ProLiteracy Worldwide Awards National Adult Literacy Honors

Student Excellence, Individual Achievement, Program Innovation awards given

Syracuse, NY
November 8, 2007

The largest organization of adult basic education and literacy programs in the U.S. honored an adult literacy student from New Mexico, a trainer from Kentucky, and a program that serves inmates in a California county jail with its highest awards this week.

ProLiteracy Worldwide awarded its Ruth J. Colvin and Frank C. Laubach Award for Student Excellence to Marten Griego of Rio Rancho, N.M. Griego read only small words, had a limited vocabulary, and struggled to understand what he could read when, at the age of 50, he began working with a volunteer tutor through the ReadWest, Inc. adult literacy program. “Through his own hard work and the support of his tutor, Marten improved his vocabulary and comprehension skills. Eight years later, he wrote and published his memoirs,” said David C. Harvey, ProLiteracy president and CEO. “Marten now sits on the ReadWest board of directors and advocates for all adult learners.

Charlene Brown, who trains volunteers to tutor adults in reading, writing, and math at the Ahrens Learning Center in Louisville, KY, received the Ruth J. Colvin and Frank C. Laubach Award for Individual Achievement. Training programs she initiated resulted in a 20 percent increase in learner and volunteer retention over two years. Brown not only continued her training schedule while undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, she became involved in a statewide project to help health car professionals develop informational materials about cancer and treatment options at a lower reading level.

The Ruth J. Colvin and Frank C. Laubach Award is named for the founders of two pioneer adult literacy organizations that merged in 2002 to create ProLiteracy Worldwide.

ProLiteracy also awarded its Program Innovation award to Read to Succeed of Tulare County Library of Visalia, CA for its Jail House Rocks! project. The program offers inmates of the Tulare County Jail basic reading, writing, and math skills as well as health care information, budgeting and credit card management skills, support in writing resumes and preparing for job interviews, and a course on the importance of teaching children to read. The course runs over six weeks; inmates are encouraged to seek support at local adult literacy programs following their release. “Studies tell us that inmates who take part in literacy programs while they are in jail are less likely to return to jail once they are released than inmates who don’t use in-jail literacy programs,” Harvey said. “So projects like Jail House Rocks! that help inmates in and out of jail, and that can be copied and used in corrections institutions across the country, are of high interest to ProLiteracy.”

Griego, Brown, and Patricia Habeck, director of Read to Succeed, accepted their awards at ProLiteracy’s conference, held this year in Alexandria, VA November 7–10.