Literacy Council of Hot Spring County

Stephanie Johnson

Stephanie Johnson had an epiphany while in jail.  She decided that she had to make some drastic changes in her life.  One of those changes was to get the education that she had missed out on when she was younger.

She had a child at a very young age and got married.  Where she lived they would not allow her to go back to school.  Over the next several years things got worse in Stephanie’s life.  She got a divorce and lost custody of her two children.

Life continued to be bumpy.  She was on and off of drugs.  Stephanie had another child. Then she was arrested.  She left her child with ‘friends,’ who disappeared with her son while she was in jail.  Stephanie never saw her son again. 

Now Stephanie’s life is much different.  She was placed in Drug Court, where her life has been turned around.  Drug Court sent her to Literacy Council of Hot Spring County, Inc. (LCHSC).  If Drug Court participants do not have a high school diploma or GED, they are required to work toward that goal. Their program has very strict requirements, which Stephanie gladly followed.  She came to LCHSC.  Her scores were fairly high in reading, but low in math.  We have been working more on the reading to get her levels up.  We will soon start on her math. 

Stephanie is a pleasure to work with.  When she can she even works ahead.  We try to read a few chapters from one of the Pacemaker Classics each lesson to improve her fluency in reading.  She enjoys reading the classics, always with a smile.

Stephanie got married after she got out of jail.  Her ex-husband has seen the change in her and is allowing her to have her children each summer. 

Wanda Collins

Wanda was pegged a “slow learner” in school, but she studied and kept up. She liked to play basketball but had an injury that required surgery. After a lengthy recovery, she tried to go back to school. She had fallen so far behind that she was referred to a vocational school. She was nearly eighteen and gave up. Wanda wanted to get married, but her mother said she had to wait until after her eighteen birthday. 

At eighteen she married and started a family. She forgot about school. As the years went by, she lost many of her skills. Wanda did not have time for the luxury of reading. She moved around some, but eventually moved back to Malvern. 

Wanda wanted a driver’s license. There is nothing remarkable about that. People get driver’s licenses every day. However, for Wanda it was not possible because she could not read well enough to pass the exam. 

Wanda, who is now in her forties, had to give up. She was confused by the questions and the words were difficult. Someone at the driver’s license area recommended to her that she visit Literacy Council of Hot Spring Co., Inc. (READ program). She was assessed and began meeting twice per week with a tutor. Her reading skills improved and she even began using a computer. 

After Wanda studied for several more months, she finally passed her driver’s license test with flying colors. Even though she earned her driver’s license, Wanda continues to study with the READ program. It is her wish to continue her education because she wants to be able to help her children. 

Reading signs that say ‘Merge’ or ‘Road Construction’ are negotiated every day by most of us. If you have never really learned to read, they do not mean a thing. Although Wanda had many difficulties, she is now changing her life. She studies from lesson books as well as newspapers, sales papers, and other texts of interest to her.

Basic Literacy Student

I have a 20 year old man who came in with his mother asking for help. He had undergone surgery as a toddler and died during the operation. They revived him, but, to his parent's horror, he suffered severe brain damage. The doctors recommended he live in a state hospital or nursing home, but his parent's refused. He went to public schools and attended special education classes. He received a "certificate of attendance" instead of a diploma from his high school. He could not read efficiently. He and I started working together in August 2007 using the Laubach Way to Reading series. He came to me in January 2008 to tell me that he had a "job." He comes to our sessions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. When he leaves here, he walks one block down the road to volunteer at Libby's ROSE (a Christian-based second hand store that helps families in need). I asked him why he decided to volunteeer instead of getting a paying job. He replied, "Because I don't need the money and they need the help. Isn't that what you do?" I was touched, yet again, by one of my students. I may not have taught him to read Hemmingway (yet), but I taught him the importance and value of helping people in need.