What We’re Doing During the COVID-19 Outbreak
During this trying time, we here at Orange Literacy are taking a proactive approach to student education. Our students - like K-12, community college and university students - need to be able to continue learning with as little interruption as possible.
In early March, we began a what-if exercise. What if we had to close our doors for an extended period of time? What if we couldn't hold in-person classes? How could we ensure students had the opportunity to continue to learn English, study for their GEDs, work on basic reading and writing and prepare for their citizenship exams?
We began to look at video-conferencing software, training ourselves and our tutors to deliver classroom instruction via the Internet. We expanded our library of self-paced, interactive, online programs for students at all levels. And we looked for programs and materials that students could use on their phones if they had no internet access at home.
We discovered something we didn’t expect: an excited, curious - and best of all - engaged group of students and tutors.
This move is preparing us for a future that is increasingly driven by technology. And we expect to continue to expand our online classes and virtual learning once things settle down and open up again. It’s what we should be doing. It’s new and it’s exciting. But it’s also very expensive.
In the short term, many educational companies have offered trials and short-term free licenses. But they can’t afford to do that for very long. We need donations to help us purchase licenses for video-conferencing and self-paced instructional software, increased Internet capability, hotspots and additional computers.
Each $50 donation will buy a seat in one of several self-paced instructional programs, $35 will pay for a tutor’s virtual classroom for a month. And $125 will pay for a hotspot for a year. Or help us celebrate our 35th year of service AND sponsor a virtual classroom for a year with a $35 monthly donation.
When will we re-open to the public?
For the foreseeable future, rather than in-person classes, Orange Literacy will be offering live online classes, supplemented by self-paced, interactive online programs and special topic webinars. We regret that we are not able to take on new students at this time. However, we are happy to put potential students on a waiting list.
While the Orange Literacy office is closed to the general public for the time being, please know that we are back behind the curtains, operating in our now-virtual world. Team members are available during the workday to coach tutors, help develop lesson plans and locate instructional materials.
We will open the office again once the healthcare experts have given us the all-clear. In the meantime, if you need to contact us, the best way is through email. We can be reached at:
Executive Director – Alice Denson - adenson@orangeliteracy.org
Adult Basic Education and GED – Diana Daniel-Lorente - ddaniellorente@orangeliteracy.org
Spanish GED & Family Literacy – Samuel Maldonado – smaldonado@orangeliteracy.org
English for Speakers of Other Languages – Andrea Melendez – amelendez@orangeliteracy.org
Citizenship – Adela Zola – azola@orangeliteracy.org
Not sure who to send a message to? Email info@orangeliteracy.org and we’ll direct your message to the right person.
