Literacy DuPage Spring News 2010

Spring 2010

Literacy DuPage News

Literally Changing Lives

In This Issue

Acknowledgement of Donors

Special Recognition

Tutoring Tips

THANK YOU
FOR HELPING US MEET OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL

Calendar

April 5
Tutor Training Workshop Begins

Indian Prairie Public Library - Darien

6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

April 8

LDP Board of Directors Meeting

LDP Ofice 7 PM

April TBA

In-service workshop

May 3

Tutor Training Workshop Begins
Lisle Public Library
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

May 13
LDP Board of Directors Meeting
LDP Office 7 PM

SAVE THE DATE
JUNE 26 - 1:00 PM

PICNIC FOR ALL TUTORS, STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMLIES

WELCOME NEW
BOARD MEMBERS

Steve Bryant

Larry Lobb

WELCOME
NEW TUTORS

Naperville Class

Naperville

Sheree Bliss

Lisa Borton

Carol Ann Fisher

Natalie Giger

Jan Gipson

Colleeg Grills

Alexandra Holtan

Carol Kirr

Emily Levin

Janet Miranda

Frank Murphy

Joel Pasternak

Sandy Perkins

Christine Pullen

JoAnn Quam

Jayne Rieshus

Mariette Siczewicz

Debbie Sokoly

Liz Stefanski

Michele Witte-Toloedo

Bolingbrook

Rebecca Kamysz

Carol Stream

John Achacoso

Downers Grove

Ann Paulikas

Elmhurst

Ann Nicholson

Lisle

Aleithia Foster

Oak Brook

Beverly DePhillips

Plainfield

Joanne Bode

Roselle

Peter Dockery

Our vision to be recognized as a leading provider of customized English literacy skills that will literally change the lives of adult learners and impact future generations is being fulfilled.

Every day, students' lives are being changed as they accomplish their goals and achieve life skills.

Together we are making a difference.

Greetings!

Thank you for making 2009 a successful year and for sharing in our vision to help transform the lives of adult learners and impact future generations.

You are helping to change lives by empowering adults throughout DuPage County to become better workers, better family members and more productive community members.

Your support helps change lives through literacy....

parents read to their children and children are more successful in school and in life
those who are employed can communicate better with supervisors and co-workers increasing productivity
those who are unemployed improve their employability skills
the community is better because we work together

This newsletter is dedicated to the generous supporters listed below. We also want to acknolwedge the passing of three volunteers: Jean Childs, Thelma McPherson and David Zillis. Jean and David were dedicated long-term tutors and Thelma was one of the co-founders of this organization. We wish to thank all of those who made memorial contributions on their behalf.

All of our supporters have been added to the "About Us" section of our website. Please do let us know if we

inadvertently missed your name or if something needs to be corrected.

Literacy DuPage Board of Directors and Staff

Grateful Acknowledgement to All of Our Donors Who Contributed in 2009!

Literacy Leaders

Partner Level - $1,000+

Patti and John Koltes

Thomas McSherry (MCS Foundation)

Lynn Weissburg

Sponsor Level - $500+

Lori Connor

Tom and Susan Craighead

Mae Hazelton

Sheridan and Lisa Lam

Jim and Barbara McLean

C Michael Reese

Bill and Tana Tatnall

Individual Donors

$200+

John Dainauskas

Jean Demas

Meg Forster

Tom Gaber

James Harris

Pamela and John Kaprales

John Krallmann

Dave Moser

RoseMary and Paul Persiani

Susan Phillips

Lynn and Dave Robertson

Sharon and William Sivak

Lisa and Mike Thackeray

Kim Tierney

$100+

Jeanne Burton

Charles Carey

Ronald and Elizabeth Chin

Leona and Fred Conforti

Lisa and Richard Dickson

Paul and Susan Eck

Peggy and Michael Fortuna

Catherine and Jonathan Gottlieb

Jon and Norma Hagstrom

Eileen and Jim Hall

Barbara and James Hiner

Susan Hotopp

Michael Huseman

Harriet Jarosz

Mary Jarvis

Bonnie Kendall

Kate Mallon

Julie Mazur

Wanda Mitchell

Mark Munoz

Marina Natsis

Thomas and Nancy Pardo

Tom Parkin and Elizabeth Murphy

Doug Portmann

Elaine Scarborough

Leona Thomas

Jan and Dennis Wencel II

Friends

Carol Alsip

Sylvia and Kevin Bauler

Anthony Berardi

Sandra Brennan

Alice Cantal

Gloria Clancy and Lawrence Jostock

Susan Dibble

Lisa and Richard Dickson

Carl Fausey

Joyce Fedeczko

Patrice Flentge

Douglas Florzak and Loretta Rusky

Josephine Fowler

Bayneeta Freeland

Beverly and Michael Frett

Nancy and Thomas Gray

Carol Grieshaber

Louise Grobl

Rita Herrmann

John Hess

Melissa Hicks

Russ Horn

Kay Hutchcroft

Gail Jindrich

Sylvia Kellogg

Hannah Kenny

Patricia and Kevin LaFollette

Tao Liu and Lin Wang

Kathleen and Mark Loszach

Rosemary Macdonald

Kathy Marcus

Rita and Thomas Mathern

Virginia and Anthony Neu-Gianopoulos

Bonnie and Donald Oulman

Mary Lynn and Ted Peterson

Mary Joyce Pickett

Krishna Raheja

Aarthi and Sivakumar Ramalingam

Maureen and Paul Reimann

Robert Richter

Neil Ringquist

Lia Rubino

Cindy Schwartz

Nadine Silverman

Diane and Richard Simms

Sarv Raj and Preetinder Singh

Mary Ann and Lester Sommers

Julie and Bruce Specht

Thomas Stepnowski

Alan Stewart

Paul Teppema

Earl Thompson

Peggy and James Tibbitt

Cheryl Turner

Mark and Barbara Turner

Mary Ann Wands

Jean Williams

Jane and John Wilson

2009 Community Partners

Allstate Foundation

American Business Women's Association

The Grace Bersted Foundation

Blistex Inc.

Chicago Tribune Charities

Community Memorial Foundation

Delta Kappa Gamma Society International - Beta Kappa Chapt.

Drake Oak Brook Plaza

DuPage Community Foundation

DuPage County Community Services

First United Methodist Church

Indian Head Park Women's Club

Lisle Area Chamber of Commerce

National City Corporation

Ronald L McDaniel Foundation

Rotary Club of Darien

Rotary Club of Naperville Sunrise

Secretary of State Literacy Office

SS Peter & Paul Church

Taproot Foundation

Union Church of Hinsdale

United Way - DuPage Area

West Suburban Retired IEA/NEA

Letters for Literacy Partners

Absolute Services & Repair LLC

Robert W Baird & Co.

Beaird Group

Bovis Lend Lease

Chicago Tribune

Daily Herald

DuPage Ophthalmology

Franczek Radelet PC

Literacy DuPage Board of Directors

Legat Architects

Lisle Library District

NorthStar Credit Union

Standard Bank & Trust

Wells Fargo Advisors - Naperville

Mark D Wright, DMD

Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce,Team B2B

CLIX of Naperville

Corrigan Moving & Storage

Illinois Roofing LLC

J&S Tech Designs LLC

NameDroppers

NewGen Business Solutions

Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc.

RPC Leadership Associates Inc.

Sequoia General Contracting

Sound Incorporated

TeamLogic IT

Wirth Business Credit

Wolf & Company LLP

Ladies for Literacy Club Members

Full-Year Sponsorship - $600

Mary Burge

Lori Connor

Lisa Lam

Wheaton Women's Book Club

Rhonda Brewer

Pat Dahm

Mary Anne Doran

Ginna Ericksen

Alyssa Heidrich

Jeanne Hoffer

Barbara Intihar

Diane Kleiber

Linda McHugh

Maggie Nilles

Lydia Poczatek

Laura Raimbach-Law

Liz Rein

Dawn Schubert

Kathy Sedivy

Sara Vettraino

Wheaton-Warrenville Ladies Who Lunch

Betsy Bennett

Jan Campbell

Peggy Dzugan

Barbara Intihar

Monica Johnson

Mary Ellen Kolbe

Chris Maxwell

Patti Rose

Rosemary Swanson

Six-Month Sponsorship - $300

Barbara McLean

Naperville Book Club

Dilva Caulfield

Joan Daley

Allison Gush

Michele Schroeder

Joan Tanck

Lisa Thackeray

Janice Wurz

Wheaton-Warrenville Educators

Bethann Fitzgerald

Nancy Peterson

Kimberly Rumrey

Patricia Thornberry

Three-Month Sponsorship - $150

Annabel Bergman

Linda Florian

2009 In-Kind Donations

Michelle Balee

Lori Connor

Kathy Conrad

Susan Craighead

Peggy Fortuna

Mae Hazelton

Literacy DuPage Board

National Engravers Inc.

Lovis Reuss

Lynn Robertson

Sow Good Marketing

Starbucks

Tana Tatnall

Lisa Thackeray

Regina Walker

A Special Thank You

Ronald L. McDaniel Foundation

For the 4th year, the Ronald L. McDaniel Foundation challenged our organization to raise $20,000 in new or increased donations - and with your help - we did it! This support and grant challenge is critical during this economically challenging time and is making a difference in the lives of hundreds of adults and their families.

Chicago Tribune Charities

Literacy DuPage has been awarded a $25,000 grant for 2010 from the Chicago Tribune Charities - Holiday Campaign, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. We thank the Chicago Tribune Charities their long-term partnership and support of the literacy needs of DuPage County residents.

Grace Bersted Foundation

A $10,000 grant for 2010 has been awarded from the Grace Bersted Foundation. We thank the Grace Bersted Foundation for continuing to invest in the lives of adult learners throughout DuPage County.

Taproot Foundation

Literacy DuPage has been awarded a Board Recruitment Service Grant. This grant is for board recruitment and planning and will help us to continue to build the infrastructure needed to support the growth of our programs.

Community Memorial Foundation

We were challenged to raise an additional $7,500 during the fourth quarter through new or increased donations. Thanks to our generous supporters, CMF awarded us with a check for $7,500 and a beautiful fund development award. Thank you CMF Board of Directors and Staff for supporting adult learners in southeastern DuPage County.

Tana Tatnall, LDP Executive Director, Susan Craighead, LDP Board Vice-President, and Barb Intihar, LDP Resource Manager

Tutoring Tips

What Makes a Lesson 'Adult'?

The vast majority of ESL materials are for children, and are mostly not suitable for adults because of the content or tone, even though they might be great language lessons. Fortunately, there are a few good publishers of adult ESL materials. When choosing materials for your students, or when creating your own homemade lessons, what particular aspects are important? Here are some criteria for you to consider:

Self-Expression. The lesson gives the students an opportunity to share their ideas and experiences in a constructive way. A good activity is conversation with open-ended opinion questions such as: What do you think about exercise? What is the most difficult thing about living in the U.S.A.? Should men help their wives with the housework, cooking, laundry, etc.?

Substance. No matter how simple the exercise may be, the content of the examples should be sophisticated and thoughtful, reflecting their interest or goals. For example, in an activity where students are practicing vocabulary for big numbers (like thousands, millions or billions) examples could be from current events and house prices.

Practical topics. Adult students want to learn about things they can use in real life, like buying a car.

Problem-solving. In real life, there are problems that do not have easy answers, such as the dilemma of whether to call in sick when you might be coming down with the flu. We can't know all of the answers, but we can discuss the pros and cons of an issue and try to make the best choices.

Student-selected material. The best learning for adults comes when they've had a chance to choose what to learn, or what aspects they want to focus on.

Self-reflection. Adult students can participate in their own learning process by observing and reflecting on their own abilities, strategies, strengths and weaknesses. They can talk about their own learning and use this to improve, an added dimension that younger children can't access. For example: Do you have any problems hearing English? Is it easy or difficult to understand English on the telephone? Why?

Every time you present a task to your students, ask yourself "How can this be more adult?" Is there some substance here? Is there a way to allow self-expression? Do the students have some choice about what to learn? Is there a practical, real world connection? Are there dilemmas discussed openly and honestly? Is there a way for the student/s to evaluate their own learning?

If each task your student/s spend time on includes one or more of these important aspects, no matter what the student's language level, you will know that the lesson is appropriate for adult students, respectful of their interests and needs, and interesting as well as useful to them.

Hands-on English, Vol. 19, No. 4

For more information about how to become a tutor, our tutor training schedule, or other ways you can help Literacy DuPage, visit our website literacydupage.org.

For information about our literacy partners, visit literacyforadults.org.