Beginning A Literacy Program
by Nancy Woods
Director, Adult Literacy Action
Pennsylvania State University

 

BEGINNING A LITERACY PROGRAM ASSESSING THE NEED PROGRAM STRUCTURE BUILDING A PROGRAM MONEY MATTERS RECRUITMENT PROMOTION TRAINING HORIZONS

ASSESSING THE NEED Step one for anyone setting up a literacy program is to be informed both about illiteracy nationally and about the community's own problems, and then to see how current literacy programs are meeting the communityís needs. Experience shows that it is usually better to cooperate with and improve existing programs in the community than it is to launch a totally new program. Illiteracy has traditionally been difficult to define, and even more difficult to measure. But, in any community, several local agencies will probably be aware of both the literacy problem and current programs that address it. Those agencies may include the Intermediate Unit or superintendent of schools, the continuing education department of the local community college or university, United Way, the public library, area vocational-technical (vo-tech) schools, the local office of health and human services, the Private Industry Council (PIC), and the local office of employment services (JTPA). In addition, the State Department of Education's Division of Adult Basic Education(ABE) should have a breakdown by county of many of the background statistics needed to establish accurate data. Asking the following questions will help you define the problem in your own community. The most likely source of answers to each question is also listed here: From the 1980 census study, available from the Sate Census Bureau: What is the adult population 17 years old and over? What is the non-white population? How many adults 25 years old and over have not completed high school? What numbers completed 0-8 years of education, and what numbers completed 9-11 years of education? From the State Office of Employment Security: What is the size of the potential civilian workforce? How many are unemployed? What is the rate of unemployment by county? How does it compare to the rest of the country? From the State Welfare Department: What is the average number of persons receiving cash assistance annually? From the State Department of Educationís Division of Adult Basic Education: What are the ABE and General Education Development (GED) enrollments by county? What percentage of literacy programs statewide receives Department of Education (DOE) funds? How do you find existing programs not receiving DOE funds? From the superintendent of schools: What is the number of high school dropouts in your district? From the nearest PIC: Since PICs administer funds for the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), and since it is mandated that 8% of those funds be applied to literacy programs, the local PIC will probably have many relevant statistics, particularly as they apply to the workforce. Most of the adults your program will serve are of at least average intelligence; they should have learned to read, but did not, in the traditional education system. Some literacy programs are also able to work with special populations, in which case the following information may be helpful: From the local office supervising citizenship activity (check with your city hall or county courthouse): The number of foreign-born citizens registered in the county who may be interested in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs or citizenship preparation classes. From the local Mental Health/Mental Retardation office: The number of adults in MH/MR programs who might be eligible for adult basic education programs. From the local jail, prison and probation office: The number of adults lacking adequate reading skills who might be referred to a literacy program. Patterns which show high percentages in key risk areas for instance,adults who did not complete high school, welfare recipients, the unemployed, the non-white population and the non-English-speaking adults may reflect a major literacy problem. In addition, before proceeding to begin a new program, you are wise to ask these questions: Is there a GED program available which could use a basic skills component? If so, try to establish a program that could cooperate with that GED program. Are there existing programs which a new effort could help support?