[AAACE-NLA] FCE and Workforce Development

[Derek Albert]

Debbie,

Your quest to find a program to serve those learners who are reading at "below equivalent 3rd grade," is quite similar to my own.  As the coordinator for an adult literacy program at my community college (going on 18 months), I struggled with what to use with those learners who came to the program and wanted to learn to read.  In using the CASAS, they are starting at the 'beginning literacy' stage.  After hours of researching the topic of reading disabilities, I came across two resources which we are currently using.  The first is a teaching text titled "Starting Over: A Literacy Program," by Joan Knight.  The second is a software program titled Lexia SOS.  Currently, these to resources are the foundation for how we (me and volunteer mentors) work with 'beginning literacy' learners.  Evaluation is ongoing, however, a more thorough review of the success or effectiveness of these resources will be done this December.  The challenges I face at this time are having learners keep a regular schedule and finding volunteers who are comfortable working with learners at the beginning level.  Please let me know if you should have more questions. albertd at witcc.edu 



Derek Albert
WITCC Adult Literacy Coordinator
712-274-8733 or 1-800-352-4649 
ext. 1803