Literacy NJ Union County New Tutors
Literacy New Jersey-Union County welcomed four new volunteer tutors to the program in December.
Lawrence Russo of Cranford, Carol Ann Townsend of Summit, Kacie Yip of Summit, and Roberta Tipton of Berkeley Heights all successfully completed a rigorous, 5-week online training program and received their certificates as Literacy New Jersey tutors.
Carol Ann Townsend of Summit is volunteering to tutor ESL students. She says: “I enjoy working with students and learning about new cultures. Ms. Townsend holds a graduate degree in Political science and History.
Kacie Yip of Summit tutors two different ESL classes each week. She is currently an intern at Mount Sinai Hospital and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. “I enjoy sharing my knowledge so that others can progress in life and witnessing their improvements give me great satisfaction that I helped at least a little in their life.”
Roberta Tipton of Berkeley Heights works with ESL students on Saturday afternoons. She is the Business Librarian at Rutgers University. Roberta says “I enjoy meeting new people and working together with my students.”
Lawrence Russo of Cranford will be assisting adult students obtain their high school diploma. He is currently retired, but was a science teacher for 44 years.
The tutors will engage with students in online English as a Second Language, High School Equivalency or Basic Literacy classes.
After completing the training sessions, tutors are matched with a small group of adult students from the growing waiting list of students who need to improve their literacy skills. Tutors meet with their students online for 2-hours per week.
Literacy New Jersey provides ongoing supervision and support to tutors in the form of free professional development workshops on specific topics such as Health Literacy, ESL Conversation, Small Group Instruction and Job Readiness.
To volunteer, you must be at least 18 years old, able to speak English and willing to tutor in Union County. You do not need to have any teaching experience and you do not need to speak a foreign language. The training will provide volunteers with techniques and strategies for working with adult learners, as well as sample instructional materials and activities. Literacy New Jersey is a non-profit organization.
For more information or to register, please call Literacy New Jersey at
908-486-1777 or email Barbara Bagger, Program Director at bbagger@literacynj.org.
