October | VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER | 2025

Día de los Muertos, celebrated on Nov 1, posthumously honors loved ones through vibrant celebrations of memory, color, and tradition. For our community, where Spanish is the most common first language, it’s also a meaningful way to celebrate culture and connection. You can create an altar, share stories, or join local events to honor the day.

October is Information Literacy Month, a fitting time to celebrate the critical thinking, communication, and digital skills that are at the heart of our classes. At Literacy Source, we believe that foundational education is transformative not only for individuals but for entire communities. Whether learning to read, write, or build digital confidence, our students gain the tools they need to navigate information, make informed decisions, and open doors to opportunity.

Across our classrooms this quarter, information literacy shows up in meaningful and practical ways. From GED students analyzing multiple perspectives on U.S. history topics, to Ready to Work participants learning how to research job opportunities and prepare for interviews, to ESOL learners discussing civics and writing projects—each lesson builds confidence in finding, understanding, and using information responsibly. These skills empower students to engage thoughtfully in a fast-changing world, where knowing how to evaluate information is as important as having access to it.

None of this would be possible without you—our nearly 200 volunteers—who make learning personal and accessible. You partner with students to navigate technology, practice English conversation, refine résumés, and prepare for citizenship interviews. Every hour you give extends the reach of our mission, creating lasting opportunities for adults and their families. Thank you for being essential partners in building an informed, skilled, and connected community of learners.

Liz Wurster

Communications Coordinator

The Importance of Accommodations in Classrooms

Creating truly inclusive classrooms takes awareness, humility, and a willingness to examine our own assumptions. Accommodations are not “special treatment” but essential tools that ensure equitable access to learning for all students. Because learning differences are often hidden—and sometimes students prefer to hide them—it takes courage to pause and ask: What barriers might I not be seeing? In preparation for our roundtable discussion: Working With Students with Learning Differences next Monday, October 20th, from 4:30-5:30 (RSVP and pre-reading here), let's dig into the pre-reading and why this topic is so important for our volunteers and students.

Our Disability Accommodations Guide reminds us that disability is defined not by the person, but by how a condition affects daily activities like reading, learning, or working. Accommodations make learning accessible, whether that’s offering large print, extra time, or text-to-speech tools. At Literacy Source, “reasonable” accommodations depend on available resources and the classroom environment. Fairness, not sameness, is the goal.

The Ladder of Inference video highlights how our minds move from observation to conclusion, often skipping steps shaped by our biases or experiences. For example, a student who seems “disengaged” may actually be struggling with processing speed or focus. By “climbing down the ladder” and using respectful inquiry, we can check assumptions and better support students’ needs. This is particularly important in a community of learners as diverse as ours: different backgrounds and cultural norms can complicate the journey from the bottom of the ladder to the top.

Finally, Working with Neurodiverse Learners explores how both structure and flexibility help all students thrive. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) builds lessons that serve diverse learners, while individual accommodations address specific challenges. Clear routines, movement breaks, flexible assignments, and tools like reading bars or text-to-speech software benefit everyone. True accessibility requires intention and ongoing reflection to see and support each learner as they are.

As we prepare for our upcoming roundtable, consider: What assumptions might I hold about what a “typical” learner looks like, and how can I make my student interactions more accessible to all? We invite you to bring your experiences, questions, and reflections to this conversation as we continue building classrooms rooted in equity, inclusion, and respect.

Student Data Privacy Policy

As a best practice to protect our students privacy, we have created a new volunteer data security policy. Please take a moment to read the policy and let me know if you have any questions. The main thing is to keep all student information in a password protected environment (i.e. in email, or on your phone if you use a password). When you finish working with a student please make sure to delete all student contact informoation, phone number, photos, emails. You should also delete photos and contact of your student on your phone when crossing a US border. Thank you for helping us keep our students safe.

Student Announcement Slides

This term we are excited to welcome back our student friendly announcement slides! Thanks to our new AmeriCorps member Amelia Stockdill who will be managing the program. Every week we will have slides with student pertinent information for the instructors to include in their lessons. This is great material for tutors to review with students as well. You can view the slides in this folder. Today we had an earthquake drill in the classes, click here to see the slides. You can view the slides in this folder.

Writing Strategies to Support Adult Learners

I want to share some tips on how you can help your students’ writing. To assist students effectively,

consider the following strategies:

• Sentence Construction: Encourage students to write basic and simple sentences using vocabulary we've covered in class. Begin with short and controlled sentences for low level learners to build confidence.
• Vocabulary Building: Encourage students to memorize 10 words from the textbook each week. During tutoring sessions, you can conduct dictation exercises to reinforce spelling and word recognition.
• Use of Flashcards: In class, we use flashcards to teach sight words. Implementing this method can aid in spelling and vocabulary retention...

You can read the full teaching tip here.

Kaeyoung Park, Instructional Advisor

Conversation Classes:

• Tues/Thurs evening, 5:30 - 7pm, online
• Tues In-person, Lake City center, 9 - 10:30am
• Weds In-person, New Holly Branch Library, 1 - 2:30pm

Class Assistant:

ESOL 1, Monday & Wednesday, 6 – 8pm, online

Contact Caroline if you are interested in any of these opportunities.

1) Volunteer Roundtable Discussion: Working with Students with Learning Differences (online)

Monday, October 20th , 4:30 - 5:30pm (online)

• What are our values around diversity & serving all students?
• What are reasonable accommodations, and how do we determine & implement them?

Please join this Google Classroom to sign up, find the Zoom link, and complete the pre-activities.

2) Conversation Partner Training (in-person)

Friday, October 24th , 10- 11:30am, in-person (Lake City Center 12360 NE 125th At. Ste. 301 Seattle, WA 98125)

Training Objectives:

• Review the purpose of conversation classes and what a makes a successful conversation partner
• Discuss the benefits of taking a cultural humility approach
• Learn 2 -3 strategies for working with students with learning differences

Please join this Google Classroom to RSVP and complete the pre-activity.

Congratulations and thank you to these volunteers who have achieved a year of service! We are so appreciative of all your hard work and dedication to Literacy Source.

• Chidinma Okereke-Willis – Conversation Partner
• Micheal Rodriguez – ABE Tutor
• Chris Walford – Math Tutor

Literacy Source partnered with four individuals who become citizens in the past month. They hail from Ethiopia, Iran, Hong Kong, and Nepal. Congratulations!

Girl on Girl

Staff: Tiffany Ban

Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests

Staff: Shira Rosen

Old School Indian

Staff: Caroline Socha

Station Eleven

Staff: Liz Wurster

Here on Moment

Staff: Katherine VanHenley

Culinary Tea

Staff: Darlene Lytle

Fancy Dancer

Various dates and times through November 2 (Seattle Repertory Theatre, $67-$89)

Growing up half Lakota and half white, Lara lives as an outsider until she discovers the story of Osage prima ballerina Maria Tallchief and is compelled to become a dancer. But with a body that doesn’t quite conform, can she make her dream come true? In this world premiere suitable for multigenerational audiences, renowned writer Larissa FastHorse (Broadway: The Thanksgiving Play) tells her own personal coming-of-age story that celebrates the power of perseverance and finding your community.

Performed by alternating actors, this heartfelt solo show stars FastHorse herself and rising star Burgandi Trejo Phoenix, bringing to life this story filled with humor, resilience, and hope.

Nature Heals

Wednesday, October 22, 6:30pm (The Wyncote NW Forum 1119 8th Ave, $8)

Research shows that access to nature is essential for our mental health and physical well-being. But just over a decade ago, that idea was far from common knowledge. Join the University of Washington for the 2025 Doug Walker Lecture, where environmental philanthropic leader Marc Berejka will share reflections on how the global movement for nature and health was born, lessons we’ve learned along the way, and how we can all play a part in helping our communities benefit from the healing power of the outdoors.

Ticket price includes access to a special pre-reception designed to spark meaningful connections across Seattle’s vibrant sustainability and environmental science community. Complimentary gourmet creations provided by Cameron Catering, consistently ranked among Seattle’s finest!

Fall Open House Weekend at Frye Art Museum

Various times from Friday, October 24 through October 26 (Frye Art Museum, FREE)

Step into a weekend full of new shows, creative energy, and unexpected discoveries. Wander through the galleries, treat yourself at the museum store and café, and gain deeper insights into the exhibitions with programs that spark curiosity.

Our next New Volunteer Orientation (via Zoom) will be on November 5 at either 1pm or 7pm. 

Potential volunteers are invited to register online here. 

Miss any of our past volunteer newsletters? You can access archived newsletters at the bottom of the Volunteer Page of our webpage.