... ...Carmella Avant dropped out of school in the ninth grade.
“My mom let me leave the school because the system I was in was not helping me one-on-one,” she said.
Unfortunately Avant’s limited education left her with limited reading skills and that held her back more than the lack of a degree. Before she was even interviewing with an employer, the now 20-year-old found herself tripped up by filling out an application.
About a year ago, she decided to check out Coosa Valley Technical College’s adult literacy program that is offered through a joint effort with the Rome-Floyd County Library. Two days a week, Avant receives the one-on-one attention she feels was lacking in high school to help her reading skills develop.
“My goal is to learn how to read better and go farther in life and get a good job,” Avant said.
It’s hard feeling judged by others because you can’t read well, she said. She recounted being asked to read a passage a
Megan Watters talks with a student during an adult literacy class at the Rome-Floyd County Library. By Ryan Smith / RN-T |
t church but passing the book to her cousin because she didn’t want to be laughed at.
Now Avant hopes to continue improving her reading skills and eventually earn her GED.
Her volunteer tutor Lee Young is impressed by Avant’s eagerness to learn.
Young, a retired teacher, has been involved in the library’s program for about a year. Avant is her third student with the program; however, Young has also been mentoring at Rome Middle School for years.
“I love reading,” Young said. “I feel reading opens experiences and places and things that we can never experience ourselves. To me it just opens up the world to you and opportunities, too.”
About 25 students and around the same number of tutors are involved in the library’s adult literacy program, said volunteer coordinator Barbara Raybon. The volunteer opportunity requires only two hours of the volunteers’ time per week, and the program is always looking for more people, she said.
Students can meet with tutors anytime the library is open, seven days a week. The program serves adult students of all ages, and they are assisted at a variety of levels from beginning reading to preparation for the GED.
“Whenever you improve your reading skills, it opens your eyes to opportunities that you did not see before,” Raybon said. “Anything that improves the quality of a student’s life improves life in our community.”
CVTC offers a regular adult education program on campus at its adult learning center. The on-campus program has an enrollment of about 100 and accepts students at the beginning of each quarter, said Susan Hackney, director of adult education. Fall quarter for the college begins Sept. 27, and registration is currently ongoing by appointment.
The school’s adult education and library programs work together to provide students with the best possible placement, Hackney said. The primary difference is the one-on-one attention that the library’s volunteer program offers students.
“On campus, we offer all levels of adult basic education, which starts at the beginning — learning to read — and takes students up to the high school equivalency exam or on to other levels of post-secondary training,” Hackney said.
CVTC also offers basic education and GED preparation classes to parents at five Floyd County schools — Glenwood, Alto Park and Cave Spring elementaries and McHenry and Pepperell primaries — and two Rome City Schools — North Heights and Main elementaries.
Something emphasized to prospective students is the privacy their programs promise, Raybon said. No information is given out on any students.
That was important to a 45-year-old male student involved in the library’s program, who was willing to share his experiences but preferred his name not be used. He has been in and out of the program for about 10 years and most recently restarted it at the beginning of this year.
He dropped out of school in the 11th grade with math skills but he was never good at reading, he said. When he was in school, there were no special programs for students with difficulty in subjects.
He has worked for cleaning companies and done painting and minor electric jobs throughout his career. Although his reading skills are strong enough to put words together and to do tasks such as bill payment, he said, they have always held him back. His goals in the program more than 20 years after high school?
“A few of them are to continue to upgrade my reading ability and one day get my GED,” he said. “And I would like to one day, before I’m dead and buried, get my bachelor. … And one day read the Bible.”
Offering adults the opportunity to continue their education is the mission of the program, Hackney said. These programs improve participants’ opportunities to be productive parents, citizens and members of the community.
“It’s an opportunity for adults to pick up their education, which was interrupted in earlier years for whatever reason,” she said. “There are thousands of adults in Floyd County who never completed high school. Some of them are young and some are not young anymore. We’ve always had this opportunity for people to start over again.”
Adult Literacy and GED Courses: All of these classes are free to the community
Where: Coosa Valley Technical College’s Adult Learning Center When: 5 days a week Who: Students 16 and older Register: Registration by appointment until the fall quarter begins Sept. 27. Call 706-295-6917.
Where: Rome-Floyd County Library When: Seven days a week during normal library hours Who: Community members Register: Call 706-236-4617 to register as a student or find out about volunteer opportunities. Spaces available as number of volunteers permits.
Where: Floyd County and Rome City schools Schools: Glenwood, Alto Park, Cave Spring, North Heights and Main elementary schools and McHenry and Pepperell primary schools Who: For parents of school students, but other members of the community are welcome to attend Register: Call CVTC at 706-295-6917 for information.
