About UsWho We Are The Literacy Council for Josephine County is an all-volunteer, non-profit community service organization founded in 1986. We are dedicated to fostering adult literacy by providing tutoring in basic reading, writing, math, and English language skills in Josephine County, Oregon and neighboring areas of the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. Our highly dedicated tutors come from all walks of life and professions - retired, employed, healthcare, education, accounting, special education, law enforcement, fine arts, social work, business, science, to name a few. Since 2009, more than 185 people have sought help with learning and over 90 people have volunteered as tutors. Our students are also a very diverse group, with approximately two-thirds in our ESL (English as a Second Language) program. Our ESL learners have come from at least 14 different countries. We have four main learning programs: Dyslexia, ESL (English as a Second Language), Citizenship and GED, but we also help students with a wide variety of other learning needs (see What We Do below). The Dyslexia program was launched in February 2013. It is designed specifically to help students suffering from the learning disorder dyslexia to learn to read, write and spell. Click here to learn more about dyslexia and our new Dyslexia program. What We Do We provide one-on-one tutoring to adult individuals (18 years of age or over) at no charge to our students. Each learning program is tailored to the goals and needs of the student, and every learner gets individualized attention. We offer a wide variety of learning materials, including books, audio tapes, and interactive computer programs that the student can use in class and at home. Here are just some examples of the many ways we help our students: learn to read and write or improve those basic skills, learn English as a second language, improve basic math skills, prepare for the citizenship test, improve job skills, pass the written driver's test, fill out job applications and other forms, read medicine labels and signs, and use a computer in an educational capacity. As an affiliate of Rogue Community College (RCC), we also help students qualify for enrollment at RCC and assist them in preparing for their GED in language arts, social studies, math, and science. 2015 was a banner year for us in terms of student achievements: we tutored a total of 50 learners, 18 of whom joined us as new students; 33 tutors volunteered with us, nine of whom were new; one student passed her citizenship test, four students passed their written driver's test; one student got a promotion at work and another was asked by her employer to apply for a promotion; one student got her Certified Nurse's Aide certificate and a job as a CNA at a local nursing home; and finally, four Dyslexia Program students progressed to the next level in the Barton system, one of whom finished the highest level, level 10, in Dec. 2015. Congratulations to our students and tutors for these terrific successes! Sign up for our semi-annual direct-mail newsletter by emailing your name and postal mailing address to [email protected]. |