COMMUNITY
 Luz Deal’s longtime English tutor Arlene Jones (left), stands available for questions as Luz practices using one of Calvert County’s new electronic voting machines. |
October 2006
(Read the previous stories in the series.)
October 18 is the day she’s been waiting for—the day she’s been looking forward to for the past seven years. After countless hours of working to learn to read and write English, Luz Deale is going to receive her external high school diploma.
Luz was born in Columbia, South America. When she became an adult, she moved to the United States in search of a better life. Shortly thereafter she met, fell in love with, and married a Calvert County builder—that was seven years ago.
Luz quickly realized that her life in the United States, not to mention communication with her new husband, would be dramatically easier and more fulfilling if she were fluent in English, so she started working with tutors at the Calvert County Literacy Council to learn to read and write English.
After she receives her external diploma, Luz will take the rest of the tests that allow her to become a U.S. citizen. She plans to follow up that accomplishment with taking classes in cosmetology—an occupation that has interested Luz for some time now.
Luz is not the only member of her family in this country. She has two sisters living in the United States—Paula in New Jersey and Adriana in Alaska. Her sisters are also pursuing U.S. citizenship, but are still working to develop their language skills so they can complete all portions of the United States citizenship test.
The Calvert County Literacy Council has been instrumental in helping Luz, as well as many other ESL (English as a Second Language) students to improve their English language skills. This, of course, does much to improve their lives. ESL students are frequently well-educated, intelligent adults who have contributed to their communities in their native countries; it is a benefit to all of us when they have the language skills necessary to be contributing members here, as well.
 Occasionally, families or groups of employees elect to be tutored together. |
The Calvert County Literacy Council located at 65 Duke Street in Prince Frederick is an invaluable resource for those who need it. The Council offers free literacy tutoring to all adult residents of Calvert County. Residents are provided with one-on-one tutoring in reading, writing, and verbal English, as well as assistance in getting up to speed on using technology. For example, this year, the Council added training on how to use electronic voting machines to its roster. This service complements their ESL classes, since new United States citizens often have a keen understanding of the importance of voting.
The Council also offers remedial English classes. Each year, the Council tutors more than 100 adults and offers services to an additional 100-200 families through family literacy programs. The Council also provides tutoring to help adults obtain their GED or external high school diploma. Literacy skills help people function better in society. For example, learning to read can help people better understand their bills and taxes. And reading is vital for obtaining a high school diploma as well as for understanding the instructions on citizenship tests. Although the Council does not provide tutoring to school-age residents, they do provide a courtesy listing of private tutors in the area.
To donate money, or if you are interested in becoming a literacy tutor for the Calvert County Literacy Council, please call 410-535-3233 or 410-257-0082, or visit their Web site at www.somd.lib.md.us/CALV/Literacy/.