Valencia County Literacy Council With Literacy and Justice for All 280 La Entrada   Los Lunas, NM  87031  (505) 925-8926  Fax (505) 925-8924

Events
Board Annual Meeting, August 21st, 9:00 to 1:00, with Board Retreat by HELP-NM.  Location TBA.  Call Jill at 925-8935 for more information.

Student and Tutor Potluck, August 31st at the Student Community Center at UNM-Valencia, with Guest Speaker Marten Griego.  Call Susan Howard for more info. at 925-8935.

Click here for Student Voices!

Valencia County Literacy Council

280 La Entrada
Los Lunas, NM 87031
(505) 925-8926
joglesby@valencialiteracy.org

Volunteer Tutoring:
Call Susan Howard at
(505) 925-8935
showard@valencialiteracy.org

BOOK Readers:
Call Lori Griego at
(505) 865-1878
lgriego@valencialiteracy.org

Mission Statement

VCLC’s mission is to enable adults to achieve personal goals and very young children to achieve pre-literacy skills through literacy services provided to families free of charge.

Vision Statement

We envision a Valencia County in which all residents have the Literacy skills they need to achieve their own dreams and to enhance the quality of their lives.

Core Values

• We serve residents of Valencia County with low literacy and/or limited English-language skills.

• We are committed to the use of volunteers to provide instruction.

• We value quality instruction that is centered on Learners’ Own Goals.

• We support the Adult Learner in all his/her capacities as a Community Member, Family Member, and Worker.

• We support Adult Learner Leadership.

• We believe that the ability to read is critical to personal freedom and the maintenance of a democratic society. 

• We believe that as our culture becomes more complex and dependent on technology, Literacy becomes ever more basic to survival and the achievement of one’s potential. 

• We work to encourage and assist other organizations and individuals who are committed to a literate society.

I am Lori Griego, the BOOK Coordinator for the Valencia County Literacy Council.  BOOK is an activity of the Valencia County Literacy Council.

BOOK stands for Books Open to Our Kids, and our goal at BOOK is to promote early-literacy for very young children and also to help parents understand the importance of reading to their children.

Recent research indicates that reading to very young children is important because it helps children’s brain development.  Early childhood researcher Dr. Dawn Ramsburg points out that historically we used the term "reading readiness" to describe the early years as preparation for reading. Now, we use the term "emergent literacy" to characterize these early activities as part of a continuum of reading development, rather than as preparation for it (Ramsburg 1998). 

Dr. Lesley Morrow of Rutgers University has gathered and conducted research showing that literacy learning begins in infancy, and parents and caregivers need to provide a rich literacy environment to help children acquire literacy skills.

Whether they are from upper or lower–income families, there is no difference when you compare the love that parents have for their children.  However, researchers have found that “…the ratio of books to children in middle-income neighborhoods is approximately 13 books to 1 child, and the ratio in low-income neighborhoods is 1 book to 300 children” (Neuman and Dickinson 2006).

Our goal at BOOK is to reach these children and their families.  We do this by providing new books to local medical clinics to give out to low-income families.  Volunteers from our community then go into the clinics to read to the children as they are waiting for their appointments.  This models reading aloud to both the parents and the children, which is very important in nurturing early literacy development.

I think reading establishes that nurturing relationship with kids, and it helps them develop their vocabulary and imagination. I read to my kids almost every day, and I read to my granddaughters—one’s two and one’s almost one.

VCLC is currently seeking volunteers to read to children in local low-income medical clinics. No experience is required, only a desire to help build an appreciation for reading in children.

Want to be a BOOK Reader? Call Lori at
865-1878 or e-mail
lgriego@valencialiteracy.org.

NEWS FLASH: In Fall 2009, thanks to Lori, VCLC officially joined the Reach Out and Read organization, on which BOOK Readers is based, with the Los Lunas First Choice Healthcare Clinic.  Click here to see NBC news report on Reach Out and Read

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