LITERACYWORKS CELEBRATES TWENTY YEARS

In our 20 years, we have seen many changes in education and technology in the literacy field. In some ways, our history reflects the modernization of adult education in the US with our small (but significant) contributions to adult education. Below are some of the programs and events Literacyworks has provided to the literacy community over two decades. Many of these projects can still be accessed at our PROJECTS page at https://www.literacyworks.org/projects.

LITERACYWORKS TIMELINE

1995
REGION IV TECHNOLOGY CENTER

The California State Library and the Sacramento County Office of Education applied to establish Regional Technology Center to The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL). The purpose of this grant was to establish Regional Technology Centers that will work to:

Assist the adult education and adult and family literacy community in integrating The Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) resources and new technology into teaching and staff development.
Enhance the literacy field's electronic knowledge base by creating, collecting, and organizing new high-quality literacy information resources online, especially locally developed materials.
Implement a comprehensive regional training plan for using LINCS and related technology, resulting in the effective integration of technology in teaching and learning.

The application was successful. The Region IV Technology Center was established. Literacyworks current Executive Director, Paul Heavenridge, was made Executive Director of the Technology Center. Region IV worked with the state Adult Education directors, State Librarians, and education programs in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

2001
LITERACYWORKS FOUNDED

On April 4, 2001, the first board of Literacyworks submitted its ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION to the CA Attorney's General's office to apply to be a nonprofit.

ONE: The name of this corporation is Literacyworks.
TWO: This corporation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. The specific purposes for which this corporation is organized is to support and maintain innovative programs, ideas, and projects in literacy and education including, but not limited to, creative use of technology; creating and maintaining facilities for instruction; and supporting research, staff development, and publications.

In August 2001, we received our nonprofit designation from the IRS stating that Literacyworks would be exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that we would be treated as a public charity.

2001
LEARNING RESOURCES (1999-2006)

The Learning Resources site offered web-delivered, interactive instruction using current and past CNN San Francisco bureau and CBS 5 - KPIX (CBS Broadcasting) news stories ahead of its time and cutting edge. Literacyworks partnered with news agencies to develop an online literacy site that benefited all learners and instructors. Though the intended audience was adults, instructors and learners (of all ages) were encouraged to use this material to promote better literacy.

Each module included the full text of each story and interactive activities to test comprehension. The learner could choose to read the text, listen to the text, and view a short video clip of the story. Each module was designed for ease of use so the learner could use it independently. The instructor could also incorporate any story into class activities and lesson plans.

2003
CALIFORNIA HEALTH LITERACY INITIATIVE

The goal of the California Health Literacy Initiative is to inform and partner with individuals and organizations to craft collective, lasting solutions. These solutions will positively impact the health and well-being of individuals with low literacy skills, their families, and their communities. This plan for California served as a groundbreaking, national model for health literacy; currently, no statewide efforts of such complexity are being undertaken.

The California Health Literacy Initiative was launched by California Literacy in 2003. Literacyworks is now continuing and expanding the original goal of the Initiative through increasing collaborative partnerships and developing understandable health literacy material.

2006
EASY VOTER GUIDE PROJECT

The Easy Voter Guide Project was dedicated to the idea that all people should have access to nonpartisan information about the why, how, and what of voting and other forms of civic involvement. Began in California, the Easy Voter Guide was also available in Nevada and Colorado. Literacyworks helped run the CA Library's low literacy adult focus groups to ensure the Propositions and a candidate's statements were stated in plain language and understandable in all Guide issues.

The Easy Voter Guide Project was developed by Common Knowledge collaborating with the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, the California State Library, the California Secretary of State's Office and Literacyworks. The Easy Voter website was designed, hosted, and maintained by Literacyworks.

2008
SCIENCE & NUMERACY SPECIAL COLLECTION

Science & Numeracy Special Collection included our interactive projects with the National Science Foundation, Centers for Ocean Science Educational Excellence (COSEE), and NOAA (Ocean Science Station and Polar Science Station at on-field expeditions with disciplinary thrusts, e.g., biology (zooplankton & bacteria), chemistry (trace metals), physics (ocean circulation) for K-12 and adult schools. The site also provided links to Internet pages useful for teaching and learning about science and numeracy.

2009
HEALTH LITERACY SUMMIT

The Health Literacy Summit was held at San Francisco State Downtown Campus, Westfield Center. The Summit addressed the pivotal role adult literacy providers can play in partnership with health care providers to eliminate literacy barriers to quality health care.

Literacyworks produced and ran the Summit with San Francisco State College of Humanities Center for Immigrant and Refugee Community Literacy Education (CIRCLE), Community Engagement Program, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and Center for Vulnerable Populations, UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital.

2010
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES FOR ADULT LITERACY AND EDUCATION

This site, Multiple Intelligences for Adult Literacy and Education, applies Dr. Gardner's theory to adult education. We hoped to inspire teachers and tutors to discover innovative ways to help their learners succeed based on their learners' intelligences with this site.

The site is divided into five main sections: Introduction, Assessment, Practice, Resources, and Contact. Within each section, there is a menu that appears on the upper right that tells you which section you're in and provides links to the areas within that section.

2011
TUTOR READY READING

Tutor Ready Reading is a set of short online Learning Plans created for tutors who work with adults in reading. The research-based lessons teach strategies for assessing and tutoring adults in various reading skills, including phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Each strategy is illustrated by at least one video showing a literacy tutor working with a literacy learner.

Tutor Ready was created by Kathy St. John, Amy Prevedel, and Paul Heavenridge of Literacyworks in collaboration with Kathy Harris, Katherine Winter, and Will Caston at Portland State University in the Department of Applied Linguistics in the Literacy, Language, and Technology Research Group.

TUTOR READY WRITING

Created by the same Tutor Ready Reading team, Tutor Ready Writing was launched in 2020. It is a free, online resource providing adult literacy tutors just-in-time answers to their questions about how best to help their learners improve their writing skills. Literacyworks provided tech support and designed the YouTube channel for Tutor Ready Writing.

2011 and 2012
WORD UP!

Literacyworks presented "Word Up! Community Learning Fair Petaluma's First Annual Word Up Event – A Free for All Festival of Finding Out" on Sunday, October 30, 2011. Our goal was twofold: one, to increase awareness of learning opportunities in the Bay Area which will lead to an increase in literacy levels and the knowledge base of our population; two, to raise funds that support literacy programs in North Bay county libraries, schools, and community organizations.

2014 - Present
LITERACYWORKS CENTER

Literacyworks Center began. The Center is still assisting underserved, below-basic-skills adult students in solving the many educational, personal and logistical challenges they must face to stay in school and succeed in work. The Center provides advising, mentoring, and scholarship support (through the Adult Literacy Awards) that help break persistence barriers to school completion such as transportation, childcare, and tuition.

2016 – Present
LITERACYWORKS LECTURES

The Literacyworks Lecture series brings nationally recognized authors to the North Bay. Most importantly, it is a fundraiser for the Literacyworks center and our other programs. Some of our speaker events have included: