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Literacy of Northern NY seeking tutors

Posted 2/20/12

Literacy of Northern NY is very much in need of additional tutors, so they are recruiting participants for their upcoming training in Potsdam in March and April. If you have some spare time on your …

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Literacy of Northern NY seeking tutors

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Literacy of Northern NY is very much in need of additional tutors, so they are recruiting participants for their upcoming training in Potsdam in March and April.

If you have some spare time on your hands and would like to help change someone’s life, you might consider volunteering to tutor an adult in St. Lawrence County. Adults with inadequate literacy skills may be unable to get a job, may not understand their doctor’s instructions, may have to sign contracts they’re not able to read and understand, or may feel inadequate when conversing with their children’s teachers.

This is also true of adults who have come here from another country: if they can’t understand and speak English well, they have all the above problems plus they will have difficulty with everyday tasks such as shopping and using the telephone. About 20 percent of St. Lawrence County adults have deficient communication skills, and their lives are adversely affected in many ways. Society is affected too, since those with poor literacy skills are more likely to depend on public assistance programs, and they cannot be active and contributing members of their communities.

Literacy of Northern NY is a not-for-profit agency dedicated to helping adults improve their reading, writing, math and oral English skills. Volunteer tutors are given free training and then matched with adults seeking help. The students decide on and work toward their own goals. Training for new tutors is offered two or three times each year. The next five-session cycle of training will be held in Potsdam on Saturday mornings beginning on March 10.

After training, tutors receive support from the Literacy of Northern NY staff. Local libraries contain materials that are specifically designed for instruction of adults. The experience of helping an adult improve their communication skills is extremely rewarding. Students’ successes are exciting for the tutors as well as the students; some of the more recent include a student who was able to earn his high school diploma and has been accepted at a college, another who improved her English speaking skills and thus was able to obtain a job and make new English- speaking friends, and a third who improved her reading and math skills and was therefore able to complete the training to be a nurse’s aide and get a job in that field.

About 60 pairs of students and tutors are meeting in St. Lawrence County. New students ask for help each week, so more tutors are desperately needed.

Anyone interested in attending the upcoming training or needing more information is encouraged to contact the Literacy office by phone at 265-0194 or via email at lvastlaw@hotmail.com.

If you cannot attend this training but are interested in becoming a tutor, call or email the office and you will be contacted about future training sessions.