This program provides
assessment, classes and GED preparation.
Partners are the Syracuse City
School District, The Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County, OCM-BOCES,
WCNY and the Syracuse University WorkKeys Center.
Classes, by appointment, are
Tuesday and Thursdays from 6 - 9 PM
Mondays or Wednesday mornings (9 - 12) are also available by appointment
December
2010/ January 2011
Newsletter
Of
the
Westcott
Community
Center
GED/Literacy
Program
(Call
Paul Harvey @247-4420 or Email luludoodah@aol.com
with any questions or thoughts)
Kudos:
You
will notice a continual partner in all the educational programs we offer
below. That is the
Syracuse
City
School
District
.
Folks like Kathy Lent, John Dittman, Gail Tauber, Jim Resti and Chrissy
Morrison have been a big part of why we can offer the GED programs and can
find the flexibility to reach out to everyone. All of these
Johnson
Center
folks are dedicated to helping every Syracuesan with educational needs
to improve their lot in life.
We
could not do it without them THANKS FOLKS!
If you would like
more information or to take part in the effort please feel free to call Paul
Harvey at 247-4420 or respond to this Emailed newsletter at luludoodah@aol.com.
Literacy Effort at
Nottingham
The
Nottingham High School Honor Society met a challenge offered by the
Westcott
Community
Center
partnering with Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse, the
Nottingham
administration, the
ESL
staff and Honor Society advisor Don Little.
A
request was made for 20 students to commit to being trained as Literacy
volunteers and then serve as tutors for their refugee/immigrant classmates on
a pilot program to be run throughout the second semester of the school year.
In
spite of our concerns that we might not be able to get a full twenty
folks to make the serious half year commitment It was indeed
impressive to see 25 of our Honors' students give up a winter day to help
their classmates, their school and their community. The students quite
honestly amazed the adults at the Conference with their insight, creativity
and passion for the task.
The
program with the first meetings between tutors and their student partners will
get underway in January. We look forward to a program that may well be a model
for other similar efforts.
Anti-Bullying
Effort
A
coalition to develop a plan to fight the many faces of bullying combines
The efforts and input of the Westcott Center ‘s GED facilitator Paul Harvey,
Ashley Kessler from SU’s Goldberg Center for Marriage and Famly
Therapy, Dr. Elizabeth Payne from the Q center , The Nottingham Gay/Straight
Alliance and. Nottingham Principal Debbie Mastropaolo, the Nottingham Guidance
Department, Parent Gena Christian,and Ginny Felleman, the chair of the Ed
Smith School Anti-Bullying committee.
The
Westcott
Center
and all the partners recognize the cost in emotional turmoil, mental and
physical health for the individuals, community discord , poor school
attendance and ruined lives that results from unchecked or unmonitored
bullying. It is our hopre that through working together answers can be found
to successfully combat theis growing menace.
Adult
Classes grow at Westcott
GED classes are back to full strength and continuing to meet every
Tuesday and Thursday at Westcott thanks to our partnership with SCSD, and we
are happy to announce two new graduates: Mindy Weaver and Holly Vittorio!
Adult
Class Attendance Winners! During
the month of December we had a student challenge for the
notoriously difficult classes for attendance during the
holidays. We had three winners with perfect attendance, shown below: (lto r)
instructor Peter Bostwick,
Charles
Bays
, Veronica Lando and John
Jones instructor Cindi Bostwick.
We
at the
Westcott
Center
are proud and happy to be part of a
program aimed at helping our young folks in this crucial time as they approach
their adult life. If you know someone you think would qualify for the program
please feel free to call us at 247-4420.
Goldberg
Sessions Filling Up
The
free family counseling sessions with the professionals of SU’s Goldberg
Center of Marriage and Family Therapy are still available. Our
partner, the
Goldberg
Center
is taking referrals at their
main office which is near Westcott . Anyone wishing to access this service for
themselves or a friend, family member or client should contact Donna at 885-3057
or zahralmt@gmail.com.
For general information contact Paul Harvey at the number or Email listed at
the beginning of this newsletter.
Multi-Tasking
More
and more we are noticing the many different services we offer used by our
clients to enrich their lives. A GED student will visit one of our vocational
specialists and find the many programs and services open to them as they try
to improve their career search. Likewise our Job training clients will find
Westcott a great place to pick op a GED degree. Likewise our folks may go to a
Goldberg specialist for therapy or come in on a Thursday night to talk to a
lawyer…and so it goes. Why not check out our full list of services below and
be aware we are always looking for ways to expand our services.
.
Job
Training Programs
More
and more we are becoming aware of the connection between GED/Literacy efforts
and Job Training. Both programs refer clients to each other and the proximity
of our Workforce Preparation programs to our Educational programs are proving
to be a real benefit to our “folks.”
Contact Paul Harvey
at 247-4420 or luludoodah@aol.com
or paulh@westcottcc.org
NOTE:
The
Goldberg
Center, SU’s school
of
Marriage
and Family Therapy has joined us to offer free
therapeutic services and periodic workshops on family and life skills for all
the members of our community. While the final details have not yet been
finalized we expect to be up and running by late Spring. For more information
call or email to the above contacts or call the WCC at 478-8634.
Funded in part by
Listed
in the National Literacy Directory
(http://www.nationalliteracydirectory.org/ged-info)