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

RECRUITMENT Student Recruitment Social service agencies can be a major source of student referrals. Be certain that such agencies have information about your program, and work to make them sensitive to possible reading problems in their clients. (Tell them, for instance, that when clients cannot fill out forms, that may be a clue to illiteracy.) Some particularly appropriate agencies and professionals to contact include: Department of Labor office (JTPA) Welfare agencies Social Security office Local offices of employment services Prenatal clinics Ministerial association Local hospital and doctors Professional Secretaries Association chapter Local housing authority Head-Start parent councils Public school teachers Personnel directors Encourage agency personnel to make the call to your literacy program for the client while they are face-to-face. Often people who are illiterate are reluctant to come forward for help. Professional support in making that critical first contact can actually put them in a literacy program. Holding an open house for human service agencies can save you time and effort by exposing your program to many agencies simultaneously. At an open house, students and tutors, as well as staff, can interact with guests. Reading materials can be displayed and labeled, for example: 'Employment Skills," 'Driver's Education," 'Early Childhood," 'Science." At some point during the event, program staff can take time to describe the great benefits of improved literacy skills, then let guests browse through materials and 'discover" the program in conversation with students, tutors and staff. Additional methods to recruit students include placing booths at a local shopping mall; mounting exhibits with the garden club or other civic, community or social organizations; participating in free health screenings by testing for learning disabilities and reading level; and holding promotions through local stores - having them place flyers or bookmarks in grocery bags, for instance. Radio and TV public service spot campaigns are, of course, also very effective. Most non-readers have a support person, and in many cases it will be that person who will hear these promotional messages and encourage the non-reader to act. In all cases, recruitment tactics for students should respect human dignity. Phrases like 'come out and join those learning to read," or 'brush up on your reading skills" allow adults to enter a program even though they are unwilling to admit they cannot read. As students are referred to a literacy program, it is most important to complete a skills assessment and place each student as quickly as possible. The entry evaluation should determine the student's short- and long-range goals. It should also uncover any barriers to learning such as child care or transportation problems. The evaluation process can begin with the first phone call. Following are some questions useful in a quick screening over the phone: What is the last grade you completed? What difficulties would you have if you wanted to read the newspaper? What problems would you have if I handed you a job application? Could you fill it out without any trouble? Would the spelling be okay? When do you need to read (on the road, in the kitchen, to children, for Bible study, etc.)? When do you have trouble reading something? What do you need form this program? What are your goals? What reading skills do you need today to make life more pleasant? Will you have any trouble getting to classes (with work schedule, child care, transportation, etc.)? A first meeting, and a more formal evaluation, should be scheduled without delay. At that time, many programs administer an entrance level reading test and take the individual's case history. An interview, in addition to covering how the program operates and what the student can expect to learn, should also advise new students on what options they have if they are unhappy with the program. If handled properly, this is the meeting which can lay the groundwork for student pride in the program. Ask students to find a way to give something back - refer another student, accept a speaking engagement, write a support letter. Once all the information about a student has been gathered, the literacy program can design, with the student, an individual action plan. It must be made clear to students that attendance is part of their responsibility; if they must miss a week, they should notify their tutor that they will be unable to attend, and the tutor should report the absence to the program office. If absenteeism continues, students should be temporarily dropped from the program and should return only when they are able to meet their commitment. Confidentiality is important to most adult learners, especially in the beginning. Later it is rewarding to see how fear of disclosure turns to pride in learning. A program should take care that no test score is released without the permission of the student; a further precaution is to let the student deliver the information to the person who asked for it. Recruiting Tutors A media campaign is an effective way to recruit tutors. Media coverage should highlight your need for tutors, areas where volunteers are most needed, dates scheduled for training workshops and requirements for volunteers. Another effective strategy is to speak to community groups. Target groups include: Men's and women's professional organizations Federated Women's Clubs, Professional Secretaries Association, Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis and others Religious groups of all denominations. Also include the ministerial association, men's and women's groups and others Professional educators' organizations such as the National Retired Teachers Association, Delta Kappa Gamma, American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the International Reading Association Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and other senior citizen groups Local volunteer clearinghouse information and referral service or United Way Parent-teacher associations or organizations Garden clubs Boards of the Intermediate Unit, community colleges and universities Once tutors begin teaching, it requires special effort from literacy program headquarters to keep them encouraged and enthusiastic. Below are some 'tutor needs" that are wise to keep in mind: Tutors need a sense of the broader picture. Even though a tutor is dealing with only one student, it will help tutors to know that the student fits into a total program, and that the program fits into a national movement. Tutors need a complete picture of the students assigned to them. At what reading level is the student? What level does the student hope to reach? What are the student's special interests and needs? Tutors need to know that they are not required to 'stick to the book," but are encouraged to use common sense and imagination to find supplemental materials to meet a student's needs. Tutors need to see their role in the educational growth of their students. How will learning to read affect each student's life? Tutors need a job description with clearly defined expectations, especially regarding time. Tutors need to be informed about procedures: how to order books, how to keep records, where to go with problems, how to handle an emergency, holiday schedules at classroom sites, etc. Tutors need a staff that keeps in touch. It is important to communicate concern and support and to share reports about other activities and people in the program. Tutors need recognition. A good student-tutor ratio and geographic balance are cornerstones of a successful literacy program. Obviously, a program should not train 150 volunteers if it has only 50 students. And, if it has 150 students and 50 volunteers, it should make a special effort to recruit more tutors. No one wants to wait. It is important to focus recruitment so that your program reflects community need. If you are speaking in a community where you know you have students waiting for tutors, try to recruit tutors with your speech. If you are speaking in a community which has tutors waiting for students, and students waiting in outlying communities, try to encourage tutors to travel to students a little farther from home.