Fall 2006

Program Update

Who are we helping?  Students 17 and older in need of reading, writing, or math skills, help with the G.E.D. (General Education Development) college entrance, a job promotion, a career change or an opportunity to better themselves.  We help students learn the English language, know our country, citizenship requirements and give them an opportunity to advance in our U.S. society.

Who is helping? Tutors working one-on-one from every walk of life.  Every age, every background and anyone with a desire to help is trained to use our excellent teaching materials. 

Where are we helping? Abington Free Library, the township’s exceptional resource, is home to the Literacy Office.  Space is provided for meetings and tutoring in modern, comfortable surroundings.

What classes are available?  “Conversation Please!” for ESL (English as a Second Language), Write it Right for ESL and ABE (Adult Basic Education) students, Reading Comprehension for all, and a Workplace Class at Rydal Park for employees who want to advance at their job.

Please note the June 14 achievement awards included in this newsletter.  We proudly hail the students recognized and their tutors.  May this be a special incentive for future recognition.

Future Dates (Please mark your Calendar!)

Tuesday, August 22, 2006--7 p.m. 
Tutor Support Meeting—An opportunity to hear from classroom program teachers and committee members about the workings of our literacy program.  Continuing education program credit.

Monday, September 18, 2006--6:30-8:45 p.m. and Tuesday, September 19, 2006--6:30-8:45 p.m.
Fall Tutor Training.  Both nights mandatory!  Welcome to all new volunteers.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006--7:00 p.m. 
Tutor Support Meeting Language experience approach and the use of newspapers as a useful method of teaching.  Continuing education program credit.

Monday, October 16, 2006--7 p.m.
Tutor Support Meeting – Technology – computers, tapes and software available for ABE, ESL, GED. Continuing education program credit.

Monday, November 20, 2006--7:00 p.m.
Tutor Support Meeting – English as a Second Language   Methods and materials. Continuing education program credit.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006--7 p.m. Tutor Support Meeting – Reading Comprehension.  Practical methods of teaching and available materials.

Project Progress

Adult Literacy Advisory Board - Representatives of Abington Free Library, Abington Memorial Hospital, Eastern Center for Art and Technology, Penn State Abington, Abington Township Schools and Rydal Park Retirement Community comprise this committee.  Library representatives are Nancy Hammeke Marshall, Doranne Smith and Marlyn Cohen.

Assessment Committee - Lois Bachman, 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 – Marilyn Greenwald, 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 three volunteer teachers.  Ann Gaugler and Edis Hall welcome ESL students and help them feel comfortable while they learn the language and culture of America.  Sara Chernoff  has joined the staff.

Conversation Please! - On Monday evenings at 7:15, 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, Marcia Klafter, Marcia Jacoby and Marlyn Cohen work together toward program improvement.  How can our tutors and students be served better?

Family Literacy - Led by Family Literacy Committee members, Head Start meets on Wednesday morning in Crestmont, led by Edith Lane, Rena Spratt and Lillian Gibson.

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

Reading Comprehension--A class for advanced readers who want to improve reading comprehension for the G.E.D., T.O.E.F.L., N.E.T., college entrance or any specialized test requiring advanced comprehension skills, will begin the first Wednesday in September from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the library.  Marcia Klafter, reading specialist, will lead this class.

Technology Committee (Learning Center) -Computers, TV-VCR, and cassettes are all available in the literacy office.  Our "techies", Marcia Jacoby and Elaine Lauff, 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 a Monday 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 and Ingrid Rivel 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!

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 August.  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. 

Orchids—to Doris Kalan for her special literacy work over many years in so many projects. Doris’ move to Warminster will necessitate fewer library visits.  We thank you over and over and wish good luck always.

Orchids—to Joan Schwerin for extraordinary literacy service in many capacities, especially technology, data reporting and grant writing.  She will be working outside the program, and we will miss her.  Onward, Joan!

Orchids—to Elaine Lanff who will be working with Marcia Jacoby as a technology advisor to our tutors and students and as a data recorder.  We are so pleased to have you, Elaine.  She has been a dedicated tutor for several students in need.  Orchids, Elaine!

Orchids—to our many new tutors trained in April who are paired with literacy students.  We are so proud of your dedication and expertise.  See listing in newsletter.

Orchids—to all who came to the June 14 reception.  It was a special evening for students, tutors and guests.

Orchids--to Marcia Klafter for the many program hats she wears.  The Nurse's Entrance Test class in reading comprehension was highly successful.  She serves as a Master Tutor and will be teaching a Reading Comprehension class in September (see flyer), writes Tutoring Tips and teaches two literacy students one-on-one.  Wow!!

Orchids--to the Family Literacy Committee composed of Edith Lane, Rena Spratt and Lillian Gibson for their dedication to the Head Start Program in Crestmont.  Pre-schoolers benefit enormously from their special efforts.  Many, many thanks!

Orchids--to the circulation staff for serving as couriers and messengers on behalf of our tutors and students.  They relay important information when there is a real need.

Orchids--to the children's department staff for their literacy cooperation-occasionally a special message or a key!  Thank you Carolyn, Andy, Trudy, Christine, Katie and Vicki.

Orchids--to our Master Tutors, Lois Bachman, Marcia Klafter, and Barbara Cooperberg, 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 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—Jane Taft, Elaine Lauff, Beverly Willett, Arlene Franco, Donna Hower, Ann Gaugler, 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, Donna Hower, Ann Gaugler, Edis Hall, Sara Chernoff head the library classes.  Peg Cheney, Ingrid Rivel, 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.

Elsa Louis-Charles
Eileen Douglass
Pat Krier
Anne P. O’Brien
Michael Clancy
Leah Kowalski
Bernard Kling
Dorothy Rozvani
Nancy Miller
Paul Sude
Karen Hartman
Charlotte Singer
Sally Cojocariy
Paul Lee
Charles Kerr

Tutoring Tidbits by Marcia Klafter

COMPREHENSION: A READING TUTOR’S END GOAL FOR STUDENTS

Can you imagine reading a whole page … pronouncing every word correctly … and not understanding anything on that page?  Many of our literacy students experience this to some degree.  While comprehension skills can be quite abstract, the following two teachings hints begin with the most basic of comprehension skills: recalling detail.

Begin your comprehension work by identifying a passage your student can read without difficulty.

Technique 1:
For severe comprehension problems start with single, uncomplicated sentences.  You look at the sentence and pose a question that would be answered by that sentence.  Ask the student to read the sentence and have the student identify the words that are key to the answer to your question.

Example: You might begin with such a sentence as: “During the last week people in Philadelphia experienced record-breaking heat.”  You would ask the student, “What happened in Philadelphia last week?”  Ask the student to repeat your question, then read the sentence out loud and point out the words that answered the question.  Repeat this technique for all sentences in the paragraph.  If a sentence is complex, break it into two phrases.

For less severe comprehension problems, have the student read 2-3 sentences and answer a single question.  Eventually have the student read a whole paragraph and answer the question again, using the words from the reading.  You might even ask the student to stop when the answer is found and point out the answer in that sentence.

Technique 2:
Retelling is a powerful way to practice comprehension.  For students who experience severe comprehension, again, begin with single, uncomplicated sentences.  Ask the student to read the sentence aloud, cover the sentence, and ask the student to retell the sentence in his or her own words.  If necessary have the student read the sentence aloud and then silently before retelling.

Example: The student reads the sentence, “Reading is an important skill that impacts on all areas of academic learning.”  The student might say in his/her own words, “When learning lots of different subjects, a student needs to be able to read.”

Using this technique, progress to groups of sentences and then to an entire paragraph.

Marlyn Cohen
Program Supervisor

Next Literacy Link,  December 2006

Reading Comprehension Class

This class will resume Wednesday, September 6, 2006 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and will take place every Wednesday.  Please see flyer below!

What?
Reading Comprehension Class
For advanced readers interested in passing the G.E.D., the N.E.T. (Nurses Entrance Test), the T.O.E.F.L. (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and other entrance exams.  This class will focus on test-taking skills by improving reading comprehension.

Where?
Abington Free Library
1030 Old York Road, Abington, PA  19001
215-885-5183, http://abg.mclinc.org

When?
Every Wednesday 10–11:30 a.m.
This class will resume September 6, 2006

How?