Impact Report 2016

i m pac t r e p o r t 2016

EVERYONE CAN REACH

T H E I R F U L L P OT E N T I A L In today’s complex world, literacy is about using printed and written information to function in society, achieve one’s goals and develop one’s knowledge and potential.

With this notion at the core of our mission, we believe everyone can gain the skills they need to reach their full potential. To make this happen, we must all have sufficient literacy skills to: • • • • •

Understand medical instructions, Use a computer, Have a solid command of the English language, Navigate the transit and workforce systems and Help prepare our kids for school.

Our programs are innovatively designed to be embedded in the business, healthcare and nonprofit sectors, with the sole goal of meeting the needs of clients and families where they already go to work, receive support services or seek care.

A message

from the chief executive officer Dear friends, We are living in rapidly changing times, making the work of the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas more and more important every day.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kimberly Davis, Chair Charles Schwab Ian Burk, Vice Chair Community Volunteer Michael Mackert, Secretary University of Texas at Austin Alan Mayer, Treasurer Dell Michael Simons, Immediate Past Chair Vinson & Elkins

The last three years brought a significant increase in the breadth and scope of our services. First, we merged with two Coalition Partners: the Ascend Center for Learning and English @ Work. Second, we started a bilingual parenting program. And last, we added a workforce development component to our collaborative, capacity-building programs across 12 partner sites.

Rajiv Bala S3 Ventures

We are excited to embark on a journey which will result in our 2017-2020 Strategic Plan. Given the current landscape in the adult education and family literacy sectors, we are embracing a new national industry standard which integrates literacy with occupation-specific workforce preparation and training.

Nancy Nicolas Travis County District Attorney’s Office

This approach is important because it helps our clients break barriers to literacy, math, language competency, or credentialing programs, all of which keep our clients from accessing a living wage job. Nearly all of our clients are living at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Income Level, meaning the household income for a family of three is about $3,400 a month.

With our complementary programs and our tight network of literacy providers and business partners, we are well positioned to help our community reach the ambitious goal of filling 64,000 middle-skilled jobs in the next four years. We look forward to continuing to share our progress on this in the year ahead.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to helping Central Texans reach their full potential.

With gratitude,

Jacqueline Bergen FINCA International Sally Clark-Raphael Community Volunteer Elizabeth Danon-Leva Business Consultant Bryan Lauer Scott Douglass & McConnico Monica Fernandes Texas Capital Bank

Lynn Nolen Nolen & Associates Jim Skelding Community Volunteer Maya Smart Community Volunteer Marcus Strenk Microsoft Jonathan Engel Emeritus Retta Van Auken Founder, Emeritus

LEADERSHIP TEAM Meg Poag, MSSW Chief Executive Officer Ivan Dávila, MBA Director of Development and Communication Justin DeBrosse, MA Director of Instructional Quality Katherine Keegan, MSSW Director of Service Programs Selena Muñoz, MPA Director of Adult Education Blanca Quiroz, PhD Director of Early Literacy

Meg Poag Chief Executive Officer

Teresa Wagner, DrPH, MS, CPH, LD/RD Director of Health Literacy

STRENGTHENING Today’s Workforce through

adult education and workforce development

2,248

COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR SUCCESS

ADULTS RECEIVED LITERACY SERVICES IN CENTRAL TEXAS & HOUSTON 51% demonstrated learning gains in : reading mathematics computation applied mathematics language english language proficiency

773 ADULTS RECEIVED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL TEXAS 13% had a job gain through : a compensation increase an enhanced work schedule an increase in hours worked

Thirty-six million adults in the United States lack basic work skills like literacy, numeracy and problem-solving.1 In the Austin area alone, the demand for middle and high-skilled workers continues to outpace the supply. There are approximately 90,000 workingage adults in the Austin area who have no higher education, college or career training and cannot access middle-skill jobs.2 Like many of these adults in Central Texas, Jerry knew if he wanted to be successful at work, he would need to improve his literacy skills. The Literacy Coalition’s Collaborative AmeriCorps Service Programs provide early-literacy to preschool-age children and literacy, English as a Second Language and job readiness instruction to low-income adult learners, like Jerry, at over a dozen Coalition Partner sites in Central Texas and Houston.

“After learning how to send and receive emails, I learned how to use Excel,” Jerry said. “I came to understand that in order to succeed in today’s job market, digital literacy skills are required. The best part about all this is that I can now put my new skills to work!”

Additionally, the organization recruits and places 26 AmeriCorps VISTA members to build capacity across 19 organizations.

1 2

Organization for Cooperation and Development/US Department of Education Austin/Travis County Workforce Continuum

LEARNERS AT work Lack of English proficiency is the biggest factor preventing immigrants in the United States from qualifying for sustainably paying jobs.

The Literacy Coalition’s English @ Work program provides methods that break the barriers preventing immigrants from accessing instruction, meeting both employers’ and employees’ needs by customizing lessons specific to each work environment.

Enrique, a clothing designer by trade, began working at Ace Tailors after he moved from Mexico City to Austin—not long ago. The program helps students like Enrique navigate complex systems in the United States.

“I am fortunate Ace Tailors partners with the Literacy Coalition to provide free English classes to employees,” said Enrique in his native language. “Since I started taking their classes, I’ve been able to communicate with my supervisor, and I feel more comfortable when I go buy groceries.”

learning IS A LIFELONG JOURNEY Ninety-three million Americans with low literacy skills are unprepared to enroll in the postsecondary education or job-training programs they need to enter the workforce.1 The Literacy Coalition’s Learning Center offers personalized one-on-one tutoring and wrap-around social services for individuals at or below the ninth grade level who are planning on entering the workforce for the first time or re-entering after some time off.

Now a student in the Career Pathways Program at Austin Community College, Carl, a recent Learning Center graduate, feels confident about rejoining the workforce once he completes the program in May. “When I finished the job readiness program at the Literacy Coalition’s Learning Center, I felt accomplished,” Carl said. “The volunteers and staff were there every step of the way, helping me with my resume and cover letter, and providing me with job and community resources.”

National Center on Education Statistics, National Assessment of Adult Literacy, (NAAL, 2003), U.S. Department of Education, 2005 1

ENGLISH @ WORK 228 PARTICIPANTS

LEARNING CENTER 100 PARTICIPANTS

76%

increased ability to understand english

80% DEMOGRAPHICS

had no high school diploma

26 countries 20 different languages at or below a 9 th 55% have grade education

LEARNING GAINS

increased ability to speak

participated in job readiness

47%

had a job placement

35% received their certificate of high school equivalency 73%

34%

PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION OF

Young Leaders

through EARLY-LITERACY & PARENTING EDUCATION

PALS PARENTING PROGRAM 208 FAMILIES 91% completed the program

education truly begins at home By the time a child in a low-income family turns four, he or she will have heard two words for every seven that a child in a higher-income family has heard. The Literacy Coalition’s bilingual parenting program, modeled after the University of Texas Health Science Center Children’s Learning Institute’s Play and Learning Strategies© curriculum, is specifically designed to address this inter-generational achievement gap.

The program builds the language and thinking skills of children 18 months to four years of age to ensure they are well prepared for kindergarten.

The group session, one-on-one coaching and reflections are specifically designed to help parents learn how to be their child’s best teacher.

“Before this program, I didn’t know that my child could communicate with me,” Rosalva said. “She did not talk very much, but now I know that my daughter is communicating with me. I read her signals, and I know I need to always respond, talk and listen to her—even when I’m busy—so we can have a better relationship.”

82% of children demonstrated an increase in : quality and quantity of language use responsiveness to socio - emotional support responsiveness to language and cognitive demands parent - child engagement

Rosalva states she has learned to be more patient. Through the program, she has now collected a variety of strategies that help her be her child’s best teacher. “Now I know my daughter listens to me more if I get down to her level and speak softly,” Rosalva said. “I feel like I’m becoming a better mom because now we both have fun together. I especially love it when she says, ‘mommy is fun’ and ‘I love my mommy!’”

BUILDING

Stronger Communities

through CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING FOR ADULT EDUCATORS & HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

inspiring students to move forward The demand for high-quality adult literacy instruction far outpaces the supply.

Nationally, only four percent of the adult English as a Second Language population is served by state and federal programs. People in need of literacy services rely on community programs. And community literacy programs often lack the resources to provide their volunteer instructors with high-quality training opportunities.

The result: less-than-optimal student outcomes.

ENGLISH FORWARD 342 INSTRUCTORS TRAINED IN CENTRAL TEXAS AND THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES

66% enhanced their teaching practices

The Literacy Coalition’s English Forward program provides comprehensive, highquality and consistent training, curricula and classroom materials at zero cost to local community literacy providers.

After graduating college, Izamar knew she wanted to enter the adult education field, but did not know where to start until she joined the Literacy Coalition’s English @ Work program as an AmeriCorps service member. She was then given access to all the resources the Literacy Coalition provides to its partners, including English Forward.

“Aside from all the training I’ve received, English Forward gave me access to webinars, teaching tips, more than 80 lesson plans, other classroom materials, and an instructor guide--all found in their web portal,” Izamar said. “I can also count on their network of instructors if presented with a challenge in my lesson or classroom.”

44% were trained by our master trainers

56% were trained by individuals we trained

HEALTH LITERACY 188 HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TRAINED

keeping austin healthy Today’s health information is presented in a way most people can’t understand. The American Medical Association estimates that nearly four million Texans lack sufficient health literacy to effectively understand and execute needed medical treatments and preventive healthcare.

The Literacy Coalition provides services for healthcare providers, organizations and individuals who want to promote health literacy in Texas. Most recently, Austin Travis County Integral Care received guidance from our health literacy program.

“Communicating in a health literate way helps our community understand what we do and helps connect people to quality behavioral health services,” said Anne Nagelkirk, director of communications and engagement at Integral Care. “Since we sought advice from the Literacy Coalition, the response we have gotten from our staff and the community about our communication tools has been overwhelmingly positive.”

80% of participants felt prepared to enhance their organization ’ s health literacy practices

REVENUE

$2,410,447 PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS EARNED INCOME OTHER REVENUE

$ 534,006 $ 1,548,924 $ 320,071 $ 7,445 $ 2,410,447 *

EXPENSES

$2,402,786 AMERICORPS SERVICE PROGRAMS ENGLISH @ WORK

$ 1,094,023 $ 252,568

LEARNING CENTER

$ 371,561

PALS PARENTING PROGRAM

$ 259,125

ENGLISH FORWARD

$ 101,328

HEALTH LITERACY

$ 45,206

PUBLIC AWARENESS / PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES

$ 35,687

GENERAL & ADMIN DEVELOPMENT * Financials represent trial actuals on an accrual basis. For audited financial information, please refer to our most recently filed 990 Form.

$ 147,220 $ 96,068

$ 2,402,786 *

t h a n k yo u LEAD FUNDERS

KLE FOUNDATION

PUBLIC FUNDERS

MAJOR DONORS Half Price Books, Records,

Andy Pray

$10,000-$49,999

$1,000-$4,999

Dell, Inc.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

H-E-B Grocery Company, LP

Scott Austin

Kirkus Reviews

Jim Skelding and Tracy Holland

IBM Corporation

Austin Pi Beta Phi Foundation

Bryan Lauer

Marcus and Kimberly Strenk

Seawell Elam Foundation

Rajiv and Krupa Bala

Elizabeth Danon-Leva and

Texas Capital Bank

Shield-Ayres Foundation

Todd and Angie Blackmon

Still Water Foundation

Broadway Bank, Austin Division

Catherine and Clay Levit

Topfer Family Foundation

Ian and Leah Burk

McGuire Moorman Hospitality Paula Vaughan

Calendar Holdings, LLC

Michelle Meaux

Jason Yau

Sally Clark-Raphael and Steve

Microsoft Corporation

Zulu Nyala Safari Game Lodge

$5,000-$9,999 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Donald D. Hammill Foundation Maya Payne Smart and Shaka Smart St. David’s Foundation Yelp Foundation

Raphael

Magazines, Inc.

Carey S. Leva

Don and Jeanie Murff

Kimberly and Ryan Davis

Tanuj and Nidhi Nakra

Justin DeBrosse

Nancy and Emilio Nicolas

ELM Restaurant Group

Lynn Nolen and Tom Wilkinson

Michael Simons

Retta Van Auken and Robert Schultz

OUR COALITION

partner network Part of what makes us unique is the way we embed our programs across the business, healthcare and nonprofit sectors. We are the needle threading services together for the betterment of our clients, with one common goal in mind—to build stronger communities by ensuring families and individuals can gain the skills they need to reach their full potential. Last year alone, we embedded our programs across 134 organizations all throughout the United States.

TYPE OF PARTNERS 3%

9%

12%

In addition to meeting the needs of clients and families where they already go to work, receive support services, or seek care through our collaborative, capacity-building and qualityenhancing programs, we bring local partners together to identify service gaps, address issues and improve systems along the continuum of literacy services in Central Texas.

Along these lines, every two months, we host informational sessions, dialogues and professional development events for our partners. Through feedback surveys and an annual partner meeting, our partners guide the strategic direction of our partnership activities.

17%

92%

BUSINESS EDUCATION

DIALOGUES AND INFO SESSIONS IN 2016:

NONPROFIT

• • • • •

PUBLIC

Quality of Instructional Delivery

Critical Gaps in the Service Continuum

Public Awareness and Public Relations Childcare Transportation

RELIGIOUS

CURRENT PARTNERSHIPS LEARNING CENTER

ENGLISH @ WORK

PALS PARENTING PROGRAM

AMERICORPS SERVICE PROGRAMS

HEALTH LITERACY

ENGLISH FORWARD

= 10 PARTNERS

TOGETHER

WE BUILD STRONGER COMMUNITIES C E N T RA L T E X A S

Ace Tailors American Youthworks Anderson Mill Church ESL Program Any Baby Can ARYZTA Austin Achieve Public Schools Austin Career Institute Austin Community College Austin Free-Net Austin Independent School District Austin Travis County Integral Care AVANCE Austin Blackland Community Development Corporation Bookspring Caritas of Austin Casa Marianella Central Health City of Austin Communitites in Schools: ASPIRE Community Action, Inc. Hays County CommUnity Care Dell Medical School Dynamic Manufacturing Solutions El Buen Samaritano El Milagro Explore Austin Faith United Methodist Church

Family Eldercare Financial Literacy Coalition of Central Texas Foundation Communities Four Seasons GirlForward Goodwill Central Texas Greater Texas Landscapes HEB Hotel Van Zandt Illumitex Interfaith Action of Central Texas International Friends at Riverbend (ESL) It’s Time Texas Katherine Anne Porter School Kids in a New Groove Latino Healthcare Forum Leander Independent School District LifeWorks Little Folks Childcare Mainspring Schools Manos De Cristo Meals on Wheels Oldcastle (APAC Texas) Omni Downtown Omni Southpark Open Door Preschool People’s Community Clinic

STAT E W I D E

Adult Reading Center Houston Center for Literacy Alliance for Multicultural Community Services Huguley/Texas Health Resources Alzheimer’s Association of North Texas Humanitarian Hands Charities Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans John Peter Smith Health System AVANCE Houston La Raza United Chinese Community Center Literacy San Antonio/SAReads College of the Mainland Memorial Assistance Ministries Corpus Christi Literacy Council One Powerful Movement Each One Teach One San Antonio Open Door Mission Eastside University Village Community Learning Center Prestige Learning Institute

Professional Janitorial Services Querencia Refugee Services of Texas Round Rock Independent School District Seton Healthcare Sí Se Puede Southwest Key St. David’s Foundation TDIndustries TECO Westinghouse Texas Association of Community Health Centers Texas Department of State Health Services Texas Hospital Association Texas Medical Foundation Health Quality Institute Texas Workforce Commission The SEED Trinity Child Development Center United Way for Greater Austin Westminster Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Workers Defense Project Workforce Solutions Capital Area

Restore Education Sharing Life Community Outreach Somali Bantu Community of Greater Houston South Texas College South Texas Literacy Coalition Victoria Business & Education Coalition West Houston Assistance Ministries YWCA El Paso

N AT I O N A L Adult Literacy Movement of Albuquerque Alameda County Libraries Arkansas Literacy Councils Aurora Community Connection Central Wisconsin Literacy Council Clark County Literacy Council Eastern Arkansas Literacy Project English Skills Learning Center Learning Quest Literacy Action of Central Arkansas Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon Literacy Council of North Central Arkansas

Literacy Council of Reading-Berks Literacy Council of Sarasota Literacy Council of White County Literacy For All Literacy League of Craighead County Literacy Mid-South Literacy Outreach Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County Literacy West Virginia Lutheran Services in Iowa Refugee Community Services Oklahoma Department of Career and

Technology Polytech Adult Education Racine Literacy Council Sheboygan Literacy Council Twin Lakes Literacy Council Winnebago County Literacy Council Wisconsin Literacy, Inc. The Literacy Coalition is proud to operate AmeriCorps Texas and AmeriCorps VISTA programs.

EXPLORE OUR INTERACTIVE MAP OF PARTNERS: WILLREAD.ORG/PARTNERS

Our M i s s i o n

to improve the quality and increase the availability of literacy services for Central Texans

Our V i s i o n

a community that is 100 percent literate, employable and engaged

C o n n e c t w i t h u s willread.org

@LITERACYCO

LITERACY COALITION OF CENTRAL TEXAS | 1640B EAST 2ND, SUITE 100 | AUSTIN, TX 78702 | 512.326.8655