MAHONING COUNTY Literacy tutors open new chapter in the lives of those they help

Thousands of area adults have poor reading skills, a coordinator says.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Catherine Smith gets a bit emotional when she talks about how she has changed since she started working with Ted Price.
The 43-year-old Youngstown woman can follow recipes and bake cakes; she scans more labels when she shops; and she pays attention to billboards and that print that flashes across the television screen.
Now and then, she even picks up a newspaper at her mother's house.
All this has come about over the past year or so, since Smith discovered the Project Opportunity adult literacy program and her tutor, Price.
Smith said she remembers learning letters and numbers as a kindergartner, but as she grew, something changed and her reading skills fell by the wayside.
She worked in the laundry at Tartan Textile Services in Youngstown and ended up jobless when the plant closed.
Searching for another job, she went to the Mahoning & amp; Columbiana Training Association in Youngstown. They tested her, told her she needed to improve her reading, and sent her to the Adult Basic and Literacy Education program at the Choffin Career & amp; Technical Center in Youngstown. There, she found Project Opportunity.
The free program pairs adults who need reading or writing help with one-on-one tutors. The services are possible through a collaborative effort of the ABLE sites of the Austintown, Campbell, Struthers and Youngstown schools and the Mahoning County Career & amp; Technical Center.
Smith opted for a one-on-one tutor when the ABLE classroom she attended became crowded and she wanted more personal assistance.
Reading material
In celebrating National Literacy Day this Monday, the project has teamed up with the Public Libraries of Youngstown and Mahoning County to increase the amount of adult-theme books written at a lower reading level. Such materials are available at Austintown, Boardman and Youngstown branches. The books include short stories and nonfiction titles as well as guidebooks that offer help with reading maps, following directions, filling out forms and various other skills.
Anne Liller, Urban Libraries Project Coordinator, said the books were chosen by the library and Project Opportunity staff and will become part of the permanent collection. They replace a weeded-out collection.
"There are 21,000 functionally illiterate adults in the Youngstown area," said Leslie Kiske, coordinator at Project Opportunity.
Project Opportunity has about 40 trained volunteer tutors and 20 who are active, Kiske said. They help readers find where their weaknesses lie and work in those areas, she explained.
Each tutor works with anywhere from one to five students with whom they meet on a weekly or biweekly basis at a place agreeable to both, such as a library, ABLE center or church meeting room.
Key motivations
Kiske said there are two main reasons the students come for help: They want to read the Bible or want to read to their children.
Price, of Howland, said he's been tutoring for about 41/2 years and has helped about 12 people. A retiree, he tutors four adults.
Price helped one man who'd been a railroad worker for 30 years prepare to take an exam he needed to pass to keep his job. He's helped others pass the GED (one man was 99) and gain the skills needed to learn to balance checkbooks, fill out job applications and write postcards.
"Reading opens up an expanse of a world they didn't know existed," he said.