Lee, Mass. – December 15 – The Literacy Network of South Berkshire (LitNet) is proud to announce that it is now supporting Community Learning in the Berkshires (CLuB) by helping to get the word out and bring tutors to the April Hill Farm program. This move is one of several recent developments in LitNet’s operations that signal the organization’s expansion into the community to support immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per the request of CLuB’s April Hill Farm campus director Maria Rundle, voluntary LitNet tutors will provide support for children who need extra help during their remote learning days, particularly children of frontline, first responder and education workers, single parents, and immigrants where there is not an immersive English experience in the home. According to their website, CLuB is a coalition of organizations formed in order “to meet the pressing needs of working families whose children will be educated remotely this school year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.” All tutoring at the April Hill CLuB site happens out of doors or in well-ventilated barns, and learners and educators are all masked.
LitNet Executive Director Leigh Doherty states: “CLuB represents a noble and necessary endeavor, and we find that its goals align tightly with our mission here at LitNet. Whereas we traditionally work with adult learners, we see it as an extension of our work to help support children who do not have in-school support right now and whose families struggle to find care for those children so that they can remain in the workforce.”
This recent addition to LitNet’s operations is one of the several ways that LitNet has pivoted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This fall, LitNet launched a Distance Learning Initiative aimed at developing best practices for remote one-on-one tutoring of our adult learners until it is safe to be in-person again. Having just concluded an eight-week training period for lead tutors, with over 90 pairs currently engaged in active tutoring, LitNet is now primed to train its pool of tutors who have not yet ventured into the world virtual tutoring methods, digital platforms, and online resources. It is LitNet’s goal to ideally reconnect all tutors with their learners again, after many lost touch when the pandemic began.
In recent months, LitNet has trained over 40 new tutors, paired these new tutors with learners, and has received inquiries from over 60 learners who are seeking to grow their skills in ESOL, high school equivalency, and citizenship preparatory sessions. LitNet welcomes the curious to be in touch to learn more about tutoring with LitNet.
About Literacy Network of South Berkshire
The mission of the Literacy Network is to transform the lives of adult learners, both immigrant and U.S.-born, through the power of literacy education, and advocacy. LitNet provides free, individualized, one-on-one instruction in reading, high-school equivalency test preparation, English for Speakers of Other Languages, and citizenship test preparation. LitNet’s professional staff and trained team of volunteer tutors also offer generalized educational support and promote access to a network of community resources. Learn more about how to support the Literacy Network’s mission at www.litnetsb.org. Literacy Network of South Berkshire is a privately funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.