Celebrate Our Award Winners
On May 25, 2023, the Nashville Adult Literacy Council held a virtual event celebrating all we've accomplished together as a community in the past year.
During this event, we recognized a few learners and a tutor for their outstanding work. Watch the recording here (awards start around minute 38): https://vimeo.com/nashvilleliteracy/litmatters23
English Language Learner of the Year: Teresa Garcon
Teresa recently shared with our Online Classroom Manager, Lisa LeMaster, that, "I missed my opportunity to learn English when I was younger because I was working. Now I have the time, so I go to class." She only missed four classes this term!
Teresa made a huge advancement in her reading score – from 58% in October to a 96% in May! She is a delightful student who brings lots of questions and discussion opportunities to every class. But don’t just take our word for it, let’s hear from Soo and Dave who both commended Teresa in recent interviews. Listen now!
Congratulations Teresa – we are grateful for your presence and leadership.
Adult Basic Education Learner of the Year: Avery Whitehead
We were honored to have Courtney Ross, Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Amazon to present this award to Avery Whitehead, a learner that has been absolutely dogged in his pursuit to improve his reading and writing skills so that he can pass the high-school equivalency exam.
Avery enrolled with NALC in 2013 with a 1.9 reading level. Through hard work and dedication, he has increased to a 4.6 level! Avery works with his tutor by phone twice a week, rarely missing a lesson, and his ability to decode multisyllable words has markedly improved in addition to his reading stamina and fluency. Avery began using the Learning Upgrade app and in less than a month he independently completed and passed all 60 lessons of the Reading Course.
In a recent session with his tutor Crystal, Avery sounded out the word "determined" and paused, saying, "this is what I am." And he is. Staff have seen Avery grow not just in his reading abilities, but into a more confident person.
Courtney says, “I join the NALC staff in expressing my pride in Avery’s accomplishments and congratulating him with this award.”
Volunteer of the Year: Reya Almeida-Gray
We also want to recognize one of our amazing volunteers for consistently committing to our mission with enthusiasm and compassion. Reya Almeida-Gray has been volunteering as a tutor with English Language Learner Faten for almost a year.
As all ELL tutoring pairs do, they began using our online curriculum, but they transitioned into HiSET preparation material when Reya learned that Faten’s goal was to get her high school diploma. Reya seamlessly adapted their lessons to focus on language arts, reading comprehension, and building skills that Faten will need for the HiSET test.
Faten says, “I'm so lucky that Ms. Reya is my teacher. She is very kind, a good teacher, and works hard with me. I'm so grateful for her help. Thank you, Ms. Reya!”
We agree! Thank you Reya for all you do, congratulations on earning this award.