Center for Literacy

Still planning to vote on Nov 3? Here's an easy-to-read checklist of what to do if you live in Philadelphia and have not voted yet. PLEASE SHARE!

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Our team got in the holiday SPIRIT this evening at the Haunted Halloween Zoom Happy Hour! Candy, cocktails, and costumes were in full effect as staff from Center for Literacy and Community Learning Center played games and celebrated the spooky season. Congrats to each of our BOO-tiful costume contest winners! Witching everyone a safe and fangtastic weekend!

Did you know you can cast your ballot before Election Day? Philadelphia residents have access to 17 satellite election office locations throughout the city where they can go to register to vote, request a mail-in ballot, receive their ballot, vote, and return it, all in one visit. In addition, voters can also visit one of these locations to return their already voted ballot. All satellite election offices will be open seven days a week and will remain open through Election Day, November 3. Go to https://www.phila.gov/2020-09-29-visit-a-satellite-electio/ for locations and hours of operation.

As one of Steven Hawkins learners, Monica Whitehead, said, "I need to enter the internet world and want to learn how to Zoom." Since the beginning of our program year, which started July 1, 2020, we have served 198 students: 54% are ESL (English as a Second Language) learners; 46% are Adult Basic Education/Adult Secondary Education learners - mostly with distance learning/online classes. Check out more about what's happening at CFL in our new newsletter https://conta.cc/3nFz7lb

Check out today’s article and radio report, "Half a million Pa. kids are supposed to be learning to read right now. Are they?" https://whyy.org//half-a-million-pa-kids-are-supposed-to/ from WHYY’s Avi Wolfman-Arent for Keystone Crossroads. One of the families mentioned in the article comes from our ESL family literacy program: Shaimaa Mustafa emigrated from Egypt to Northeast Philadelphia with her three daughters in December. By going to school and interacting with other ...kids, her youngest, third-grader Juamana, started to pick up English quickly. When school closed, she struggled to keep the momentum. It was good for the first three months, said Mustafa, 42, who mostly speaks Arabic at home. After that, we struggle. . . . Shaimaa Mustafa, the recent Egyptian immigrant, recently linked up with a family literacy program https://centerforliteracy.org/family-literacy that’s helped develop her English proficiency and given her strategies to help her daughter. After initially struggling during the COVID shutdown, Jumana made big reading gains, her mom said. She’s gone from reading simple picture books to a 100-page chapter book. The nonprofit also showed Mustafa a website where celebrities read books aloud for children. https://www.storylineonline.net I use it every day before we sleep, said Mustafa. This constellation of strategies, experts hope, will prevent catastrophic reading regression among the nation’s youngest learners. WAY TO GO Mary Wilson and Deicy Mariana Pérez, instructors for Center for Literacy’s ESL Family Literacy Program. See more

It’s Adult Education & Family Literacy Week! This afternoon Governor Wolf received a national Adult Education Leadership Recognition Award from COABE (Coalition on Adult Basic Education). Governor Wolf is the only governor to date to allocate CARES stimulus funding to adult education. The funds are to assist agencies like Center for Literacy in implementing public health and safety plans, and help us to resume operations. The funding is to be used to keep students, instructors and staff safe and assist us in meeting the unique challenges of providing instruction during COVID-19. The funding will be used, among other things, to pay for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), air filters for classrooms and plexiglass barriers. Governor Wolf was nominated by PAACE (Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education).

Our students are back! CFL began in-person classes - with limited capacity - at Peirce College. Our Health and Safety Plan includes social distancing in classrooms (limiting our class size), hallways, bathrooms and elevators. Check out our mask-wearing students and mask-wearing instructors, Steven Hawkins and Song Han, as they taught classes on Sept 10. Distance learning/online classes will continue.

Join Center for Literacy and Community Learning Center for an evening of Zoom trivia to benefit adult literacy in Philadelphia! Did you know that more than 800,000 Philadelphia adults struggle to read, and nearly 1 million struggle to perform tasks requiring anything higher than basic level math skills? Together, we can change these staggering numbers by contributing to adult education, which is an investment in the health, safety, welfare, and wealth of all Philadelphians. ... Play as a Quaran-TEAM, a pair, or as a single for a chance to win prizes and bragging rights, all from the comfort and safety of your home. TEAMS can be up to 8 people. Scroll below to e-mail us to let us know your team name, and the name of each team member to be registered. If you don't have your own TEAM of up to 8 players no worries - you can play as an individual or be auto-sorted with others to form a team. At the Get Lit! Zoom Trivia Event, you'll have the best seat in the house- your couch! Once processed, you will receive an email confirming your registration. You will later receive an email with the Zoom access link closer to the event. All you need is a computer, laptop, or tablet to join. Admission is $10 per player. Sponsorship Opportunities are available! Follow the link to register today: https://adult-literacy-philadelphia.ticketleap.com//details

You must register to vote by October 19, 2020, to vote in the PA election on November 3. Every Pennsylvania voter is now allowed to vote by mail it’s best to request your ballot now. CLICK BELOW for Everything you need to know about voting in Pennsylvania before the general election on November 3. Source: The Philadelphia Citizen

FREE ONLINE Citizenship Class! Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm-4pm. Classes begin Tuesday, Sept 8th. Call 215-474-1235 to register. Pre-testing for the class will occur on Sept 1st at Center for Literacy in Center City.

Lights, Camera, Action! Huge thanks to our friends at PowersFilms.com for facilitating a fun, safe shoot yesterday at Peirce College. Pictured are Cynthia Allen, CFL director of education; CFL board member Namita Powers and cinematographer James Powers. The video will be presented at CFL’s first-ever virtual event in September. Stay tuned for more details!

The federal program that has delivered an extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits to millions of Americans ended Friday, and negotiations over extending it have stalled in Washington. The last $600 payments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey went out last week. There are places for you to go for help. Go to United Way’s Common Good e-newsletter to find assistance with rent and mortgage, food, utilities, free food and diapers, mental health and job search. (Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/31/20).

CARES assistance for Renters and Homeowners is now available in Pennsylvania to assist those that are facing loss of income due to COVID-19. The assistance is up to $750/month (rent) or $1,000/month (mortgage) for up to 6 months. Applications and more information are available on PA Housing Finance Agency (PHFA)’s website at www.phfa.org. The assistance is first come, first serve so act quickly!