Literacy Connections programs are provided

thanks to the generosity of our

funders and sponsors:

Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley

Dollar General

Literacy Foundation

Dutchess County Agency Partnership Grant

Dutchess Community

College

Dyson Foundation

Literacy New York

NY Newspapers Foundation

NYS OCFS & DC

Division of Youth Services

NYS Education Dept.

Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation

United Way of Columbia &

Greene Counties

United Way of Dutchess-Orange Region

Friends of Literacy Spelling Bee Sponsors & Individual Donations

More “Thank Yous”

Our 23rd Annual Community Spelling Bee

was held at Marist College on March

19th. This year's Spelling Bee was a great

success! Not only did we have a great

time, we surpassed our fundraising goals

this year. We would not have been able

to do that without our Spelling Bee

committee , Bee day volunteers and

Officials (Pronouncers, Judges, &

Emcees). Our Thanks and Gratitude goes

out to each and we are looking forward

to an even more successful event next

year. We would like to give a special

acknowledgement to the following

companies for their donations to our

Annual Spelling Bee:

Hyde Park AARP Chapter #4561 Northwestern Mutual

Riverside Bank Walsh Wilke & Salisbury

Student Lab Upgrade Last year LC embarked on an Education Technology Project with the goal of updating our aging Student Lab technology. We are happy to announce that LC Student Lab recently received a makeover and is better than ever! Thanks to a generous grant from Ulster Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, the Students Lab computers received a much-needed upgrade making it easier for our volunteer tutors to enhance their lessons and providing our students with new interactive learning software to aid their learning. Literacy Connections goal is to provide our tutor/student teams, in an ever-increasing technological society, the technological tools necessary to meet their goals, increase the duration and intensity of learning, and accelerate student’s educational gain. The new computers and software will also give students opportunities for additional lesson time

independent of their tutors. In addition, new tables, chairs, and cabinets (for storing those very important lesson plans, flash cards, and other learning materials) make the Student Lab a more welcoming place. We are already experiencing higher traffic and could not be more thrilled!

LITERACY CONNECTOR

LC Student Lab

YEAR IN REVIEW

We made some great strides with Book Buddies and Classroom Book Buddies this past year. Book Buddies programs have started in 4 new schools this year—Titusville,

Glenham, Evans and Krieger. We are going strong at Clinton for the 3rd year in a row and recently restarted our program at Myers Corners Elementary. That’s 6 schools in 4 different districts!! As of this year we have a total of 75 active Book Buddies and Classroom Book Buddies volunteers, 45 of which are new to the program this year! Thanks to our Book Buddy volunteers, over 250 children were served and well over 900 hours were clocked.

At the invitation of Mr. Shorenstein, Principal of Titusville Intermediate School, our Book Buddies Coordinator attended the Arlington School Board meeting in April. Mr. Shorenstein highlighted our Book Buddy program as a key part of the intervention work with at risk children at his school. Best of all, Book Buddies are now meeting with over 100 students one-on-one every week! The feedback we’ve gotten from teachers, principals and literacy coaches is that Book Buddies and Classroom Book Buddies are making a difference in helping children succeed in school. Please call our office at 452-8670 or email: Bookbuddies@literacyconnections.org for more information about volunteer opportunities to read with children —the hours are very flexible and the feeling you get helping kids is priceless!

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Literacy Connector

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

This picture was taken at Clinton School during our program close out when the students, volunteers and teachers are thanked. Judy, our Book Buddies Coordinator, was expecting a few thank your and some handshakes. When she walked into the cafeteria, all the teachers that participated, the principal and all of the volunteers were there. And then...all the children lined up, one by one, each with a flower in their hand and went up to their Book Buddy. This picture says it all!

Pictured is student Emmanuel with Book Buddy Joe De La Puente

a long time Literacy Connections volunteer

To Laura M. Lane for coordinating the Book Buddies Summer Reading Program

this year. Under the guidance of our BB Coordinator, Judy, she planned and

scheduled the program this summer and rolled up her sleeves to read, dance

and have fun with the kids. To spice things up, she brought in the Marines, the

Fire Department and other celebrity readers. Eighty seven children were

served in another successful summer reading program...thanks, Laura!

2014-2015 school year has started! Call

us to volunteer to read with a child.

Page 3

Literacy Connections North Project Forward

Thanks to the return of spring and warm weather, attendance in our ESL group classes at the Hudson Library has blossomed. Ten new students enrolled during this time, most of whom are attending classes regularly. In addition, 8 students who stopped attending during the harsh winter have returned to class. To accommodate students in the Thursday morning beginning class who are beyond the basics, volunteer tutor Cindy Puccio, an experienced ESL teacher who has been subbing on an as-needed basis, has graciously agreed to teach an intermediate ESL class that day. Thank you so much, Cindy, for making this much needed class possible. The Bank of Greene County awarded Literacy Connections North—Project Forward a $250 grant this spring to purchase teaching materials for our new “Clear Speech” initiative. The books, written by pronunciation guru Judy Gilbert, specifically address pronunciation issues and techniques and will be available for group class instructors and individual tutors at the intermediate and advanced levels. We are now receiving 25 copies of Easy English News, a wonderful resource for ESL students and tutors at the intermediate to advanced level. The newspaper, which is published 10 times a year, has been warmly received by our group and individual ESL tutors and teachers.

Six volunteers completed ESL tutor training held at the Hudson Library on April 5 and 12. Additionally, 5 volunteers completed the Basic Reading tutor training held here on May 10 and 17. Congratulations to all of you and thank you for your volunteering spirit. Special thanks to volunteer tutors Cindy Puccio and Lynn Arnold who took on Nancy Westbrook’s ESL group classes on Wednesday and Thursday for two weeks in April while she was away in Italy. Also thanks to tutor Honey Minkowitz, who works in Poughkeepsie, for picking up the training binders for the April and May workshops and to her mother for delivering them to Hudson. Ongoing thanks to Hudson Library Director Emily Chameides for keeping the library open beyond normal business hours to accommodate our tutor training workshops.

Thanks to tutors, Barbara Drake and Lucy Schmidt, students Diet H and Kim F obtained their GEDs. Jawayne B passed his written learner’s permit test and shortly thereafter got his driver’s license. Hector H was promoted from busboy to waiter thanks to his English tutor Nancy Keenan-Rich.

Congratulations to all our students for their many and various

accomplishments and a very special thank you to all our hard-working volunteer tutors for their generous gift of time, kindness

and diligence. Kudos to student, Gordon R and all the other students who ask their tutors for more homework!

Nancy Westbrook, LC ESL teacher, with three ESL students

Main Office 325 Main Street Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 Tel: (845) 452-8670 Fax: (845) 452-3050 E-mail Info@LiteracyConnections.org Hudson Office 400 State Street Hudson, NY 12534 Tel: (518) 297-8227 Email: Colgreene@literacyconnections.org Website www.LiteracyConnections.org

“Helping people to read, write, and reach their potential.”

The sudden death of Ted Detjen left us all stunned and bereft. Ted was described by his Wednesday Basic Reading group class as a kind and gentle man. His American and Jamaican

students enjoyed his good-humored patience and friendly teaching style. Ted was warm and compassionate and always looking for ways to improve the student learning process. His many years of complaints about he computers in the Student Lab have all been addressed. A grant from Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation made it possible for us to update the Student Computer Lab in its entirety; Ted

would definitely approve of the red accent wall, new cabinetry, new learning programs and the computers with the latest hardware and software.

We are everywhere in Dutchess County and encourage our students and tutors to work within the community that they live, thus directly enriching the lives of their peers and neighbors. A big advocate of the Beacon area was Eugene Philips, 83, who died suddenly from heart failure. A hale and hearty man, Eugene sought to tutor student after student, knowing full well that the Tutor/Student process is sometimes measured in years and not months. He will be greatly missed by his family, LC staff, his good friend and fellow tutor Rose Davidson and his four students from Mexico, China, Thailand and Kosovo.

Become a Friend of Literacy your donation will directly support programs and services

that help people in our community learn to read, write, and, reach their potential.

All donations are tax deductible as allow by law

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Become an LC Adult Literacy Tutor—training provided or help a child

improve his/her reading skills & confidence. Be a Hero! Call for additional information.

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