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The Literacy Center (TLC) is non-profit organization located in
Allentown, PA that has been in existence for over 35 years. TLC is
managed by an 18-member board of directors and a staff of 24
people. Key management include the Executive Director of The
Literacy Center Carol Jones, Ph.D. and the Associate Director,
Sally Derr. Additionally several volunteers help to keep this
non-profit organization running smoothly. The Literacy Center
offers free instruction for adults who want to improve their
reading, writing or math skills.
The Literacy Centers Mission Statement:
The Literacy Center's Mission is to help people of the Lehigh
Valley achieve literacy and English
skills needed to succeed in life
Literacy Changes
Lives Muhlenberg College Partners with The Literacy Center to
Increase Learning Opportunities for Residents of Both
Whitehall and Emmaus Pennsylvania
Spring 2013
About The Literacy Center
Adult Basic Education
General Education Development (GED)
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESL)
Distance Learning
A. Benjamin Miles Mike Ficano
Allentown, Pennsylvania
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The Breakdown Three Phase Project
Phase One
Gather Census information about the demographics in Whitehall as
well as Emmaus.
Call Board of Education offices in Whitehall and Emmaus
Interpret Information and develop a concrete list of reasons
based on background information of why individuals would like to
take advantage of ESL and GED classes (identify underlying
motivations and benefits to enroll in ESL classes)
Call TLC to gather data on the success of current ESL classes in
Whitehall
THE TASK FOR THE DURATION OF OUR PARTNERSHIP
OBJECTIVE Develop a promotion
strategy for The Literacy Center to recruit
students into ESL or GED classes in
Whitehall or a GED class in Emmaus
TLC has funding to start new classes enrolled by residents
outside the City of Allentown
Estimate demand for literacy services in these select
regions
Identify media and referral groups
Phase Two
Gather information on current enrollment for adult educational
classes
Identify other services in Whitehall and Emmaus that cater
primarily to the ESL population (Emmaus class is GED)
Identify potential referral groups
Phase Three
Contact referral groups located in Whitehall and Emmaus
Develop a promotional flyer for TLC
Obtain Chamber of Commerce and identify potential partners
Design/Create plans for a social media website
Contact Newspapers in Whitehall and Emmaus-Morning Call, Spanish
Newspapers
Contact WMUH about PSA to be on air as well as other local
stations
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Phase Two- The Takeaway
We collected information on current enrollment for adult
educational classes in the local area- none of which we viewed as
direct competition because of their price and offerings
1. Penn Foster High School is an online for-profit institute-
$1495.00
2. Seminars offered through the local library -$0.00. At
Whitehall Public Library these include basic email courses
automotive education and workshops.
3. Lehigh Carbon Community College offers courses through the
Donley Center for GED in Spanish- from $295.00
Phase One- The Takeaway
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education Annual
Report Card:
Whitehall School District 93% HS Graduation Rate
East Penn School District (Emmaus) 93% HS Graduation Rate
We wanted to know where to find individuals who didnt finish
high school- where do they go? Allentown School District66%
Graduation
Rate 1. We decided to speak with a guidance
counselor in the Allentown School District to gain insight into
the typical high school
Dieruff High School Guidance Counselor Shelly Spokane. She
recommended various resources that Allentown High School drops outs
to supplement their education Career Link, Casa Guadalupe, Donnelly
Center. 2. We called Board of Education offices in
both towns and were told that the school district does not
actively correspond with students who have chosen to withdraw from
the school district.
3. We did not call TLC to gather data on the success of current
ESL classes in Whitehall because we felt that this would affect the
breadth of ideas we would come up with.
Phase Three- What We Learned
Our team contacted the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce. They
recommended that we visit their website to look up potential
referrers. We visited their website and identified organizations
that we thought would be relevant. In addition, we travelled to
Whitehall and Emmaus to scout out potential locations where The
Literacy Center could advertise.
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The LANTA bus station located in downtown Allentown is a great
place to advertise because even though the class is only open to
residents who live outside of the Allentown city limits, there are
several bus routes that extend into the surrounding towns, more
importantly along McArthur Road (major traffic artery) in
Whitehall. Jordan Park is a green space located on the border of
Whitehall and Allentown. The park features an awning where
promotional materials for The Literacy Center can be posted. The
Morning Call is the major newspaper that serves the greater Lehigh
Valley. El Torero is the Spanish subsidiary that serves
Spanish-speaking populations. We contacted them about their
willingness to include a Public Service Announcement (PSA) on
behalf of The Literacy Center and they happily agreed- at no
cost.
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At the border of Whitehall and Allentown we found a billboard
advertising legal services in Spanish. This is in very close
proximity to the LANTA bus station, Jordan Park and El Torero
confirming to us that a Spanish-speaking population who could
benefit from literacy services lives in the vicinity.
The Literacy Center is planning to offer only GED classes in
Emmaus. Our recommendation to The Literacy Center is to provide
information about their no cost GED services in a packet that can
be distributed to high school dropouts in the East Penn school
district by a guidance counselor or the board of education before
they withdraw from their studies. Advertising for potential GED
students would be most effective at public buildings in the towns
of Emmaus, South Whitehall, and Lower Milford. These public
buildings include library, the town hall and police station. We
picked these locations because they are popular destinations for
some local residents.
Public Service Announcement that we wrote for 91.7 WMUH
(Muhlenberg radio) and El Torero Spanish Newspaper:
The Literacy Center located in Allentown is now offering free
English
classes in Whitehall Pennsylvania! Call (610) 435 0680 for more
information
Change your life today!
SPEAK BETTER READ BETTER LIVE BETTER
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The four websites whose logos appear above are the most popular
social media sites in the world. We recognize that The Literacy
Center has begun exploring how to best incorporate social media
into their mission and we have recommendations to make this
initiative more effective.
1. The current URL for The Literacy Centers Facebook page is:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Literacy-Center/190869681029406
This World Wide Web address is too long and cannot be easily
memorized. As of April 2013 this page has only 14 likes. Revamping
the URL to a shorter name would increase its accessibility and make
it possible to publish on flyers. 2. We recommend that a YouTube
channel be established and set up to include
testimonials from successful students who have already completed
the ESL or GED program.
3. Google+ is recent social media site that is known for video
classrooms, concerts and conference. The Literacy Center should be
aware of this technology for its possible implementation into the
curriculum down the line.
4. Twitter is very popular and could help to boost the online
presence of the
center.
YouTube.com Plus.Google.com Facebook.com Twitter.com
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