Top Stories in Literacy: July 9

Florida Reading Programs Fight “The Summer Slide”
Florida students can exercise their reading skills over the summer through a free program at their public library. The goal is to mitigate the summer reading loss that leaves some students two years below grade level by the time they reach middle school.

Does Reading Make You a Better Person?
Reading has become much more than just a way to pass the time for inmates in Brazil’s federal prison system. Prisoners who are approved for the program can now reduce their sentences by 4 days for each book they read, up to 12 books a year. Works of literature, philosophy, classics, or science will count toward the sentence reduction.

Their voices were heard: City Council restores adult literacy funding
In reaching the half year mark of 2012, the fight for adult literacy funding in New York City hasn’t slowed down. With adult literacy not originally included in the Mayor’s FY13 budget, advocates have been rallying and petitioning to encourage both the Mayor and the City Council to restore funding for ESL, GED, adult basic education, immigration and job readiness programs.

Student Loans: LA Teacher Has Wages Seized 30 years Later as Government Targets Individuals who Defaulted
Those who default on their student loans are at risk of having their bank accounts drained and wages garnished — more than 30 years after the fact, according to a Bloomberg report.

Top Stories in Literacy: July 2

Women’s Financial Confidence Falters
A year after women started to close the financial literacy gap with men, their financial knowledge and confidence are waning again. Women are especially falling behind when it comes to managing money and investing, says a study released Thursday on the financial literacy gender gap by education firm Financial Finesse.

Running: Raising funds for literacy still the goal of newly-renamed 5K
Known as the Run for Reading in its first three years, the Gulf Coast Classic still raises funds for the Literacy Council Gulf Coast, the largest such organization in the country with more than 3,100 students and 700 volunteer tutors.

Slow Down Tuition Hikes
This week, the Board of Governors approved a slew of more tuition increases, though it was less generous than in the past. Even so, it will cost plenty more to attend a state public university.

Health Nuts Media Releases Animated Asthma Series in Spanish
The seven-episode series, already valued by healthcare providers as a teaching tool for kids with asthma, is now available to millions of Spanish speakers who suffer from the chronic pulmonary condition.

Top Stories in Literacy: June 25

New Report: 90 Million Low-skilled workers to be out of work for good
According to a just-released report by the McKinsey Global Institute, between 90 and 95 million low-skilled workers, or 2.6% of the global workforce, could be permanently jobless by 2020. At the same time, employers will increasingly seek medium-  and high-skilled workers, meaning those who have completed secondary school and some vocational training, and workers with college or postgraduate degrees.

Graduate of Saint Leo’s online degree in Business Administration earns cash scholarship
Adult learner Shakeya Scott recently earned her online degree in business administration, and received the Dr. Michael Rogich Endowed Center for Online Learning Student Award, for being an outstanding representative of Saint Leo University.

A better way to reduce Florida’s high prison costs
One of the key elements in the Government Efficiency Task Force’s 250-page report is reform of the criminal justice system and a shift in corrections priorities. The commission proposed sound and proven policies that reduce recidivism — inmate education, vocational training and literacy programs.

States form coalition to boost career training
More than a year after the release of a Harvard University report encouraging the development of more pathways to careers for young adults, a coalition of six states has begun taking steps toward offering viable alternatives for students beyond attending a four-year college.

Top Stories in Literacy: June 18

Florida’s First Lady kicks off 2012 Summer Literacy Adventure
The Literacy Adventure challenges children to read as many books as possible over summer vacation. Mrs. Scott encouraged the children to make it fun and share their reading with friends and family.

Adult Spelling Bee raises funds for Marion County Literacy Council
The Eighth, and final, annual Adult Spelling for Marion County Literacy Coalition had 125 attendees and raised over $10,000 for the Literacy Coalition.

Leave No Young Adult Behind
The Associated Press recently reported that half of those under 25 years of age with a bachelor’s degree — or 1.5 million people — are jobless or underemployed. But things are even worse for the 6.7 million young people who neither have a college degree nor a job — so-called “disconnected youth.”

Florida State College- Jacksonville Students Forced to Repay Pell Grants After Audit
Students at Florida State College in Jacksonville, Fla. may be forced to repay Pell Grants after the institution erroneously doled out at $2.8 million in financial aid, college administrators announced Tuesday during a news conference.

Top Stories in Literacy : June 11

Lilli Leight, 15, wins National Book Foundation for Literacy Award for donating books to homeless kids
While volunteering at a Miami homeless shelter, Leight, 15, noticed that the kids would turn on the television after finishing their homework, because they didn’t have access to books, Your Olive Branch reports. That is when the Coral Gables, Fla., resident was inspired to start a library for homeless kids at the Chapman Partnership’s Homeless Assistance Center in Miami.

Smart Horizons Career Online Education launches first online high school education in US for Florida Department of Corrections Inmates
On May 14th, 2012, Smart Horizons Career Online Education went live at Florida’s Madison Correctional Institution. This marked SHCOE’s first step as an official provider of online education and career training for the Florida Department of Corrections. The Madison program is the first online secondary education program at any correctional facility in the United States.

Why Businesses need to close the “skills gap”
In the end those who get hired are often overqualified—college graduates being brought on to perform tasks that really require only a high school degree. At the same time, many others are shut out of work—even though they possess the attitude and general aptitude to be successful—for one reason: They lack prior experience.

Collier library reading rewards now go to adults as well as kids
For years, adults have missed out on all the summer fun. The folks at the library hear your pain. Which is why, this year — for the first time — the Collier County Library system will have a summer reading program for adults.

Top Stories in Literacy: June 4

Journey pays off for adults seeking education
About 40 graduates were recognized at the ceremony, held at the Academy for the Arts, Science and Technology auditorium, while 150 qualified for graduation, and more will qualify after General Educational Development (GED) testing is completed June 23.

Many job applicants lack basic literacy and office skills
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 93 million U.S. adults have basic and below basic literacy skills, well below the skill level necessary to perform many jobs. Recent studies revealed that 4 out of 10 working age adults don’t have functional literacy skills.

Grad rate debated as standards get higher
Looking at Flagler’s and Volusia’s federal graduation rates, it is estimated that “well over 20 percent” of Flagler students could be considered dropouts, while “over 30 percent” of Volusia students could be dropouts, or someone who is unlikely to earn a diploma or GED within the next few years.

Why Steve Jobs would have loved digital learning
In the wake of Steve Jobs’ passing, many wrote about the statements he made throughout his adult life about how to improve the U.S. education system. Some noted that for much of Jobs’s life, he had, ironically perhaps, been skeptical of the positive impact technology could make on education.

Top Stories in Literacy: May 29

Clay County Literacy Coalition ‘visionary’ receives state award
The Florida Literacy Coalition recently named Lisa Leiby of Clay County as Outstanding Literacy Volunteer for her work with the Clay County Literacy Coalition. The award recognized a literacy volunteer who has demonstrated exceptional service and commitment in either tutoring or program operations

Connect2Compete Announces the Ad Council’s First Campaign to tackle Digital Literacy
Connect to Compete (C2C), Inc. today announced a national three-year Ad Council campaign to promote the importance of digital literacy and motivate individuals and families to access free community resources and training. The multimedia public service campaign, which will be developed in both English and Spanish, will begin in January 2013.

InCharge Receives $148,750 Grant from Chase to Provide Financial Education and Counseling
InCharge® Debt Solutions was awarded a $148,750 grant by Chase Card Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., to help support an educational program focused on providing financial education and counseling to local community members.

High school diplomas presented at IRSC ceremony
Throughout the 2011/2012 school year, the graduates earned high school credits in IRSC’s Adult High School or completed preparation and passed the General Educational Development (GED) exam at IRSC Adult Education sites throughout St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River, and Okeechobee counties.

Protesters Gather to Oppose Cuts to Adult Education
Hundreds of people gathered outside Tuesday’s meeting of the Los Angeles Unified School District board to show their support for adult education. If the programs go away, protesters say more than a quarter million people will be shut out of classes they need to make a contribution to society.

Top Stories in Literacy: May 7

Florida Community Health Centers to get $21M
The grants from the Affordable Care Act, announced by the US Department of Health and Human Services, will enable the centers to expand to serve an estimated 41,000 new patients in Florida.

Closing the Gap in Economic Education: Financial Literacy
If there is one lesson we have learned from the recent recession and its painful fallout, it is that an alarming number of Americans lack the basic dollars-and-cents understanding they need to navigate today’s global economy. The gap between what people know and what they need to know is widening every day.

Books in Home as Important as Parents’ Education in Determining Children’s Education Level
Whether rich or poor, residents of the United States or China, illiterate or college graduates, parents who have books in the home increase the level of education their children will attain, according to a 20-year study.

Inadequate literacy skills plague Canadian workplaces
Nearly 80 per cent of Canadian business leaders say they have a hard time finding qualified employees, with nearly half attributing the problem to low literacy and essential communication skills levels among workers.

Top Stories in Literacy: April 30

To Address the Digital Divide, We Must Go Beyond the Headlines
Working for ZeroDivide, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization with a history of helping low income, minority, and other underserved communities leverage technology for social good, I think there’s a big piece missing from the studies about the digital divide.

Debt Management Credit Counseling Provides Payday Loan Assistance to Consumers
Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp, a nonprofit charitable organization (DMCC), announces new program to assist consumers struggling to repay payday loans. Program provides repayment plans with affordable monthly payments and suspension of collection calls. DMCC also approved by state to provide Florida residents a 60-day deferment of their loan payments.

Rep. Alan Williams visits Adult Community Education Center
Florida Representative Alan Williams made a visit to the Adult Community Education campus Thursday morning to speak to students. Williams, a member of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, helps make decisions about the funding for Adult Education in Florida.

Progress Energy Invests in Future Generations
The Progress Energy Foundation is putting half a million dollar investment in the Florida school system. The money will fund energy education classroom projects as well as workforce development at high school career academies throughout the state. The funds will support public-education foundations, science centers and career academies.

Top Stories in Literacy: April 23

Free or low-cost health-related events open to the public in Manatee and Sarasota counties
This story highlights all of the free or low cost events happening in this area. It is perfect for health literacy. Pass the information onto your students!

U.S. Department of Education Releases Blueprint to Transform Career and Technical Education
Secretary Duncan will hold a town hall to discuss how the Administration’s plan will ensure the education system provides high-quality job-training opportunities that reduce skill shortages, spur business growth, encourage new investment and hires, and spark innovation and economic growth.

Ad Council and Dollar General Literacy Foundation Launch New PSAs to Provide Young Adults the Motivation to Achieve their GED® Diploma
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 34.6 million adults ages 18 and above do not have a high school diploma. In an effort to combat this critical issue, the Ad Council and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation joined today to launch new public service advertisements (PSAs) on behalf of their national GED Achievement campaign.

Century Correctional plans GED graduation
The number of Florida inmates earning GED certificates has nearly doubled in three years, increasing from 1,313 in 2006-07 to 2,603 in 2009-10.