Returned PC Volunteers Choose AoH for Charity of The Year

Academy of Hope has been selected by the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC (RPCV/w) as their 2011 Charity of the Year. AoH was chosen among a group of three finalist for the organization’s Partnership for Peace, which is in its second year. Throughout the year RPCV/w members will support adult learners at AoH through volunteer service, fundraising events, and outreach. RPCV/w is planning a large service event during the Peace Corps 50th anniversary celebration in September 2011.

RPCV/w is kicking-off this year’s partnership on February 26th, with their Second Annual Peace Corps Open; a mini-golf tournament at DC’s H Street Country Club. Registration for would-be golfers (and their spectator friends) is now open to the general public.

Please join us in celebrating our graduates!

Please join us in celebrating our graduates Thursday, January 27, 7:00PM. 

The ceremony will be held at Crawford Hall, the top floor of 635 Edgewood Street, NE.  Onsite parking is available and the building is walkable from the Rhode Island Ave Metro station.  The D8 and the G8 buses stop at 6th and Edgewood.

Please feel free to give us a call at 202-269-6623 with any questions.

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)