations Doubled Dec. 2, 2014 !

December 2, 2014

Anne Arundel Cares will give nine – $500 prizes to nonprofits receiving donations via the AACares.org website between 12:01 a.m. and 12:00 midnight on Tuesday, December 2nd.

In addition, Bob Caspar, our Board President, will match every dollar donated to the Literacy Council up to $2,400 on December 2nd. Bob’s generous pledge will essentially double your donation!

With your help, the Literacy Council connects adults who are low-level readers with trained tutors who can set them on the path to achieving long-deferred career and personal goals.

On DECEMBER 2nd, please click on this link to help us win!

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 26, 2014

Thanks to your contribution of time, talent and funds to the Literacy Council this year, 181 adults and out-of-school youth have received free, individualized literacy tutoring throughout Anne Arundel County. Your support changes lives through literacy and benefits not only our students, but their families and our community as well. You are making a difference!

Lisa Vernon, Executive Director

Happy Thanksgiving, and

blessings to you and to your family.

Lisa Vernon

Executive Director

Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

301-523-6750 (cell)

We’re on Pinterest!

November 23, 2014

Visit AACLC’s profile on Pinterest.

Thanks to Susan Fogg, we now have a presence on Pinterest, and we hope you’ll follow us there! Click “See on Pinterest” above, and when you get to our Pinterest page, click the Follow button. And whenever you’re reading pages or posts on our website, we hope you’ll pin the pictures to your own Pinterest boards. There’s a Pinterest sharing button—and sharing buttons for all your favorite social media platforms—with every post.

AACLC Director Interviewed On Comcast TV

October 30, 2014

Our own Lisa Vernon was interviewed by Elena Russo last week on Comcast TV (see video below) and had a chance to tell present our vital message:

AACLC Changes Lives!

Why We Do What We Do: Susan and Thomas

October 20, 2014

Tutor Susan Shillen and Student Thomas Sellman

The tutor speaks: Susan Shillen

Thomas has completed levels one through four of “Laubach Way to Reading”, and read all 14 books in the “Junkyard Dan” series, many of them on his own time.

When he came to me for tutoring, Thomas had some reading challenges that make it very difficult for him to figure out unfamiliar words. At those early sessions I was nervous about tutoring an adult for the first time, and learning how to teach using the Laubach method. Luckily for me, Thomas is a very agreeable student. He didn’t mind me starting him in the first book, and going through those beginning charts and lessons step by step. It wasn’t long before we both got the hang of the method and I let Thomas take the lead in going over the charts.

Despite having numerous interruptions to our sessions over the three years that we have been working together, Thomas has always been ready to pick back up where we left off. He’s a dependable student, always letting me know if he won’t be able to make it to a session or will be especially late.

Thomas’ ability to sound out words has improved dramatically. It has been fascinating for me to see how well he can understand stories, and the meaning of many words, even when he can’t figure out each word exactly.

Now that we’ve completed the Laubach series, I’m hoping that we will continue to work together to meet some of Thomas’ other goals, such as getting his driver’s license.

Susan M. Shillenn
Anne Arundel County Literacy Council Tutor

The student’s story: Thomas Sellman

From Thomas:

I was nervous going to the library to meet my tutor, knowing I would have to read in front of her, and other people would hear me read. We got to know each other first, when we started book 1. Now we meet at a local cafeteria. Sometimes it will be me and Susan in there by ourselves. Sometimes people would be in there with us.

It was fun learning how to read. I get to read all the stuff I couldn’t read before. I like how we get to pick the days for tutoring. It was fun looking on the map for all the places the people in the story had traveled. We also looked on the map to show each other all the places we traveled. It was nice to take a break and play a game.

Book 1, 2 and 3, we finished them fast. Book 4 seemed like it was never going to end. Thanks to Susan I know how to read.

Thomas Sellman
AACLC student

Student Spotlight: Ira Richardson

October 16, 2014

Tutor Sarah Fredericks with her student Ira Richardson

My name is Ira Richardson. I am originally from a small town called Scotland Neck, North Carolina. I was born and raised on a small farm. My mother and father had only a 3rd grade education because both dropped out of school to work. I am one of seven children. Growing up was a very difficult challenge. I attended school through the 12th grade. I had to conquer my worst fears: very low self-esteem, being shy, having to deal with acne and the ability to speak without stuttering and stammering.

I am now married with two children. My wife Renita is a Personnel Specialist. My daughter Nakia is 22 years old and attending college. She is studying to become a Psychiatrist and will graduate this December. My son Nehimiah is 14 years old and in the 9th grade. Currently, I have a job as a professional Pest Control Applicator. I have been doing this job for 26 years. It requires good reading, writing, and computer technology skills. If you were to ask me what I am good at, I would say taking care of my family and pest control.

I contacted the Literacy Council in March, 2014, because I did not know how to spell or pronounce certain words. This interfered with my ability to read and understand what I was reading. My tutoring lessons started in April. Since then, I have improved my reading and writing skills. My tutor, Sarah Fredericks, always encourages me to read books written by different authors, so that I can explore new writing styles. I especially like reading mysteries.

Success! I have now read two books:

The Very Bad Dream
The Hardy Boys, Undercover Brothers (#8): Top Ten Ways to Die

I am currently reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

My ultimate goal is to attend college and study Homeland Security or Criminal Justice

Ira Richardson, September 21st, 2014

Coordination Help Needed For January 2015 Event

October 14, 2014

There are many ways to get involved with this mission besides tutoring.

One specific need:

All the Anne Arundel County Senior Centers are interested in having us do a presentation in January to recruit tutors for our March training. I would like to schedule sessions at each of them. If any of you would like to help coordinate this effort, please contact me.

Jill York

Event Coordinator

301-262-1495

jilly3719@gmail.com

Sarah’s Great Reads: A Wonderful Resource

October 12, 2014

My name is Sarah Fredericks. I am originally from Ireland but currently live in Maryland with my husband Carl. Growing up in Ireland, one of my keenest pleasures was to seek out a quiet corner and read a book. When I was a good child, and occasionally I was, my mother would hide books under my pillow as a surprise. My pillow became my gateway to Oscar Wilde’s Fairytales, “The Famous Five Mysteries,””Arabian Nights,” and “The Golden Treasury of Poetry” by Louis Untermeyer. When I was older, my mother would smile and say, “Sarah, read this,” placing a well worn volume into my hands: “Jane Eyre,” “Emma,” the poetry of Omar Khayyam, or “Pepys’ Diary.”

Since then, I have added many other books to these favorites, until, not too long ago, I said to my husband, “Honey, I think we need more shelves.”I have gotten so much joy from reading over the years that I decided to help others learn how to read. When Edie, my next door neighbor, told me about the local Literacy Council, I took the March 2014 tutor training workshop. Soon after that, I was introduced to Ira Richardson.Ira and I have now been working together for five months. He is a very determined and motivated gentleman with aspirations of going to college. We are currently working on the Laubach Series 4 book during class time, Challenger 1 writing exercises for homework, and other reading and writing assignments. In the space of five months, Ira has made wonderful progress in many areas, especially in his comprehension skills, spelling, pronunciation, and writing skills. I have no doubt that Ira will reach his goal of attending college in the not too distant future. It is a pleasure to work with him.

Lastly, this July, I created a Facebook book review page, “Sarah’s Great Reads,” to help spread the joy of reading. I write about literature, drama, poetry, and include arts and humanities audio and video clips. My page address is as follows: www.facebook.com/sarahsgreatreads.

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →