Fall 2010 Literacy Connection Available Now

Academy of Hope's quarterly newsletter, The Literacy Connection, is available now online in PDF format.

In this issue...

• AoH Gets Smart with Technology in the Classroom
• Preparing for the GED and Beyond
• Wave of New Programming Hits The Hope this Fall
• Record Number "Pushed" to Graduate in 2010
• New Faculty Reflect
  

Adult Basic Education Instructor Opening at Academy of Hope

Academy of Hope currently has an opening for a part-time Adult Basic Education instructor. This instructor will teach Academy of Hope classes at the Department of Employment Services (DOES) Naylor Career Center in Southeast Washington, DC.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree in Education, Social Services or a related field.
• Teaching certification is a plus.
• Must have experience teaching and working with adult learners.

To apply for this position, send resumes to jobs@aohdc.org and use “DOES Instructor” as your subject line. Submit by COB this Thursday, October 21. Classes are scheduled to start November 1.

Position details are described below.

Census Data Warn that Student Goals Must Reach Beyond the GED

A new report from the DC Fiscal Policy Institute reveals the uneven impact that the recession has had on the district.  DCFPI finds two trends that are particularly disturbing for our learners.  They write:

One in four residents with a high school diploma lives in poverty.  Among residents with a high school diploma or GED, poverty increased from 20 percent in 2007 to 25 percent in 2009.   Changes in poverty for other residents at other education levels were not statistically significant.

And:

The new Census data show that incomes are likely to be falling for DC residents with a high school diploma or less. From 2007 to 2009, median earnings for adults with less than a high school diploma fell from $23,300 to $20,400.  Those with a high school diploma or GED also saw a decline in earnings, from $29,000 in 2008 to $26,200 in 2009.  Earnings remained virtually unchanged for those with some college or beyond.  

Today is International Literacy Day

Today, September 8th, is International Literacy Day, which was first proclaimed by UNESCO in 1965.  The goal of this day is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies.

The UN marks the day this year by noting that "Literacy is a cause for celebration since there are now close to four billion literate people in the world."  We are also nearing the end of the UN's Literacy Decade, proclaimed for 2003-2012, with the ambitious goal of "education for all."  With the close of Literacy Decade approaching, UNESCO informs us that today one in five adults is still not literate.

Ward 8 Students Share Stories at Defeat Poverty DC

Two students from AoH's Ward 8 site recently shared their stories at Defeat Poverty DC, a coalition of organizations that working, "to bring greater focus during the 2010 election season and beyond to the damaging effects of poverty: [in Washington, D.C.]

Both choose to contribute short essays about their struggles with affordable housing and homelessness:

"During a very difficult time in my life, I applied for emergency housing. At that time I was a single mother of five." -V. Moore, Ward 8 Student  (From Homless to a Home: My Story)

"The shelter system was set up with education, clothes and responsible guidelines. Employment training helped me to learn how to keep a job. The clothing provided to me helped me to know how to dress for an interview. " -N. Gee Miles, Ward 8 Student (Poverty Through My Eyes: Affordable Housing)

The Push for 40: Where are we now?

Those of you following along know that Academy of Hope is pushing for 40 graduates this year.  If you've been following us on Twitter or on the Push for 40 page, you may have noticed that we've been at 20 graduates for a while now.  So what's been going on? Have we given up hope?

The answers to these questions are, "a lot," and "of course we haven't!"

Help AoH Get Comfy in Ward 8

Big things are happening at our newest site in Ward 8!  GED and computer classes began this May, based primarily in our space at The Overlook apartments.  The expansion, announced December 2009, was made possible through major funding from the Alice and Eugene Ford Foundation.

Two months ago, students registered for classes in a bare room, with white walls and no furniture.  In spite of it's drab first impression, Daquanna Harrison, Program Coordinator for Ward 8, was able to attract students to the site.  Since that time, the space has transformed into a functioning classroom, complete with a mini-school store (a longstanding AoH tradition).