Van Buren County Literacy Council

Esteban Perez

Esteban is a new student in our ESL program. He has been in the U.S. for about a year. He is married and has four children, but his family is still in Mexico. He enjoys playing basketball with his friends. 

Esteban finished twelve grades in school, but is at the beginning level in English literacy. He comes to class dressed in a tuxedo because he is on his way to work in a Mexican restaurant.

Ruby Meredith

I always dreamed of learning to read and write. When I was sixteen years old, I was still in the third grade and a foot taller than the other students. Nobody ever bothered to help me; they didn’t know I had a learning disability. In 2002 I heard about the Van Buren County Literacy Council from the Head Start program my grandchild attended. 

I am seventy-four years old and have been studying with a tutor for five years. My best friends are the people in the Council. I have finished all of the skills books in the Laubach Way to Reading. This program had not only helped me read, spell, and write, but it has improved my self-esteem and has given me my only friends in this area. I have been a student representative on the board and helped raise money and promote literacy in Clinton.