President’s Message

Since this is our first newsletter in 2005, let me be the last to wish you a Happy New Year. At the end of last year, we received funding for several projects through the Community Coordination State grant, and the beginning of this year brought us two donations that you can read about elsewhere in this newsletter. These funds will allow us to move forward on our public-relations plan and to continue to fulfill our mission.

On March 3 to 5, Dawn Lauber, our GMLC Vice-President, and I will be representing the coalition at the Literacy USA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. We hope to meet with our Senators and Representatives to discuss the President’s proposed budget cuts for adult literacy, and share how that will impact the people we serve as well as everyone who pays taxes. We will also participate in a training session on “Best Practices of Successful Boards." Look for a complete report in the spring newsletter.

There are three board members whose terms will expire in September. Two of our past presidents, Joanne Lange, langej@matc.edu, and Sue Nemetz, nemetzs@matc.edu, have the responsibility of filling those positions. The GMLC board meets once a month, usually the first Friday, at 2:30 p.m., although that is subject to the availability of the board members. Please consider volunteering to become more involved in GMLC, help the cause of literacy in our community, and help us to improve the coalition. Contact either Joanne or Sue for more information.

Please note that our April meeting will be in the evening to accommodate the schedules of anyone who cannot make daytime meetings. I hope to see everyone at one or more of our upcoming meetings or events.

Mary Moze, Delphi Electronics

Training to focus on learning disabilities

“Understanding Learning Disabilities," a four-hour workshop, will be offered to GMLC members and their teachers and tutors on Friday, April 29, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The training session will be held at Literacy Services of Wisconsin, 2724 W. Wells St.

Topics that are to be covered are from the Bridges to Practice series, which is research-based material. They include:

• Understanding learning disabilities
• Characteristics of learning disabilities
• Legal issues related to adults with LD
• Screening for LD
• Selecting screening tools
• Screening vs. diagnosis
• Systems and program change

Light refreshments will be served in the afternoon. Participants are welcome to bring a bag lunch.

To register, or for information, e-mail or call Kerry at Literacy Services, 414-344-5878.

Jan Anderson