| Letter from the Co-Executive Directors |
|
|
|
The summer celebration we wish we were inviting you to! Pictured are student/Board member Martha Benitez and her daughter performing a traditional Mexican dance
|
|
 |
|
Dear Literacy Source Community,
We hope that you and your families are well
and finding safe ways to enjoy the summer
during th
e
ongoing
pandemic
.
At Literacy Source we are continuing to providing classes
and
tutoring
remotely
this summer
. We expect to continue
with remote services
for the fall term starting in September.
Registration
is open
now!
We are in
a time of
change
,
and so it is at Literacy Source
.
In July we launched our
new
co-leadership model
with
two Co-Executive Directors to jointly lead and manage the organization.
Operating
as an adult education school in a nonprofit form,
we
need executive leadership with expertise in both adult education and nonprofit management. Recognizing that two people are better able to fill those roles than one,
our new model
has
a
Co-ED
, Educational D
i
rector and a
Co-ED
, Managing Director
.
They
have shared responsibilities and individual areas of focus
.
Together they work closely with the Board of Directors and staff to shape Literacy Source's future, incorporating diversity, inclusion, and equity into all aspects of its operations.
Cat started in her new role on July 1, and we expect a hiring announcement for the
new
Co-ED
, Managing Director in August.
We're delighted to report that Literacy Source ended its fiscal year in June in
good
financial positio
n,
thanks to
ongoing support from so many of you and
from
our institutional partners
.
W
e
are fortifying
our organizational foundation
to ensure resilience through any surprises
and uncertainties
that may
emerge
in the new fiscal year
, including adding a dedicated Development and Communications Manager
and
strengthening our staff teams
and systems.
We're excited about
these changes that you'll be hearing more about
in future newsletters.
Cat Howell,
Co-ED
, Educational Director and
Rae Levine
, Interim
Co-ED
, Managing Director
|
|
|
Thank You, Outgoing Board Members!
We'd like to thank Reza Khastou for providing invaluable support and service on our Board. Among other contributions, Reza helped make our virtual Breakfast a great success. Thank you Reza, we are lucky to have you as part of our community!
Board Officer Transitions
Many thanks to our outgoing Board Officers,
Kristin Knopf (Treasurer) and
Leslie Handley (Secretary) for their generous service in these roles. We are grateful that they will be staying on the Board this year. We welcome
Barbara Petty as our new Treasurer, who has served in that role before,
Jeffery Wells as Secretary, and
Srijan Chakraborty as Vice-President.
|
|
|
| Newby Herrod, volunteer, MCing the Annual Breakfast several years ago |
|
One of our tremendous supporters and volunteers, Newby Herrod, is moving from Seattle and stepping down from the Finance Committee. Newby was involved with Literacy Source when it was still part of Washington Literacy, and helped our move to independence in 2001. He has been a tutor, Board member, Treasurer, Finance Committee member, and was instrumental in drafting our by-laws. He and his wife Kit have been strong allies in the community for decades. Newby even stepped up at the Breakfast several times to be MC, pictured here. We will miss his humor and his good council, though he will always be a part of the Literacy Source community. Thank you Newby for your incredible support and contributions over the years, and best wishes to you and Kit on your new adventure!
|
|
|
Antonio Rufin
This month we are pleased to feature Antonio Rufin as our volunteer spotlight of the month. If you attended our Annual Breakfast this year, you might remember Antonio from a student-tutor video. Antonio joined Literacy Source as a tutor in March 2019 and has been tutoring Beatriz, an ESOL 4/5 student, ever since. He brings a thoughtful, methodical approach (a definite plus in teaching basic skills!) to helping her improve her reading and writing skills. As they are taking a break while we are tutoring remotely, Antonio, who is always willing to help and adapt his skills, is stepping up to work with a citizenship student. Thank you Antonio for all your dedication and hard work, it is a pleasure to have you as one of the volunteer team. To get to know Antonio a little better please click here.
|
Screenshots from SeaTac remote classes with instructor Lisa Greenfield
|
|
SeaTac ESOL Class
In SeaTac, we have had a multi-level community-based ESOL class for many years. Until recently, we were hosted by the Angle Lake Family Resource Center, but due to COVID, we had to make the quick transition to remote learning this spring. Our students, who are from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Mauritania, Guinea, Senegal, Ethiopia, India, China and the Philippines, have been rolling with all the punches. We started doing small group video chats on WhatsApp, working with packets of worksheets that they received in the mail each week, and using a class blog to access additional information- all new things for us! Some surprise perks of remote learning have been that some students who could no longer attend the class in SeaTac due to transportation barriers have been able to join us again, and with everyone in their own homes, a lot of learning opportunities have opened up for some 'show-and-tell' situations where we get to talk about things in much more contextualized ways. We are so grateful to be working with such wonderful people!
-Lisa Greenfield, South King County Coordinator
|
|
Heartfelt thanks to the many individuals, businesses and foundations that have supported Literacy Source in the last few months! A special shout out to:
- Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation for a second year of funding us $30,000 to support building access and opportunities for all adults through education.
- Norman Raab for $20,000 general operating support that will help us launch the hiring of a Development & Communications Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2018. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
