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Total Volunteer Hours in August
861
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Volunteer Hours in 2017-18 School Year
14,880
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The beautiful mosaic that Literacy Source volunteer
June Chang created and gifted to Literacy Source during our recent summer party. A wonderful new addition to start off the new school year - be sure to check it out next time you're in the learning center!
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Hello Literacy Source volunteers, and welcome to the first week of our fall 1 term! The center-wide theme in classes this quarter is civics, and we are in the midst of organizing a field trip for students to visit Seattle City Hall. We are excited to be offering some new programming at our learning center this year, including quarterly work skills electives such as a food handler's permit class, and expanded opportunities for students to work on their digital literacy skills.
We are also thrilled to welcome many new staff members to Literacy Source this year! Sarah Olson is our new Digital Literacy Coordinator, and Amal Mohamed is our new off-site Ready to Work Instructor. We are lucky enough to have 3 new Americorps members this year - Heather Zamudio, Walt Mehring, and Ewa Krawczyk. Heather will be teaching our citizenship classes, Walt will be teaching and advising our conversation and computer classes, and Ewa will be teaching and advising our ESOL 1 classes.
This week is also Welcoming Week, which "brings together immigrants and U.S.-born community members in a spirit of unity and raises awareness of the benefits of making communities welcoming for everyone." We will be tabling and representing Literacy Source during Shoreline City Hall's Open House: Take Action!, this Saturday, September 22 - come stop by to say hi, see live performances and advocacy panels, and learn information about other local organizations.
We wish everyone a wonderful start to the quarter. As always, we'd like to thank you for all that you do to support adult learners at Literacy Source. |
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After creating and adopting new mission and vision statements last year, we took the next step to re-write our values statements as well. Check them out above. Organizational values are essential in that they serve as guiding principles which shape the actions that an organization and its constituents pursue.
Which of these statements resonate the most with you? How do these values inform the work that you do with your student(s)? How might you further integrate them into your work at Literacy Source? We'd love to hear what you think - please send your thoughts and comments to Lynn.
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Adult Education and Family Literacy Week: September 23-29
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Literacy Source student Elizabeth Thuokok checking out a book from our library.
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September means Back-to-School
and
Literacy Month!
Last year, a few generous donors made it possible for us to purchase books for students to keep - something we had never been able to do before. As mentioned in our June volunteer newsletter, this summer our ABE 4/5 class hosted a student-led book club. We were fortunate to be able to buy several copies of the same book for students to read and own. Here is what student Martha Benitez had to say about the book (The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide):
"One of the messages that I learned from this novel was the privilege of life and recognizing the blessing that it brings. The deaths of many of the characters that we encounter, we witness how they spend their lives and we reflect on how we should live ours."
Reading books and talking about them is transformative! The printed word comes to life... and the stories each of us carry within us do, too. We are currently asking for donations to use towards purchasing student books. Our goal is $1,000. If you are interested in donating, you can do so here. Your donation of
any amount will help us towards our goal. And join us in continuing to advocate for adult learners during Adult Education and Family Literacy week (Sept 23-29)
here!
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| Registration is Open: Community Volunteer Training |
Registration is open for the bi-annual Community Volunteer Training! Choose from a list of great workshops and conversations to learn new skills and information about supporting English language learners and adult basic education students in King County.
When: Saturday, September 29, 2018
8:45 am-1 pm
*Registration is required. Please register here.
Where: Seattle Central Library
1000 Fourth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98104
Sponsored by Seattle Goodwill, The Seattle Public Library, King County Library System, One America, Literacy Source and Seattle Central College. Check out past Community Volunteer Training resources here.
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| Culturally Responsive Teaching: New Bookshelf with Student Work |
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Have you ever wanted to look through any of the past projects students have done in Literacy Source classes? We now have a new bookshelf displaying previous student work! It is located in the sun room for students and volunteers to reference and enjoy. Most projects are organized in binders by class type or level.
In addition to being a way to celebrate the many accomplishments of our students, past student work can be a helpful tutoring tool. Student-generated stories are relevant to learners' lives, experiences, and cultural backgrounds. You may remember the Language Experience Approach (LEA) from some of our volunteer trainings. According to Equipped for the Future, "LEA is an approach based on the use of students' own spoken words as the reading text. The teacher records what students say and helps them to read the written version of their own speech."
Although using past student work won't require you to record text from students during your tutoring sessions, using these student-generated resources is an effective approach because it shows that we think student language and experiences are important, and student-generated texts and vocabulary may be more familiar and meaningful to fellow students. According to the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, reading texts originating from learners' experiences is useful because "the degree of complexity is determined by the learner's own language, and the texts relate to the learner's personal interests." For more information about the Language Experience Approach, click here.
Referencing student work can also give new tutors and teachers examples of what to expect in their class or what student levels might look like in writing. You can find samples from ESOL level 2, for example, to better understand what skills students in that level have worked on. If you are teaching a class, you can reference the binders for examples of past student projects as you think about ideas for your own class.
If you are a tutor, try using a sample of student work the next time you practice reading together. If you are teaching a class, feel free to reference the binders for examples of projects and levels. Please do not make photocopies or allow anyone to take them home. Please put student work back in the same spot in the binder where you found them so we can keep everything organized. We hope you enjoy these resources created by our students!
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| Literary Mixer on September 27! |
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Bring a book. Have a drink. Discuss.
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| Our next Literary Mixer is almost here! Bring a book you have read or are reading (e-books work too), enjoy a glass of wine, and strike up a conversation with other Literacy Source volunteers about your book. This event will take place at Literacy Source on Thursday, September 27, from 7-8:30 pm. Please RSVP here. We hope to see you there! |
| Celebrating a Year of Service |
We'd like to take a moment to thank Abhishek Ray, Alan Bryce, Ana Villar, Beth DeRooy, Breanna Devilbiss, Carey Julian, Carolyn Crombie, Chelsea Nesvig, Cynthia Putnam, Ellen Look, Helen Ambachew, Isabella Lubin, Julie Howe, Julie Schwabe, Kristina Hyman, Lesley Nispel, Leslie Alexander, Lindsey Herron, Maggie Bass, Marilyn Stauter, Megan McNelis, Shan Li, Susan Tripp, Susanna Cunningham, Susie Peterson, Taylor Ryan, and Wayne Holm for reaching one year of service at Literacy Source. Thank you for your support and commitment!
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Our community event calendar highlights some of the events happening in the greater Seattle area that pertain to social justice, diversity, and equity. If you know of any other events to share with the Literacy Source community, please let us know!
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Friday, Sept. 28
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Sat/Sun, Sept. 29-30
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Saturday, Oct. 6
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Saturday, Oct. 13
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Jose Antonio Vargas with Ijeoma Oluo: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen
Seattle First Baptist Church (First Hill)
7:30 pm
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Jefferson Who Am I?
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
6-11 pm
*Costumes designed by Literacy Source student Ellis Herd!
More information here. |
Let's Talk Race:
The American Education System
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
1-6 pm
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WA Language Arts Council Conference:
Im/migrant Stories-Literature, Resources, & Advocacy
Centilia Cultural Center
9 am-5:30 pm
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Ongoing Exhibitions and
Programming
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"Becoming American" 6-part documentary series
Redmond Library
Aug. 28-Oct. 2
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Tasveer South Asian Film Festival
Various locations
Sept. 28-Oct. 7
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Seattle Social Justice Film Festival
Various locations
Oct. 5-14
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Seattle Chapter Black Panther Party 50 Years: Power to the People
Northwest African American Museum
On view through Nov. 27, 2018
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Wham! Bam! Pow!
Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
On view through Feb. 24, 2019
More information here. |
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Staff Reads features
books that Literacy Source staff are currently reading or would recommend. Read along with us and let us know what you think!
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Staff: Cat Howell
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Current Volunteer Needs and Upcoming Trainings
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Daytime and evening tutors needed for ESOL, reading, writing, math, GED prep, and citizenship
2 x 1.5 hrs per week (6 month commitment, flexible times)
One-on-One Reading Tutors
Daytime or evening, 1 x 1.5 hrs per week
(1 term commitment, flexible times)
Student Assessment Proctors
2-5 hr shifts every 7-10 weeks (daytime or evening)
Sight Words and Phonics Testers
1-3 hr shifts, 2 times every 7-10 weeks (daytime or evening)
Interpreters and Translators
As needed basis (1 - 3 hrs each time)
Languages needed: Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, French, Somali, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese
Outreach Helpers
As needed basis. Mulit-lingual a plus!
Training and ongoing support provided for all positions. For more information, please visit our website or contact Caroline.
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Community Volunteer Training (CVT)
Saturday, September 29
8:45 am-1 pm
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Literacy Foundations: Strategies for Teaching Reading & Writing
Saturday, October 13
9 am-1
pm
Location: Literacy Source
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Citizenship Toolkit
Wednesday, November 7
5-7:30 pm
Location: Literacy Source
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WALDE: Working with Adult Learners in a Diverse Environment
Tuesday, November 13
5:30-7:30 pm
Location: Literacy Source
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Tutor Orientation Training
Friday, November 30
9 am-12 pm
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New Volunteer Orientation
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Please help us spread the word!
Our upcoming New Volunteer Orientation will be on Wednesday, October 3, at Literacy Source. Sessions will take place at 1 and 7 pm.
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Important Dates and Center Closures
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Literacy Source is open:
Mon and Wed, 8:30 am-8:30 pm
Tue and Thu, 8:30 am-7:30 pm
Fridays, appointment only
Upcoming important dates and office closures:
September 17: First day of fall 1 term
October 29-November 1: No classes; open for tutoring and New Student Registration only
November 5: First day of fall 2 term
November 21: Center closes early at 5 pm (no evening classes)
November 22: Center closed for Thanksgiving
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Miss any of our past volunteer newsletters? Check out our last one here for
additional tips and resources. You can also access the newsletters at the bottom
of the
Volunteer Resources page of our website.
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Literacy Source recognizes the inherent dignity, equality, and value of every person and strives to create and maintain a learning community that is respectful and welcoming. To foster and maintain a safe and inclusive community of respect, openness, understanding, and civility, it is crucial that students, volunteers, and staff are aware of their rights and options when confronting a discriminatory or bias-related incident. To read more, click here.
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Copyright © 2018. All Rights Reserved.
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