Our Mission Statement: Believing that literacy is the foundation for a sustainable community, Washtenaw Literacy provides literacy support, free of charge, to adults through a network of trained tutors.
Washtenaw Literacy's purpose is straightforward:
We help adults change their lives through literacy.
Our organization has over 40 years of experience in helping individuals improve their reading, writing, math and English as a second language skills.
Our core program is Personal Tutoring. This is the approach our first volunteer tutors used in 1971. The reason we still use it today is because it works. Over 90% of adults in our Personal Tutoring program reach one or more of their goals. Part of this success stems from our "designer tutor" approach. We train each of our volunteer tutors to plan sessions according to the learner's strengths, needs, and goals. Adult learners in our program are motivated because they are setting, and meeting, their own standards for success.
During the pandemic, we paused all of our in-person tutoring. However, our tutors now continue to cater to their learners' goals through both Virtual and In-Person Tutoring programs.
The emphasis on learners' goals carries over to our other primary mode of program delivery, Community Tutoring. We offer Community Tutoring in both Virtual and In-Person formats. This program is a quick-start, drop-in option where multiple tutors are working with multiple learners in the same place at the same time. Learners seek to improve skills on a flexible schedule. Learners have the freedom to search for the tutor that best fits their needs.
Our focus on individual goals makes our program unique in the county. Washtenaw Literacy is a critical part of our community's educational continuum. Someday we hope to have no need for our services. Until then, we'll support our volunteer tutors as they help low-literate men and women improve their skills and their lives.
