- New Online Resources for Literacy Programs
- Happy International Literacy Day
- Join Us for AEFL Week
- Julie's Tips from the GED Conference
- Meet Carlos Ortiz from Racine Literacy Council
- Member Spotlight: Racine Literacy Council
- Webinar Exclusively for Wisconsin Literacy Members!
- Save the Date for the 2019 Common Ground Conference!
- ProLiteracy's Workplace Literacy Guide
- Refugee Advisory Council Update
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New Online Resources for Literacy Programs
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You can find information on:
Members Only Scavenger Hunt
Explore our
new and improved online resources and win a
$25 gift card and free resource.
(One per agency)
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Happy International Literacy Day
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“Books are a sort of cultural DNA, the code for who, as a society, we are, and what we know. All the wonders and failures, all the champions and villains, all the legends and ideas and revelations of a culture last forever in its books.”
― Susan Orlean,
The Library Book
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Celebrate International Literacy Day on September 8th.
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Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, #AEFLWeek
(September 22-28) is the perfect time for literacy advocates and organizations to engage policymakers, donors, the media, and their communities in making literacy a priority.
How will your agency recognize AEFL Week?
- Set up a meeting with your state legislator with help from Michele Erikson
- Follow #AEFLWeek for news and updates
- Share your own messages about adult education and family literacy on social media
- Contact your local radio and television stations to highlight an adult literacy success story
- Set up an informational booth about your literacy program at a heavily trafficked event or venue
Join Wisconsin Literacy in sharing why you and your learner are #GladICanRead on Facebook and Twitter. All you need is a piece of paper or white board.
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Julie's Tips from the GED Conference
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By Julie Schultz,
Menominee Tribal Education Department
The GED conference helped me focus more clearly on people, who are students (not the other way around). I was reminded of affirmation research, which tells us every student needs 8-12 affirmations for every negative things they hear. I was also reminded that a sense of urgency makes things happen.
Going forward in my work, I am going increase my affirmations to students, with a new insight that my positive words just might be the only encouragement they get today. I also want to work with students on building their sense of urgency in obtaining their credential, maintaining focus on the goal, and doing something each day/week that brings them closer to that goal, so they can move on to the next goal.
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Meet Carlos Ortiz from Racine Literacy Council
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“Honestly, if I had failed the Math test [GED], I would have given up right there,” said Carlos Ortiz from Racine Literacy Council. He passed his Math GED test and his confidence soared.
Carlos first enrolled at the RLC (Racine Literacy Council) in 2006, looking to improve his English before working on his dream goal of getting his GED.
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Member Spotlight: Racine Literacy Council
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In 2017, the Racine Literacy Council joined a collaborative initiative aimed at increasing GED attainment in Racine. There are over 15,000 Racine County residents without a high school diploma, attributing to a high unemployment rate.
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Webinar Exclusively for Wisconsin Literacy Members!
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GogyUp is a new literacy support platform available at no cost to nonprofit adult literacy and workforce development programs. GogyUp's technology combines in-the-moment, word-by-word decoding and comprehension assistance for any text document with longer term reading instruction in phonemic awareness. Available for free on the
Google Play Store and
Apple's App Store, GogyUp was designed hand-in-hand with ex-offenders and New Americans seeking to expand their ability to read technical English.
Join Ned Zimmerman-Bence, co-founder of GogyUp, on Thursday September 26th to:
- Learn about GogyUp’s no-cost, flexible literacy support system, why we are offering our technology for free to adult literacy and workforce training programs, and how we plan to sustain GogyUp.
- Ask the system’s creators about the pedagogy, technology, and how GogyUp could benefit your students.
- Have a direct say in how GogyUp is developed and how it can support your program and your students.
Questions?
- See the attached flyer for more information about GogyUp and the webinar.
- Contact Ned Zimmerman-Bence, GogyUp Co-Founder: ned.zb@gogyup.net / 612-460-5358
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Save the Date for the 2019 Common Ground Conference!
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When: Wednesday, October 16th & Thursday, October 17th
Where: Red Lion Hotel Paper Valley 333 W College Ave, Appleton, WI 54911
Members get 1 free conference ticket per agency.
Contact your RLC for details.
A Few Conference Highlights:*
- Roundtable Discussions on English Language Learning
- Funding Trends in Community-based Adult Literacy Programs
- Immigration 101- What You Need to Know
- Using DCS GED Prep Online and New Readers Press Online with Your Students
- Common Ground for Education
- Reinvented Wisconsin Literacy Annual Meeting
- Tips and Lessons Learned from Successful Jail Literacy Programs
- Event Planning - Achieving Maximum Impact & Profit
- Menominee's Journey to a Culture of Health
- Rethinking Volunteer Management
*Tentative pending proposal approval
We hope to see you there for a rich professional development opportunity. For conference questions, contact Liz Fitzpatrick at
liz@wisconsinliteracy.org.
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ProLiteracy's Workplace Literacy Guide
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A guide to help organizations explore opportunities associated with starting a workplace literacy program. Learn about practices and procedures used in a variety of workplace literacy programs and how to adapt them to fit the needs of your organization and community.
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Refugee Advisory Council Update
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Michele Erikson, executive director of Wisconsin Literacy serves on our state’s Refugee Advisory Council (RAC) which meets quarterly in different locations across Wisconsin. On August 14th, the RAC met in Oshkosh at Fox Valley Technical College to share more about how refugees coming to Wisconsin are acclimating.
As of August 4, 2019, the number of refuges coming to Wisconsin since October 1st, 2018 totaled about 507, and included 3 SIVs (Special Immigration Visa). Milwaukee received 297 which accounts for 70% of refugees in the state. Appleton had 120 new refugees, Madison 46, Green Bay 15, Oshkosh 12 and Waukesha and the rest of the state added up to 20. Refugees have arrived from Burma (223), the Congo (235), Ukraine (13) Somalia (10) and Afghanistan (7).
In general, refugees in Wisconsin do better than the national average in many aspects of resettlement. These categories include employment services, employment of refugees, health benefits due to employment, average hourly wage, job retention, and ESL services received by refugees.
After the RAC meets in the morning, there is a Quarterly Consultation with the State Refugee Coordinator open to the public that addresses various topics impacting refugees.
If you serve refugees and are interested in attending, contact Benjamin York, at the Department of Children and Families,
Benjamin.York@wisconsin.gov to receive meeting notifications.
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Thank you for your support!
Wisconsin Literacy is a proud member of:
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211 S. Paterson St., Suite 170, Madison, WI 53703
(608) 257-1655 | info@wisconsinliteracy.org | wisconsinliteracy.org
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