Forsyth County Becomes A Certified Literate Community

Cumming, November 9, 2010 – The State Board of The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) has awarded Forsyth County Certified Literate Community status. This resolution is recognition of Forsyth County’s success in establishing an effective, sustainable adult education program and in reaching its 10-year goal of elevating literacy rates among a targeted adult population. Board members of Literacy Forsyth, a non-profit community partnership created to address the issues of adult literacy in Forsyth County, accepted the award during a ceremony at the November 4th TCSG meeting in Atlanta. A community celebration is planned for November 17 in Cumming. Forsyth County is the 29th county in Georgia to earn the distinction of Certified Literate Community.

“Improving adult literacy rates benefits everyone,” said Fonda Harrison, chair of Literacy Forsyth. “Our organization’s motto is ‘Education Empowers Communities.’ Education provides a path to personal growth and self-sufficiency for our county’s immigrants and illiterate adults. A literate community is attractive to businesses and families alike. We are very proud of the teachers, tutors, and volunteers who have built the program, worked with the students, and earned this distinction for our county.”

Literacy Forsyth, a non-profit community partnership, works with Lanier Technical College’s Adult Education Center to address the needs of functionally illiterate adults, high-school dropouts, and non-English speaking adults. Since the partnership’s inception in 2005, the program has served more 7,400 county residents, surpassing its 10-year goal in just six years. Services provided through the program include tutoring for low-level and non-reading adults, GED preparation classes and tutoring, English Language classes, scholarships, and materials for the GED preparation classes at the Forsyth County Detention Center. All services are free to county residents.

About Literacy Forsyth
Literacy Forsyth is a business-education-government partnership that mobilizes resources from across the county to address adult literacy issues. This collaborative approach enables Literacy Forsyth to secure funding for literacy programs and to recruit adult students. Partners and supporters include the United Way of Forsyth County, Lanier Technical College, Forsyth County Schools, Forsyth County Libraries, Forsyth County News, American Proteins, Automation Direct, Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation, Dollar General, BB&T, Community Business Bank, local Rotaries, Wal-Mart, and the State Street Foundation, Norman’s Landing, Linda Lang, and Everett & Teresa Bennett.

About the Adult Education Program at Lanier Technical College
The Adult Education Program at Lanier Technical College is specifically designed for adults who have different needs, backgrounds, and skills. The program features General Educational Development (GED) exam preparation classes, English Language classes, and Georgia Work Ready training and certification. Each of the eight counties served by Lanier Technical College has a center to assist adult learners in obtaining skills that lead to success in both the workplace and in the community. In 2009, Lanier Technical College’s Adult Education Centers served more than 5,300 students. For more information, please visit the Lanier Technical College Web site at www.laniertech.edu or call Brenda Thomas or Debbie Killip at 770-531-6363.

About the Certified Literate Community Program (CLCP) in Georgia
The greatest barrier to economic development and growth is the absence of a literate workforce. The Georgia solution for reaching adults effectively is the Certified Literate Community Program (CLCP). Created in 1990 by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and the Georgia Council on Adult Literacy (GCAL), CLCP asks a community to establish a non-profit collaborative to promote, support and enhance community literacy efforts locally. Communities participating in the program analyze community needs, create awareness of the needs, ensure that learning opportunities are offered and evaluate progress so that the majority of citizens needing to improve their skills do so within 10 years. A network is formed to coordinate business, church, volunteer, social service, local government and schools, media and other efforts in the community to reach, influence and support those who want to improve their education.

In the state of Georgia, there are 60 CLCPs encompassing 78 counties and 2 cities. Those 60 programs are made up of CLCP Participants (first level of certification) and Certified Literate Communities (second level of certification). The CLCPs collectively have made the commitment to serve 398,000 individuals. Annually, CLCPs secure approximately $2 million for their programs and an additional $1 million in in-kind resources.

Throughout Georgia, CLCPs provide the funding to build adult learning centers, address transportation and child care needs, and provide materials, equipment, tutors, additional class locations and GED scholarships. CLCPs manage local “Dictionary Projects”, after school homework programs, and school reading initiatives. They work with students in high schools to prevent drop-outs. They promote adult literacy services, recruit and retain adult literacy students in the classes, and provide a support system to students and literacy providers alike. Communities with CLCPs have more workplace programs as well as higher enrollment, higher retention rates, and more graduations for adult education students.

CLCPs are about economic development, workplace skills, parents able to help their children with their homework, people able to understand and follow prescription medicine directions for themselves and their children. They are about empowering people to read a map or road sign, acquire English language skills, or acquire computer skills. CLCPs are about lifelong learning and acquiring a new skill at any point in life.
In its implementation, the CLCP has shown that communities can influence citizens to improve their individual lives, while they make their communities better places to work and live. The Certified Literate Community Program is proving that given a sense of mission and direction, a community can become a powerful, self-managed force for literacy.