The summer of 2011, I was thinking about changing my job. I just lost interest in the work I do as a sheet metal worker. I want to get into law enforcement and I know I need help on my reading and writing, so I talked to my friend Jessica and asked if she could tutor me. We worked for weeks and Jessica told me that she thought I might need more help. So she looked up some classes for me to take and she came across the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council. I called the Literacy Council and made an appointment to meet a tutor.
The end of the summer in 2012 I started meeting with my tutor, NancyLewis, for two nights a week. Nancy and I work through a workbook that has lessons in it. We also read one chapter a night in a fiction book that I have picked. After two mouths meeting up with Nancy, I was told by my boss that I had to go on a three month road trip to Connecticut. Talking with Nancy about it, she and I came up with a way for us to still work together. Every Tuesday and Thursday I would call Nancy on the phone. We would work for two hours on my workbook and then we would read a chapter.It was hard working on the phone, because sometimes we could not hear one other. Nancy and I made it work and after the three months, I don’t feel like I missed out.
After I got back from my road trip, Nancy and I started meeting at the library again. Ten months have gone by and I have finished two workbooks (Laubach 4 and Challenger 4) and read five fiction books. I’m so glad I made that first call to meet a tutor. I feel that I have made a lot of progress in the work I have done. I can see my new career approaching very soon. I owe it all to my tutor Nancy, she takes time from her life to meet up with me to teach me how to read and write better.
Our AACLC student Lan (front in this photo) achieved her GED and went on to graduate from Anne Arundel Community College. She is now a student at the University of Maryland.
Yet another example of how Reading Changes Lives!
In case you missed these in our February, 2013 newsletter:
Program Committee Chairwoman: The Rev. Nancy White
Nancy comes from a background of 33 years in public education in both Anne Arundel and Prince George’s County Public Schools. During this time, she served as music teacher, teacher of the deaf/hard-of-hearing and special education administrator and supervisor. Nancy also served on numerous special task forces and commissions at the local, state and national levels and was an active member of several professional organizations. Nancy has taught at both undergraduate and graduate levels at local post-secondary programs. She is a published author in the field, has served as an educational consultant on both state and national levels, and also served as a consultant to the Mister Rogers Neighborhood television program.
In 2001, Nancy was ordained as a Deacon in the Episcopal Church. Since that time she has served as Deacon, Youth Minister, and Assistant to the Rector at various churches in the area. Highlights include leading teams to an orphanage and school in Honduras, El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza, to provide educational seminars for the teachers and staff. She also served two terms as a member of the Advisory Board for El Hogar. Another special ministry was a two-part International Youth Exchange.
We’re so glad to have you on our board, Nancy!
Development Committee Chairman: Dr. Michael Keller
Dr. Keller is a leader for both local and national organizations. He has resided in Annapolis for more than 30 years, and serves as chair of the Annapolis Human Relations Commission, National Board President of the Peace Action Education Fund, and Co-coordinator of the Homework and Reading program at his church.
Mike retired as Director of Policy Analysis and Research for the Maryland Higher Education Commission in 2008. Trained in journalism, Mike served as a war correspondent for the Vietnam bureau of Pacific Stars & Stripes. Mike brings a wealth of leadership and fundraising experience to the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council.
We’re grateful for your time and expertise, Mike.
Thirty-six year old Helen Zhuang came to the US from China five years ago with her husband and son, who is now 12 years old. Helen received an accounting degree in China and worked there as a bank teller for several years. She currently works part-time in a restaurant, but her long-term goal is to be proficient enough in English to pursue a full-time accounting position. Her short-term goals include being more involved in her son’s education, more independent in managing her household, and confident enough to make English-speaking friends and be truly involved in her community. Helen has been working diligently to improve her spoken English and her ability to understand others in order to meet these goals.
Volunteer tutor Cynthia Palmer has found Helen to be a joy to work with–she is cheerful, reliable, bright, inquisitive and a very hard worker. She takes pride in mastering grammar, pronunciation and new vocabulary, especially slang and idioms! Helen is making intensive efforts to improve her English as quickly as possible and her progress is impressive.
When the world says “Give up,” hope says, ” Try it one more time.” Author Unknown
Thanks to a generous donation from Robert and Jolene Caspar this past fall, we were able to completely renovate our website, ICanRead.org.
Elizabeth H. Cottrell, a freelance writer, author, social media pro, and digital publisher worked side-by-side with us to make our vision for this site become a reality. Since then she has donated her time to help us learn the basics of WordPress, while updating our blogs for us. There are so many new features:
- A blog where we post news, success stories, event information, and tutor training and resources
- Organization information, including mission statement, board members, and by-laws
- Volunteer links where you’ll find a list of tutors, tutor resources, form for reporting tutor hours, and information on how to become a volunteer. Use your mouse to hover over “Volunteers” in the menu at the top of each page and you’ll see a drop-down menu with several options.
- A calendar where we post events that are linked to maps and directions. There’s a link to the calendar in the sidebar.
- Student Referral form where anyone can refer a student to AACLC
- Online Donation function
- Links to current and past newsletters in the sidebar – be sure to sign up there so you’ll get the newsletter by email.
- Social media links to AACLC on Facebook and Twitter
If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to look at this beautiful website. Thank you, Bob, Jolene, and Elizabeth!
Elizabeth H. Cottrell
RiverwoodWriter.com and Heartspoken.com
elizabethc@riverwoodwriter.com
Photo credit: “Shhhh! by Bethany Carlson via StockXChng
Photo of Elizabeth Cottrell by david Amundson, Superieur Photographics, Greensboro, NC
AACLC receives 2013 top-rated Great Nonprofit award
We did it again! We have won both the 2012 and 2013 Top Rated Great Nonprofits award, as well as the GuideStar Exchange Seal, demonstrating our commitment to transparency. Please take a moment to check out our 40 five-star reviews.
Since its founding in 2007, GreatNonprofits has grown into the leading provider of reviews and ratings of nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. GreatNonprofits has received media coverage in Newsweek, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Alliance magazine, and on NPR, and is endorsed by USA Today, the Economist, Huffington Post, and the LA Times.
Link to Great Nonprofit
Link to Guidestar
You don’t want to miss a single Tweet from AACLC! We are following over 200 Literacy Councils and leading thinkers in educational reform and innovation from around the world. We then Tweet interesting and thought-provoking links to articles on reading, writing, ESL, and technology, which we hope will challenge and inspire you along your tutoring journey. Here is a sample from our 464 Tweets so far:
Connect with AACLC on TWITTER!
