St. George's Center Literacy Program Proposal

“People are the common denominator of progress. So... no improvement is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people are liberated and educated. It would be wrong to dismiss the importance of roads, railroads, power plants, mills, and the other familiar furniture of economic development.... But we are coming to realize... that there is a certain sterility in economic monuments that stand alone in a sea of illiteracy. Conquest of illiteracy comes first.”
John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society (1958)

St. George's Center in Riviera Beach, Florida is proposing to start an Adult Literacy Program on campus in conjunction with the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County.

At least 22% of Palm Beach County is functionally illiterate and most agree in depressed areas such as served by St. George's Center the rate is actually much higher. Daily we encounter the elderly living at or below poverty level who cannot write their name, fill out a simple form at the doctor's office, or carry out any written correspondence for their benefit. Over the past 20 years the population of Hispanics has gone from 4% to 50% of the whole area served by St. Georges. Although we have an After School and Out of School Program on campus, the parents of many of these children are currently not receiving any adult education despite being functionally illiterate.

There is one program already in Riviera Beach which is a part of the Literacy Coalition, De Porres P.L.A.C.E., located at 100 West 20th Street, Suite 106, Riviera Beach, FL 33404. Although this is in close proximity they only can teach about 15 students at time and only have programs in English as a second language(ESOL). Nancy Johnson, Chief Program Director of the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, has confirmed in telephone conference that there clearly exists need for an additional program as proposed at St. George's Center.

The creation of an Adult Literacy Program at St. George's Center will greatly make the lives of it's participants more productive and satisfying. Elder clients will be able to better correspond with government entities about benefits, understand medical instructions and inquiries, and function in the general society. Similarly, Hispanics who become fluent in basic English dramatically increase their ability to advance themselves through education and on average make almost twice as much in hourly wages as a non-English speaker. Education studies done throughout the country have shown that academic achievement for elementary school children goes up significantly when their parents are also receiving adult education for both those who are native English speakers and ESOL families.

Rather than create a program de novo, we plan to collaborate with the existing system established by the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County which does the majority of such programs. This program consists of sending a qualified teacher to the sponsoring facility, St. George's Center, twice a week to teach a class of up to 15 students. In addition we would supplement this with literacy volunteer tutors who under a one day training program sponsored by Literacy Coalition.

The quality of program while be assured on a continuing basis through its affiliation with the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County. We will be working with the Coalition in responding to a survey about the community so that the program can be specifically “tweaked” to our clients. Although some programs charge a fee to the clients for this service, we envision not charging any fee to those in poverty.

Currently all the Episcopal congregations of Northern Palm Beach County provide funding and volunteers for outreach programs at St. George's Center such as the feeding program. Discussions with representatives of St. Mark's Episcopal Church and Bethesda by the Sea indicate that we can expect volunteer tutors to come these two institutions and expect that others will also join in as they have for the feeding program.

The Literacy Council of Palm Beach County and St. George's Center have an established history of long and dedicated service to the community. The establishment of the Adult Literacy Program will continue this tradition in serving the basic needs of our clients.

Functionally illiterate adults and Spanish speakers who do not speak English living within the general service area of St. George's Center will be the targeted population to be served. A fee would only be charged to those not living in poverty. Opportunity of participation would be extended to all regardless of race, creed, or national origin.

There is a small but growing population of recent Haitian immigrants in our extreme Northwest area of service who primarily speak Creole. At this time the tenability of providing a service to them is unknown but will be assessed after initiating the program.

We are anticipating starting the program three hours a week on site. This will require $1350 quarterly to be paid to the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach for providing the teacher and the use of teaching resource materials. Approximately $20 per student will be needed in reading texts and materials.

The estimated annual cost of maintaining a constant class of 15 students twice week is $5400 in teaching fees and $3600 in student materials. This does not include the cost of providing class space and utilities which will provided by St. George's Center. Volunteers will be expected to pay the $5 fee for undergoing the one day training program given by the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach.

The Mission of St. George's Center is to improve the quality of life for people in need by providing human services and opportunities to grow in dignity and self-sufficiency; and, to become aware of God's love in action. An Adult Literacy Program meets and exceeds this goal.

We need your financial help, prayers, and volunteerism to get this important program started. Please feel free to contact us by phone or email as noted on the bottom of this page.

September 2, 2010

 

St. George's Center Literacy Program Donation

 

 

More information about the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County is available at their website http://pbcliteracy.org/