Have you ever felt like you have quite a story to tell, but don't have the time or energy to share it? At Literacy Source, we know how hard many individuals work to gain basic writing skills to be able to accomplish that goal. Mark your calendars: March 14 is National Write Down Your Story Day, so pick up a pen and paper and take the time to leave your legacy in writing. If you can't imagine starting such a daunting task, try looking at meaningful photos or writing about relationships that are important to you. Before you know it, you may have written a book!
|
|
Photo from National Women's History Alliance |
“I raise up my voice — not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can
be heard... we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”.
~Malala Yousafzai
|
Dear Literacy Source Community,
March is a big month for so many reasons. Spring brings the promise of new beginnings and warmer weather (which many of us will have been eagerly awaiting this year in particular). March is also the month that we celebrate women: both International Women's Day and Women's History Month fall in March. This year's theme is "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories", which fits so well with the work we do at Literacy Source: teaching adult learners to speak English, read, write, and do basic math. Additionally, as so many of our students referenced in the student feedback from the focus groups we conducted last summer, the skills our students gain in their Literacy Source classes instill confidence, a key ingredient to feeling empowered to tell one's story.
Our students face a number of challenges: 96% of them are immigrants or refugees, which, while providing a rich cultural framework that makes sharing their story so important, can increase their need for support and skill acquisition to do that. According to the ProLiteracy Fact Sheet, only roughly half of immigrants and refugees to the US are proficient English speakers. In addition to the challenges that all of our students face, women have even greater gaps to overcome in achieving equity. The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report highlights that while there have certainly been improvements, we are still an estimated 132 years away from full parity between women and men in the four areas they measured: (1) economic participation & opportunity, (2) educational attainment, (3) health & survival, and (4) political empowerment. As well, in light of this year's Women's History Month Theme and Literacy Source's vision of an inclusive and equitable society providing education and opportunities for all adults, the fact that two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults are female is particularly relevant, and heartbreaking.
This is why it is more important than ever to support the work that we do here at Literacy Source. 82% of our students last year were female, of which more than half have children in their household. As the above ProLiteracy Fact Sheet highlights, "a mother's reading skill is the greatest determinant of her children's future success, outweighing other factors such as neighborhood and family income." The theme for our upcoming breakfast is "Building our Future", and that is truly what our community of students, staff, volunteers, and supporters at Literacy Source are doing. We look forward to seeing you there (hint hint, sign up here!) so that you can hear the powerful stories of how we are building a better future for our students, their families, and the community.
In community,
|
|
Cat Howell
Co-ED, Educational Director
|
|
Shira Rosen
Co-ED, Managing Director
|
|
We are excited to introduce our new ESOL Instructional Advisor, Laura Kalmanson. Read on to find out more about her hobbies and why she is passionate about adult education.
Why are you excited to work for Literacy Source?
I am excited to work for Literacy Source because it is an adult school. I have worked with adult learners in the context of refugee resettlement, and I am thrilled to work with a team of fellow teachers.
Why do you think the role/this work is important?
I think this work is important for so many reasons. One of my past students is a therapist, and talked about her work this way: People come to therapy like animals come to a watering hole. They drink when they are thirsty, leave when they are satiated, and come back to drink when they need more. I think especially adult education is similar. A quality watering hole is an important resource in an ecosystem.
What do you do in your spare time?
In my spare time, I love to bake, hike, grow plants, and share good food with good people.
Thank you for sharing and welcome to the team, Laura!
|
|
Volunteer Spotlight: Patty H |
|
This month we are pleased to feature Patty Hansen as our volunteer spotlight. Joining us exactly 2 years ago, Patty has successfully woven her own unique experience at Literacy Source through various opportunities, even starting a small Citizenship hybrid group after the pandemic. She has also volunteered as an ESOL class assistant and Conversation Class Facilitator. Her skills and positive approach have been greatly appreciated both by the students and instructors she assisted. Her fellow Conversation Class Facilitator has this to say about Patty: "Patty’s a master at tuning into our students’ needs. It’s wonderful to see students’ faces light up with her creative and engaging approaches. As a teacher partner, she’s helped me improve tools for our volunteer team to use in conversation circles. I know I can count on her to make teaching fun and meaningful."
Thank you, Patty, for your volunteer service and commitment to our students. We are thrilled to have you on the team.
Where are you originally from? If you’re not from Seattle what brought you here?
I was born and raised near St. Paul, Minnesota, and chose to go to college in Bellingham because it was beautiful and laid back, which, of course, are great reasons to choose a college.I studied History and loved it; I wore natural fibers; I met my husband. All good. We lived in numerous cities outside of Washington before returning in 1999.
Please share something of your life so far and what you would like to do in the future.
I’ve collected a graduate degree in Theology and four children, worked with a university chaplaincy, taught, wrote, and, until recently, had a small tutoring business. While our kids have all flown the nest, Covid times brought a couple of them back and we host a young man from Refugees NW foster youth program, so our home is pretty much back to being full of good chaos. Future plans hopefully include more good chaos in one way or another.
Why did you choose to volunteer at LS?
I chose to volunteer at Literacy Source because of the emphasis on accessible language classes for low-income, immigrant communities. One of our daughters is Ethiopian and came into our family when she was nine. Through my daughter’s experience and other personal connections, I came to realize how important language learning is to gaining a sense of belonging and empowerment. With this in mind, I earned a TESOL certification a couple of years ago and started volunteering at Literacy Source.
You can read Patty's full interview here.
|
|
2023 Breakfast: Building Our Future |
|
We are so excited that our Annual Breakfast is on April 4th at 8 am! If you have yet to attend our Breakfast, it's an event you want to attend.
We look forward to:
- Sharing the voices of our students, why they chose Literacy Source, and how it helps them achieve their goals
- Let you look into our classrooms, which are masterfully run by our staff
- We will unveil our brand-new logo
- Excellent book reviews from Nancy Pearl
- And more surprises to come
Please invite your friends, colleagues, and loved ones to join you during our virtual event. The more, the merrier. We look forward to seeing you in April.
P.S. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Please message Phil Z for more information.
|
|
Advocacy Opportunity: Gigi Sohn FCC Nomination |
|
You may remember our from our November newsletter, Literacy Source signed this letter in support of Gigi Sohn's confirmation to the Federal Communications Commission and we encouraged our supporters to advocate for her nomination.
We're once again at a critical moment for her nomination, so folks are organizing a daily push on social media to build momentum through next week, with each day hitting on a different theme.
OVERVIEW
Color of Change and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sent a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee and White House urging the swift confirmation of Gigi Sohn.
The letter also condemns the Fraternal Order of Police’s (FOP) misinformation campaign, “saying the baseless attacks on Ms. Sohn are a last-ditch effort to prevent the FCC from fulfilling its obligations to provide oversight and regulation of broadcast, cable and telecom companies and prevent adoption of net neutrality protections.” The letter continues, “Despite the recent tragedy of Tyre Nichols' murder, the FOP is not focusing on reforming their industry, as one might have hoped, but on the FCC.”
For guidance on how to support the push to confirm Gigi Sohn, go here.
|
|
Literacy Source is on the traditional lands of the Duwamish people, and we pay our respect to elders both past and present. To support the revival of Duwamish culture and the vitality of the Duwamish Tribe, please consider signing this petition to federally recognize them, or consider making a donation to Real Rent Duwamish.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
