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SEPTEMBERNEWSLETTER | 2023 | | |
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As we enter into the hustle and bustle of fall quarter and a year into our three-year strategic plan, we want to highlight one of the three goals of the plan: healthy programming. Our programming is at the heart of the partnerships we build with our students, and since Covid, we've been working with our students to determine the best mix of online and in-person services to serve their needs. Right now, about 45% of our classes are in-person and 55% online, with registration and support services generally happening in person.
We continue to listen to feedback from our community and work with partners to determine what works best in the current circumstances. For example, Seattle Public Library has just restarted in-person conversation circles and we're staffing three of those across Seattle this fall in addition to the online conversation circles.
But healthy programming is so much more than just the hybrid availability of our classes, it's the difference it makes in the lives of our students. Accessibility is critical to make sure our classes are available to those who need it, which is why our "Back to School Drive: Access Begins with the Basics", is SO important (see below). It's also the sense of community like at our annual Summer Party (the first since Covid), where we enjoy dance, food, and great conversation together. Or the sense of empowerment that students in our Ready to Work class felt when they were able to understand and read together a flyer about homeowners assistance.
We are so thankful for all that you do and we look forward to another year of growth and learning with you.
In Community,
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Cat Howell
Co-ED, Educational Director
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Shira Rosen
Co-ED, Managing Director
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Class & Student Spotlight:
A Walk in the Park
In August, 2023, we offered a new summer experience for our students: "A Walk in the Park". On August 3 and 10, eight students joined four volunteers as well as the class instructor, Cynthia Putnam, to visit different interpretive stations at Meadowbrook Park where they stopped, sat, and talked about what they saw, heard, smelled, felt.
To hear directly from participants and find out more about the class, go here.
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As we get back into the swing of things for fall, we are determined to provide access to every single student that needs our support, which is why this year we are going back to the basics with our case management program.
If students don't have a safe place to live or don't have food or supplies for their children, they can't learn. Our case manager, Halfia, makes sure that students get access to the help they need so they can create a better life for themselves, their family, and their community.
Our drive ends on September 15, If you haven't donated yet, please give today and help us reach our goal of $20,000. You have the power to make a difference today by removing barriers to education!
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New Board Members
These are the final three of our five new board members that have joined the team at Literacy Source. Please join us in welcoming them!
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Ethan Zink
Ethan has over 10 years of Business Development, Customer Success and Management experience in the Renewables and eCommerce industries. He has worked at Amazon since 2019 and currently leads a team in Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator. Ethan first became involved with Literacy Source in 2014 as a volunteer teacher...
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Jennifer Ciarvella
Jennifer currently works for Adobe as an instructional designer, where she creates learning experiences for a global audience, with a particular focus on best practices for developing universally accessible content. She is interested in the neuroscience of learning and how to apply that knowledge to adult learners. Before joining Adobe, she worked in public libraries for 15 years...
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Mark Antone
I’m happy to be serving for Literacy Source! I’ve lived in Washington State my entire life. I enjoy reading, traveling, deep-woods backpacking, fishing, and spending time with family and friends. I’ve worked at Microsoft for most of my career and enjoy applying the skills I’ve learned in other areas of my life. I feel that literacy an important and attainable tool to engage people to make the changes they want to see in their life...
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Legislative Visits
Literacy Source hosted several legislators over the past month. 46th Legislative District representatives Darya Farivar, Gerry Pollet, and Javier Valdez came to visit and learn more about our work. We spoke directly about digital equity and wage equity.
We also hosted Councilmember Ron Dembroski and had some great conversations, including informing him about work we do in the King County jails.
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Thank you to everyone for coming and making our first post-pandemic, in-person, party such a success! The weather was kind to us, so we were able to enjoy the courtyard and eat delicious food with fellow students, volunteers, staff, family and friends. Special thanks to all who brought food to share, we enjoyed amazing cultural dishes, baked good, salads and more from: Iran, Thailand, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mexico, Turkey, and more. A special thanks to Gloria from ESOL 2/3 class for a beautiful dance from her home country of Peru!
Thanks to the following Lake City businesses: Kaleyta at Senait Restaurant and Store for the delicious Ethiopian food and Alberto at Jose's Taqueria for the succulent tacos!
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Beginning this fall, Literacy Source is partnering with the Building Services Department of the University of Washington to develop customized classes for their custodial staff. Curriculum will center around language needed to better communicate on the job, as well as reading to better improve understanding of safety procedures and protocols. Literacy Source staff have been working with interested workers, supervisors and managers to best understand the participants and tailor the program to their needs and levels. We are looking forward to beginning the in-person classes in October!
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Digital Inclusion Week is coming up! October 2-6. Find out more here.
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Adult Education and Family Literacy Week is Sept 18 –22. More information here.
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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. | |
Literacy Source has a new LinkedIn Page! Please check us out and follow us for updates. | | | | |
