Improving Lives Through Literacy

Building Workforce Skills that Sustain Families

Improving Lives Through Literacy

Building Workforce Skills that Sustain Families

As a community, we have seen the Hispanic/Latinx population in Beloit increase at an exponential rate every 10 years. With this growth, local literacy organizations have found that approximately 50% of Spanish-speaking adult learners within the community exhibit low levels of English literacy skills and about 70% qualify as low income.

Adults with intermediate levels of English will earn $11,000 or more per year than those who do not know English. (Census.gov) In the US, a child of low literacy parents is 72% more likely to have low literacy. (Wisconsin Literacy)

Both national and Wisconsin data tells us that increasing adult English literacy directly impacts financial stability, job outcomes, child literacy and the ability for individuals to meaningfully contribute to the community.

Stateline Literacy Council (SLC) is a Beloit-based non-profit seeking to improve lives through literacy and adult education. SLC helps English and non-English speaking adults learn basic skills like reading, writing and speaking English as well as provides one-on-one tutoring, Spanish GED classes and Spanish GED math tutoring.

With demand for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at an all-time high, long waitlists for class enrollment, and student-led interest in developing better English skills around workforce preparation and communication, SLC approached the Hendricks Family Foundation (HFF) with a project seeking to address these specific needs.

Recognizing their established history of providing services, the need for support while developing sustainable capacity, and the potential for broad community impact related to workforce development as well as adult and child literacy, the Foundation awarded support to SLC to expand availability of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and implement a
structured English literacy workforce preparation course over a two year period. The project will serve 120 new adult English learners.

The SLC English Literacy and Workforce Preparation project is a great example of the Foundation’s support of a strategy that touches on multiple priorities and areas of interest: Career & Workforce Development, Education and a Strong & Vibrant Community. It has potential impacts for adult learners, their children and families related to literacy and economic
stability. It also has the potential to significantly impact the adult learner as an employee around safety, productivity, and potential for advancement. These impacts, in addition to adult learners being able to effectively communicate day-to-day with fellow community members, create opportunities to continue to weave together and strengthen the fabric of the Beloit community.

In other news…

Education

The School District of Beloit Data Tool

Accurate and objective data is critical, particularly if we rely on that data to facilitate decision-making and problem-solving.

Beloit Art Center

A small, volunteer-based organization focused on slow and steady growth can build organizational capacity that allows it to stretch and grow, and most importantly, can help ensure a thriving community.

The Challenge of Housing in Beloit

“A thriving community.” This is the opening of the vision statement for the Hendricks Family Foundation, and we lean into it often to shape and prioritize our work here in Beloit. When challenges emerge, we ask ourselves: What can we do to contribute? What do we know and need to know? How can we help move the needle?