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Fall 2005

Program Update

We were reminded of all the marvelous progress our program students have made at the June 8, 2005 Student-Tutor Reception. It was a grand evening attended by students, tutors, families and friends. Enclosed is the evening's program so you all may read about the evening's events. Tutors and classroom teachers were recognized by dedicating the 2005 World Book Encyclopedia in their honor. Tutors serving five or more years were specially recognized and, Rebecca Damsker was honored as the teacher for Help With Homework. She leads the Stern High School students who assist kindergarten through sixth grade students from Abington, Cheltenham and Upper Dublin School Districts and surrounding areas with homework assignments. A great literacy service!

We are looking forward to the August 10 Tutor Support Meeting. Many new students are entering the program and need adult basic education, English as a Second Language and the GED help. We are eager to give them the assistance they need through our dedicated volunteers and library staff. We welcome new students and volunteers

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 -- 7 P.M. Tutor Support Meeting : "This Works for Me" and program orientation by program chairpersons. Program attendance provides continuing education credit.

Monday, September 19, 2005 and Tuesday, September 20, 2005 6:30-8:45 P.M. Fall Tutor Training Both nights mandatory. Welcome to all new volunteers.

Monday, October 10, 2005 --7 P.M. Tutor Support Meeting -- Learning Disabilities F.A.T. City film. New materials. Program attendance provides continuing education credit.

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 -- 7 P.M. Tutor Support Meeting -Assessment-TABE, BEST, informal and standardized tests

Tuesday, December 6, 2005 -- 7 P.M. Tutor Support Meeting --Tutoring Tips-- Master Tutors present to answer questions.

Assessment Committee --Lois Bachman, Doris Kalan, Marcia Klafter, Marcia Jacoby and Marlyn Cohen oversee procedures for the TABE and BEST TESTS. Test outcomes are analyzed and reported. The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires administration of these standardized tests. Selma Dafilou and Arlene Franco are committee members.

Citizenship Committee --Doris Kalan, Chairperson, will lead U.S. Citizenship candidates through the process from green card to citizenship. She is available to answer questions about U.S. requirements. Call 215-885-5183.

Conversation Please! The daytime class meets Tuesday mornings, 10:30 till noon , under the supervision of two volunteer teachers. Ann Gaugler and Edis Hall welcome ESL students and help them feel comfortable while they learn the language and culture of America .

Conversation Please! On Monday evenings at 7:15 , Mary Doug Maisenhelder, Beverly Willett, Doranne Smith and Donna Hower lead an “English as a Second Language” class for foreign-born students at the library. Many countries are represented, and only English is spoken.

E-QUALITY Program Improvement Committee Lois Bachman, Selma Dafilou, Arlene Franco, Doris Kalan, Marcia Klafter, Marcia Jacoby and Marlyn Cohen work together toward program improvement. How can our tutors and students be served better?

Family Literacy --An 8-week program in the Fall and Spring for 3-4 year olds meets Friday mornings at 10 a.m. at Jenkintown Day Nursery. Led by Family Literacy Committee members. Head Start is on Wednesday morning in Crestmont, led by Edith Lane and Rena Spratt

GED Advisory --Lois Bachman, GED advisor, is available to answer GED questions. Please call 885-5183 for information.

Help With Homework - Each Thursday afternoon 3:30-4:30 P.M. kindergarten through sixth-graders from Abington and Cheltenham School Districts meet tutors from Stern High School in Philadelphia at the library. Led by Rebecca Damsker Literacy, the library, the tutors and students work together to help the tutors accomplish community service and the children achieve in school.

Literacy Live --A talented group of performers who are eager to spread the literacy word via a live, script-in-hand performance at your club, service organization, school, church or synagogue. What does it take to be a volunteer, how does a student feel about needing help, how can we help as tutors? Our group is talented and inspirational. Please call 885-5183 to volunteer your talents or inquire about a performance.

Master Tutors --Three Master Tutors (Lois Bachman. Marcia Klafter and Doris Kalan) are available to answer your questions regarding students, programs, materials and all literacy matters. Please utilize this great resource for any special needs. Call 885-5183.

Technology Committee ( Learning Center ) - Computers, TV-VCR, and cassettes are all available in the literacy office. Our "techies", Marcia Jacoby and Joan Schwerin, are ready to help. Call 215-885-5183.

Tutor Support Committee --We are fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers who mail the Literacy Link and call the tutors regarding meetings, special events and program information. We meet once a month on Mondays and have a delightful time.

Workplace --Rydal Park Retirement Community is the site of a Tuesday afternoon class for employees who need literacy help. Doranne Smith, Peg Cheney, Ingrid Rivel and Roselee Feinour work together to produce fine results in the workplace.

Write It Right --Students in need of extra help with grammar and writing skills are welcome Thursday afternoon from 1-2:30. Judi Rosen will lead this class, and individual instruction is available when needed. She is assisted by Marcia Spitofsky.

Classifieds: Help Wanted, Help Given and Orchids!

Orchids -to Edis Hall for continuation of "Conversation Please"! through July while Ann Gaugler led some American teenagers on a European trip. Each Tuesday morning Edis handled a full house on her own.

Orchids -to committee members who helped to make the June 8 reception such a success. Many thanks for greeting and staffing the refreshment table.

Orchids --to our Master Tutors--Lois Bachman, Marcia Klafter and Doris Kalan for being available to answer all the difficult program questions. Please call them whenever necessary at 885-5183.

Orchids --to Lois Bachman, our GED chairperson, advisor, test scorer for all standardized testing and presenter at GED Tutor Support recent meeting. For any and all GED queries, call 885-5183.

Orchids --to Mary Douglas Maisenhelder for her many, many years of devotion to us and the literacy cause. Bravo!

Orchids --to Marcia Jacoby and Joan Schwerin for their computer expertise and their willingness to share their knowledge of hardware and software. They expertly collect program data and provide the Pennsylvania Department of Education with required information. Call on them for computer help.

Orchids --To Nancy Hammeke Marshall, Jeanette Andrews, Karen Burnham and Rick Guyton for editing, typing, laying out and printing the Literacy Link. Super job!

Orchids --to Pennsylvania Department of Education for providing an annual grant which makes the Abington Free Library Adult Literacy Program possible.

Orchids --to our exemplary tutors for their extraordinary efforts in improving their clients' lives. Our program couldn't exist without you.

Orchids --to Judi Rosen for leading the “Write It Right” class, Thursdays 1:00-2:30 , helping foreign-born students improve English writing skills, GED candidates with their essays and all students with writing needs. Also, thank you to Marcia Spitofsky for her assistance.

Orchids --to our Tutor Support Committee--Marla Benjamin, Beverly Willett, Arlene Franco, Donna Hower, Ann Gaugler, Marcia Spitofsky, Lois Bachman, Peg Cheney, Marcia Klafter and Maria Delatorre. They mail our Literacy Link and make phone calls about important literacy news. They deserve kudos.

Orchids --to our conscientious and loyal classroom teachers of “Conversation Please!” and Rydal Park Workplace. They help ESL students at the library on Monday evenings and Tuesday mornings and at the workplace class (ESL and ABE) on Tuesdays. Beverly Willett, Doranne Smith, Mary Doug Maisenhelder, Donna Hower, Ann Gaugler, Edis Hall and Carolyn Messinger head the library classes. Peg Cheney, Ingrid Rivel, Roselee Feinour and Doranne Smith are the special Rydal Park teachers.

Orchids --to our Abington Free Library staff--reference, circulation, children's and office staff. You make our work a pleasure.

Orchids --to our incoming tutors, volunteers and students. The library doors are open, and all are welcome.

Orchids --to Rebecca Damsker and her students from Stern High School for the “Help with Homework” class on Thursdays. What a wonderful community project! Many thanks.

Help Wanted --Committee members for literacy program projects are always needed. If you would like to volunteer, please call 885-5183. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Help Wanted --please sign out all materials in the brown sign-out book on the office desk under the first letter of your name. When returned, cross out. Please return any manuals and re-usable materials so that others may use them.

Help Wanted --please mark your calendars for future dates through December. Come to Tutor Support Meetings as often as possible. Program continuing education credit is given.

Help Wanted --Call 885-5183 with any special news, any changes, goals reached, anecdotal accounts, problems and questions. Please keep the lines of communication open. If you need an answer, we will reply.

Help Wanted --call the library’s main number 885-5180 for information re/library closings during inclement weather and/or national holidays and for library hours. If the library is closed or hours shortened, please inform your student ASAP.

Help Wanted --Please sign in at the circulation desk on the date you and your student are meeting. Those hours are calculated and recorded for the library statistics. We need your monthly attendance sheets for program data for hours and outcomes. Sign in on monthly sheets please!

Tutoring Tidbits by Marcia Klafter

New Materials to Add Variety to Your Lessons

Some newly arrived workbooks (written especially for adult students) for tutors … now available for sign-out:

Talk of the Block : one set of four books focusing on short vowel sounds, consonant digraphs (pairs of letters that make one sound such as “ch”) and blends, and a second set on long vowels and vowel digraphs … each lesson is presented as a short story focusing on family, shopping, home or health followed by written and oral activities that cover grammar and basic reading skills … books can be used in any order … books at this beginning level are hard to find!

English-No Problem : an adult ESL five-level series of carefully constructed units that teach grammar and vocabulary in the context of home and job experiences common to beginning English speakers … each unit provides written and spoken exercises as well as activities to springboard conversation that shares personal experience … grammar is taught in context rather than as rules to be learned.

Grammar Wise : a two-level series of grammar skills for ESL students as well as students whose spoken/written language needs improvement … lessons can be used in a tutoring session or as homework … each unit presents a grammar structure as a model rather than a rule and gives written practice of that rule and conversation opportunities for further practice and application … each book also includes a grammar handbook of rules … lessons can be used to identify areas where your student needs help.

Have you thought of using any of these for reading and conversation practice? Your student’s favorite magazine, the Bible (if appropriate), the driver’s manual, memos from work, notes and announcements from your student’s children’s schools and the comics (great for discussing humor and cultural nuances).

The Long and Short of It

The Pennsylvania Department of Education--Adult Literacy --has approved our grant application for 2005-2006. We are grateful for their educational and financial support. This grant pays our staff, and purchases our extensive collection of materials. We can proudly display our adult education materials for ABE, ESL, GED and the computer and VCR thanks to the Adult Literacy component of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Now for the short of it: We have a fabulous program in a fabulous community library.

Citizenship materials, ESL (English as a Second Language) series “English No Problem!" and Reading comprehension improvement is addressed in "Reading Wise" Books 1-8. New software for the GED (General Education Development) is available in the literacy office. Come and browse and borrow. Computer software must be used on location, but books may be borrowed. Please sign out under your last name in the brown sign--out book on the desk. Take advantage of these excellent teaching aides!

Next Literacy Link December 2005