Our Adult Literacy School is the only such program in York Region that supports persons with special needs. The program is offered in partnership with the York Region District School Board who provide the wages for the teacher, Madelene Levy.
Students come to the program via the school board, our facilities and the community. We currently support 13-21 students depending on the day of the week. Funding for the program is a combination of various agency sources as well as our fundraising events and designated donations. These funds are used to pay staff wages and benefits as well as purchase all equipment and learning aids for the students.
Through donated funds, we were able to purchase five new touch screen enabled computer systems that allow all students to use them. Here are some benefits enjoyed by the students:
- Faster access, saving time in doing research as compared to the old ones that take 10 minutes to start*
- The new computers can run larger and more complex programs due to more memory
- The touch screen is easy to access for students who find it difficult to use the mouse or keyboard
- The students benefit from the big monitor screen as it is easier to read
- The new computers take up less space on the desktop
*We still have 10 old computers to replace!
Augmentative Communication Tool
We are the fortunate recipient of grant funding from the Ministry of Community and Social Services to develop custom augmentative communication devices. Using these devices, our students have gained the ability to express themselves in conversation with others, state their wants, and make their own decisions – some for the first time. Using communication devices and tools not only helps the individual to express him/herself, it also helps the caregiver and workers who assist with activities of daily living and education.
Adult Literacy Teacher Madelene with student Kenny
Students in the Adult Literacy School are supported in their individual learning styles; whenever possible, learning and communication tools are created and used to assist the students to reach their goals. Here are just a sample of our students’ goals:
- “I’m working toward gaining an apprenticeship position in the food services industry”
Steven - “I work at a pharmacy to gain money skills to become more independent.”
Josh - “I’m working on my literacy skills to be able to take a child and youth worker program at community college.”
Avi - “I’m working toward my GED to be able to find employment doing office work.”
Anat
Help our students reach their goals…donate to the Adult Literacy Program Now!
