Perhaps it was the dismal figures in the 1990 census which reported that that almost 25% of the adults in the United States had less than 12 years of school that inspired Congress to pass the National Literacy Act of 1991. This law made funds available to local school systems and other literacy providers including libraries in an effort to provide services to help adults 25 and older get their high school equivalency diploma (GED).
And perhaps the Summers County School system received some of this money and perhaps that is why Dr Sarah Brown called the Summers County Public Library, sometime in the fall of 1991 and asked if the library could supply some tutors! Dr Brown worked for the Summers County school system and was starting a class for adults who needed to refresh their skills in preparation for taking the high school equivalency exam.
She had announced that the class would take place at Talcott School. About 42 people came! Dr Brown quickly realized that about ½ of that number had reading and math skills below a 9th grade level and needed one-on- one tutoring in order to participate successfully in the class! Naturally she called the Library.
The Library in Summers County had been open since 1977. As with most libraries in WV, it was underfunded. We were lucky to have books! Tutors? definitely no tutors. “What” said Dr. Brown “No tutors? Isn’t this a library?” Well! That was all it took to set me off.
With help from Richard Lawrence, another capable and dedicated employee of the Summers County Schools, we managed to secure a grant for some of the National Literacy Act funds and one of the most successful programs the library has ever been associated with was off and running.
With grant funds, we were able to hire a coordinator to recruit and train volunteer tutors and keep up with the rather complicated task of scheduling tutoring sessions. Things took off fast.
I don’t remember them all but I certainly do remember our first student! He was a man who wanted to get a job as a delivery driver but couldn’t read well enough to read addresses, directions or receipts. He worked with Thelma Garten, the coordinator for the program at that time. They met at the Library once a week for almost 2 years and by the beginning of 1994, he was reading and ready to go to work!!
He was the first of hundreds of students to come through the Library. The library’s literacy program merged with the school’s adult ed/pre GED in 2010. People have come to get their high school equivalency diploma, learn a skill to make them more employable, get help with writing resumes and other job seeking skills, etc .
Has it been successful? You may judge for yourself! The 1990 census showed over 41% of the adults in Summers County had less than a 12th grade education -well above the national average of 25%. By 2020 census figures showed that the percentage had dropped to 14.6% (still above the national average of 8.5%, but definitely an improvement).
Now this and other programs like it are in jeopardy! Congress is proposing to cut funding for Adult Education and Family Literacy in next year’s budget by $729 million. That’s a lot of money, although less then the estimated cost of 1 day to fight a war in Iran which is estimated at something like $800,000,000.
This cut would mean the end of the adult ed/literacy program in Summers County. It is time to write to our Senators and congresswoman and tell them to see to it that these funds are restored.
For the moment, Adult Education and Spokes (a job training program) are housed on the third floor of the Library. Jared Bailey is the current coordinator and the person to call if you are interested in getting help or perhaps would like to volunteer. 304-466-2661.
