Part 1 Economic Self Sufficiency 12-17-10.indd - The Coordinating ...

COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS
LITERACY
GOAL: Collaborate to create a highly literate community that improves everyone’s
quality of life, economic self-sufficiency, and family stability
PUBLIC LIBRARY USAGE
PER CAPITA 1
Calhoun
MI
1999 4.0 5.4
2000 4.07 5.5
2001 3.94 5.2
2002 4.3 5.7
2003 4.3 6.1
2004 4.5 6.3
2005 5.0 6.6
2006 5.4 6.9
2007 5.6 7.5
2008 6.4 7.9
2009 10.9 8.6
RATIONALE FOR CHOOSING INDICATOR: Literacy is the ability to use printed and
written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to
develop one’s knowledge and potential. Children provided with frequent,
meaningful experiences with books prior to kindergarten are better prepared
for all types of school learning. Children who are unfamiliar with books fi nd
it much more diffi cult to learn to read and be successful in school; they may
never catch up to their peers. Children that can’t read grow up to be adults
that can’t read. As adults without literacy skills, they will fi nd it more diffi cult to
fi nd employment, to productively contribute to their community, and to raise
their own children. It is estimated that 18% of adults in Calhoun County – nearly
1 in 5 – are functioning at less than a 5th grade reading level. 2
HOW ARE WE DOING? Literacy data for Calhoun County is not abundant. The
Community Literacy Collaborative (CLC) exists to convene and connect
organizations that are committed to improving community wide literacy learning
initiatives from birth to adult. CLC also provides information about literacy
resources to the community through its website.
Reading regularly with young children can signifi cantly improve a child’s school readiness. Dolly Parton’s
Imagination Library program is offered in Battle Creek through Willard Library and in Albion through the
Albion Community Library. This program mails free books to children from ages birth through fi ve. As of
August 2010, over 14,000 books have been mailed to young children in Battle Creek.
The Battle Creek Family YMCA Literacy Program provides free literacy and reading assistance to adults
in the greater Battle Creek area. Classes include reading assistance, GED prep, and English as a Second
Language. Literacy needs include reading, writing, math, social studies, and science, which are all
competency areas on the GED. The pre- and post-test scores in the table below show progress made in
the reading component of the GED by students enrolled in the online preparation program. These data
indicate progress toward obtaining a GED, which is a building block of an educated workforce and a
literate community.
Battle Creek Family YMCA Literacy Program
Scores, 2009-2010 3
Subject
Pretest
Posttest
Gains
Reading 63% 80% 27%
Reading Comprehension A 74% 77% 4%
Reading Comprehension B 76% 78% 3%
Reading Comprehension C 77% 80% 4%
Reading Comprehension LL 82% 85% 4%
Reading Vocabulary A 87% 89% 2%
Reading Vocabulary B 79% 83% 5%
Reading Vocabulary C 70% 78% 11%
SOURCE:
1. Michigan Library Statistical Report, 2010
2. http://www.michiganliteracy.org/counties.htm, 2010
3. Battle Creek Family YMCA, 2010
4. Imagination Library, 2010
page 66 The Coordinating Council (TCC) of Calhoun County - Community Report Card 2010-11