Program Highlights
Life-Wide Literacy: Carole McCabe's Remarks from our Spring Fundraiser | June 2023
Hello and welcome! Thank you for coming today. It’s great to see both those of you who have been supporting Wash Lit for years, or even decades, and also to welcome new allies to our lifelong literacy mission, or, as we dubbed it at our Wordstock event last fall, our movement for peace, love and literacy for all.
We are here today in celebration of our shared commitment to the importance of Lifelong Learning in all of our lives. And this year I also want to get us thinking about a related idea that has been emerging: life-wide learning. The term “life-wide” suggests a broadening of the framework for adult education, and acknowledges the full range of supports and skills that people need to realize their full potential and overcome both individual challenges and cultural and systemic barriers. This idea of life-wide learning very much aligns with Wash Lit’s philosophy of following our learners’ lead about their learning priorities, including the broader areas of their lives. Stephen Reder, one of the most well known U.S. researchers and policy experts on adult literacy, describes these wider-life areas as health, social trust, community and civic engagement.
And we agree that those health, social and community connections are vitally important to personal growth and development for all of us. At Wash Lit we aim to help people build the skills they need to succeed in all areas of their lives, because we know that increased literacy skills – reading and writing, speaking and understanding English, math, digital literacy, critical thinking – translate to so many positive outcomes starting with education and employment, but also parenting, health, housing, citizenship, voting and community and civic participation. We believe that literacy is a human right, is essential for self-determination, and is one of the core equity issues of our time, and we are thrilled that you all agreed and joined us today to hear more about it, and get involved. So give yourselves a round of applause for stepping up to help address this important social justice issue.
"It wasn't my story to share" | May 2022
This is going to seem like an odd Program Highlight because instead of focusing on one program, I’m thinking of them all. I’m asking you to engage in the big picture, to be a change-agent for adult literacy. First, I want to acknowledge that you already are a change-agent! By tutoring, you have already undertaken the cause of partnering with an adult in pursuing their goals and improving their skills. The value of this work is paramount, and we need each of you to accomplish our mission. However, in this update I want to highlight a different aspect of our work together.
It starts with a conversation I had with a tutor recently. The tutor was telling me about their group and their lessons. During the discussion, it was mentioned that a learner was unhappy with something in our program. I instantly fixated on it because it was feedback and information I had never received.
When I asked the tutor about it, they said they hadn’t shared this feedback because it wasn’t their story to tell. This felt disappointing! We are all Washtenaw Literacy. We are all here to serve the community, to partner with learners and create the best, most effective programs possible. It is normal for learners to tell tutors things that they might never think to mention to staff because they don’t see us every week. I would even argue that most learners see our tutors as staff or at least an extension of staff.
Staff will not be able to make the best program changes and improvements in a vacuum. We need your help! We need you, our trusted and faithful tutors, to share information with us even if it’s second-hand. Informed decisions require information. Whether it’s positive or constructive, we can only make evaluations and changes based on what we know so we are counting on you to share feedback, ideas, and dreams.
Updates and input couldn’t exist without U (you). Email staff. Leave a message on Slack. Give us a call. Click here to complete a suggestion form (this is on the website, under the tutor locked page). Let’s have transparent and free flowing communication! This is the path for continuing our tradition of outstanding and impactful programming. ~Alison Austin, Program Director
Volunteering | April 2022
Are we a literacy program that engages volunteers, or are we a volunteer program that does literacy work? Perhaps it's a difference without a distinction. Although we don't normally refer to volunteering as a "program”, we wanted to highlight it as such to give you a sense of the scope of the work you do.
From your first Washtenaw Literacy experience (ABCs), we hope to create an informative, inclusive, and exciting opportunity for our volunteers. We know you come with different backgrounds and interests, and that fuels our eagerness to provide top-notch training and support.
Any educational organization that does not expect its educators to also be learners is missing the joy of life-long learning. That doesn't mean it's easy. Our volunteers have to learn new skills and new strategies, and they have to show their own vulnerability as they navigate new platforms like Zoom. Displaying a growth mindset for learners and normalizing that learning takes time and repetition, and this may be the most important aspect of our tutoring.
During the pandemic, Washtenaw Literacy began a networking group for adult literacy nonprofits across Michigan. Staff members from over 30 organizations participated in monthly meetings. We shared best practices, brainstormed, and problem-solved together. Through two years of these meetings, we learned how nimble Washtenaw Literacy is. We heard comparisons over and over again about how adaptable our tutors are. We saw evidence of the extraordinary dedication of our volunteers. It was humbling, to say the least.
Over and over again, we have seen our tutors step up and step out to provide real support to another adult in our community. From adjusting to online instruction to returning to in-person tutoring at the Learning Center, our volunteer program continues to adapt, inspire, and amaze. If you are reading this, know that you are part of the solution, and we thank you!
Washtenaw Literacy Learning Center | March 2022
The Washtenaw Literacy Learning Center is our computer lab and tutoring space on South Harris Road in Ypsilanti. On February 28, almost two years after closing due to COVID-19, the Learning Center reopened its doors. We’re thrilled to be able to welcome tutors and learners back into this space.
Tutoring at the Learning Center is never dull! Learners come in for support with reading, writing, job seeking, English as a Second Language, digital skills, citizenship, and more. A willingness to learn alongside your learner is essential to tutoring at the Learning Center.
At this time, learners must sign up for a tutoring time slot. This allows us to keep some of the original drop-in model while also making sure that we don’t have too many people in the lab at once. Knowing which learner will be coming helps the tutor prepare for their learner in advance of the session.
We’re taking COVID safety seriously. As with all Washtenaw Literacy tutoring, all tutors and learners must be vaccinated and current on boosters, and masks are required. (We’ll provide a mask for anyone who needs one.) We have a new, high-quality air purifier that runs for the whole time the lab is open.
We’ve had other upgrades in the last few years as well. A generous donor provided desktop computers to replace the ones we had before, and Comcast’s Lift Program provides us with free high-speed Internet access. By reducing the number of computers in the space, we have more desk space for sessions that don’t require computer use.
If you’re feeling ready to get back to in-person tutoring, then the Learning Center is a great place to get started. We need regular tutors as well as substitutes to make sure we’re here to meet the needs of our learners. For more information, visit https://washtenawliteracy.org/get-help/computer-lab or contact Kim at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Learning Labs - Creative Tutoring Options for All | February 2022
Examples of Learning Labs include:
Famous Speeches. Famous speeches met weekly for 6 weeks. Using transcripts and recordings of famous speeches such as The Gettysburg Address (Lincoln), I Have a Dream (MLK), Ain't I a Woman (Sojourner Truth), and Do or Die (Gandhi), learners practiced vocabulary and discussed historical and cultural impacts of each speech and its orator. This Learning Lab included a combination of large group work and one-on-one breakout discussions. This was a one-time offering and is not currently available.
ESL Book Group This book group meets once a week for 10-12 weeks each semester. Typically, the group chooses a young adult book and tackles it from cover to cover. Learners are encouraged to read the book on their own and are given a free copy to keep through a partnership with the Ypsilanti District Library. During Lab, learners read out loud and discuss vocabulary, plot, and characters. A new Lab (book group) will begin in Spring 2022.
Furniture Refinishing (pre-pandemic example). This Lab met once a week for 3-4 hours at the Ypsilanti Free Methodist Church which donated meeting and storage space. Learners brought a piece of wood furniture they wished to refinish. Tutors took them through the process of stripping, repairing, and refinishing. Learners not only developed a new skill, but also learned related vocabulary, practiced reading directions, and discussed a wide variety of safety considerations. At the end of the Lab, the completed furniture was donated to Habitat for Humanity.
Prep100 | December 2021
As we move into Winter 2022, it has now been two whole years since the last time we saw our GED and pre-GED learners in person at Washtenaw Community College.
Early on in 2020, our Prep100 (pre-GED) program with WCC was shut down, as WCC had to quickly pivot how they provide GED classes, and the matter of how to remotely assess lower level learners was a real challenge. While WCC was making adjustments, Washtenaw Literacy opened up a pre-GED virtual learning lab for former Prep100 learners.
Fast forward to April 2021: We were excited to partner with WCC once again, this time for two different types of virtual tutoring. We opened up a reading group tutoring program, similar to our virtual learning lab, for WCC’s lower level learners and also one-on-one GED tutoring for some of WCC’s higher level learners. Over the course of that semester, the reading group learners made some impressive progress, while several one-on-one learners even passed a few sections of the GED test!
It has been a long two years for these learners who usually thrive in a more hands-on learning environment, but the wait may soon be over! As of this writing, we look forward to bringing Prep100 back to the classroom at Washtenaw Community College’s Harriet Street Center in January 2022. If you’re interested in participating as a tutor, reach out to Jennifer (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Learning Lab+ PLUS | October 2021
What is "Learning Lab Plus"?
Learning Labs offer experienced tutors the opportunity to select a topic, define the scope and duration, and plan for sessions around a theme. Washtenaw Literacy then markets Learning Labs to learners who register for the specific short-term group.
Examples of Learning Labs include book groups, jewelry making, voting, furniture refinishing/recycling, citizenship, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, COVID, and more! During COVID, Learning Labs have included a couple book groups, a course on personal and professional networking, math for every day, and a discussion on Famous Speeches.
So, what is a "Learning Lab+ PLUS"? It's a new iteration of Learning Labs. In Learning Lab+ PLUS, both tutors and learners attend as equals to socialize, learn and grow together. This fall we anticipate offering 2 pilot Learning Lab+ PLUS opportunities.
First is LBGTQ+ History and Culture lead by Brooke, a program intern from UM who identifies as Queer. Along with another intern, Brooke has researched LBGTQ history in the United States by decade. Discussion will include reading articles, viewing new photos from different periods, learning about key historical figures in the movement and more.
Our other Learning Lab+ PLUS will be Scary Storytelling (around Halloween). Join Program Coordinators David and Jennifer in reading short stories and/or telling your own spooky story that you heard while sitting around a campfire!
Watch for Learning Lab+ PLUS registration on our website calendar or email Alison (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to register.
If you are a tutor interested in leading a Learning Lab or Learning Lab+ PLUS, think creatively. Whatever your interest, whatever your passion, you can use this subject for a Learning Lab or a Learning Lab+ PLUS. To propose a Lab that you’d like to lead or for more information, contact Alison (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Jail Tutoring | May 2021
Remember the old days when we used to drive through the snow to meet with learners and gather in-person in dusty rooms with poor lighting? Ahhhh, nostalgia. Whether you remember it fondly or not, you should know that our programs have prevailed, survived and even thrived during COVID due to the dedication of our staff and tutors and the persistence of our learners. Jail tutoring is no exception!
Almost entirely locked down for a year for health safety, the jail tutoring has continued almost like an old-fashioned correspondence course. Tutors prepare personalized packets of materials and worksheets for learners. We drop the packets off once a week and pick up completed work the next week. Tutors and staff stay connected over Slack, brainstorming and sharing materials for consideration. Not the kind of service we ever imagined, but kudos to all for being creative and making it work in tough times!
