Literacy Works believes that collaboration builds strong leaders. As a staff
member, I'd like to share a few notes on the topic.

Literacy Works provides training and networking opportunities for volunteer
tutors, program coordinators, and instructors at community-based adult
literacy and family literacy programs in Chicago, as well as agencies that
provide employment readiness training. We serve a membership of about 50
programs throughout Chicago and in a few suburbs. Some members are
stand-alone adult ESL or ABE/GED programs; most are programs that exist
within larger social service agencies.

At these diverse community-based programs, some new adult literacy and
family literacy coordinators are fortunate to receive mentoring from an
experienced staff member at their agencies; others are hired and essentially
told, "Here's your desk. There are the files. Best wishes!"  The very low
budgets on which these programs operate often mean that internal leadership
is stretched too thin to be able to provide the sustained mentoring they
might wish to offer.

However, at Literacy Works' regular networking sessions and trainings,
program coordinators and other staff meet to share ideas, resources, and
strategies for running volunteer-driven programs and surviving in the
current economy. Experienced local administrators and educators, as well as
Literacy Works' staff, lead trainings on topics such as managing a volunteer
tutor program, teaching ESL to adults with very low literacy, providing job
readiness training appropriate to adults with low literacy, and helping
low-income parents promote their children's learning.

There is no one-on-one mentor-mentee relationship, but coordinators at
Literacy Works' member agencies learn from one another and from a variety of
local experts. In addition, some coordinators receive peer mentoring from
coordinators they meet within local literacy coalitions, in which Literacy
Works also participates.

If you're interested in learning more, Literacy Works' website,
www.litworks.org, provides info about its staff and tutor trainings,
networking events, student workshops, and member agencies.

Betsy
-- 
Betsy Rubin
Adult & Family Literacy Specialist
Betsy's direct line: 773-860-5735
betsy at litworks.org

Literacy Works
c/o 6216 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60660
773-334-8255
www.litworks.org
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