Local News in Brief : Program for Illiterate Begins in January
Educators are shaping a program to teach job and communication skills to illiterate restaurant and hotel workers and the unemployed.
The program, “Working Smart: The Los Angeles Workplace Literacy Project,” will be the first of its kind in Southern California, project director Pearl Baker said. Classes begin in late January for 550 people.
The project is spearheaded by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which accepted a $428,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund the 15-month program. Utilizing partnerships of businesses and educators, the project will teach illiterate people to read and write. Classes will be tailored for each company participating in the program by including instruction in job skills commonly used in that industry.
Studies have found that up to 1 million Los Angeles County adults are functionally illiterate, project officials said.
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