Adult Literacy Resource Institute
Boston, MA
Last Updated 3/04/03
The questions below are often asked about adult literacy and learning by the general public, potential students, teachers and tutors, people interested in public policy and others. If you have a question which does not appear below, e-mail it to David J. Rosen and we will do our best to answer it or point you in the right direction.
1. Where can I find a literacy, basic education, or English language program for adults in Boston or elsewhere in Massachusetts?
The best source is the Massachusetts Adult Literacy Hotline, 1-800-447-8844 They have a complete and up-to-date list of adult basic education (reading, writing, math, work readiness, and other basic skills) adult secondary education (high school equivalency exam preparation, and adult diploma programs), and adult English language classes in Massachusetts.
There is also an online national database which includes some of these programs and services for every state. This can found at http://www.literacydirectory.org/
2. What are the basic facts about needs, literacy rate, and waiting lists for services in Boston? In Massachusetts?
| "In order to demonstrate how important family literacy services
can be for children and their parents, the Massachusetts Family Literacy
Consortium has developed individual profiles of community needs and assets
for each of the 351 cities and towns in our state.
An estimated 877,000 Massachusetts adults do not possess functional literacy and another 1,162,000 are literate, but lack the skills expected of a high school graduate. These statistics, however, mask significant variations from community to community. The needs and assets profiles were created to document such differences using indicators of individual and family need, as well as assets communities have available to respond to these needs with respect to education, employment, poverty, social, and health characteristics. The Community Needs Profiles provide a snapshot of education, family
support, and general economic conditions using Census and state data. Data,
including income, unemployment, dropout, poverty, and teen birth rates,
is available for communities to use when holding forums, building coalitions,
and advancing their efforts on behalf of
The companion Community Assets Profiles highlight selected resources related to family literacy and support including funding provided by agencies such as: the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Children's Trust Fund (CTF), the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Education (DOE), and the Office of Child Care Services (OCCS). They can help facilitate the identification of stakeholders invested in the well-being of families and the creation of opportunities for leveraging federal, state, and local resources. When parents need literacy services for themselves, it is difficult for them to support their children's learning. Thousands of Massachusetts families led by undereducated and/or limited English proficient parents stand to benefit from an awareness of the value and benefit of family literacy programs and collaboration in support of family literacy. The MFLC provides these profiles to assist communities in helping family literacy grow and thrive. The well-being of our Commonwealth rests on our ability to create student, family, and community success -- together." |
3. I am interested as a student or teacher to find adult literacy and learning instruction on the WorldWide Web. Where can I find a good list of such resources?
http://www.alri.org/literacylist.html
4. I understand the GED exam changed in 2002. I have some questions about the new test, whether the tests I have already taken will count toward the new GED. Where can I find answers to these questions?
http://alri.org/harness/harnessged.html
5. I am interested in becoming a teacher or tutor in an adult education program. How can I find out more about job opportunities, employment conditions, and how to do this?
and
http://www.alri.org/orient/bigpict.html (Click on the image map.)
6. I need a tutor for my child.
Often schools have networks or other resources for offering basic skills help to children or teenagers, but they cannot usually provide free, after-school individual tutoring .
If you live near a Boston community center (e.g. the Jackson-Mann Community Center in Allston or other Boston Community Center around the city), there is often after-school academic help available, but this is rarely individualized and intensive.
For an individual tutor, universities may offer
some help. For example, you could contact the School of Education at Boston
University or the Community Service Center. Or you could call a university's
student employment office and place a listing in the job database. (The
listing is usually free.) Also, if you live near a high school, you
could contact the guidance office of that school to find strong students
who might have the time to tutor. Or you could call Parents United for
Child Care at 617-426-8288 and speak with Tracy Breslin. Another possibility
might be the Learning Disabilities Network: 718-340-5605. They provide
referral to private tutoring where a fee is charged.
7. I am interested in research on adult learning and literacy. What is a good way to get started on my research?
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs Click on the LINCSearch button in the upper left-hand corner of the page.
The National Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
and Learning (NCSALL)
http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/
8. What is adult literacy? What's the official or best definition?
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/faqs.html