Literacy Volunteers of America, Essex & Passaic Counties, NJ Inc.

August 2026

Volume 14, Issue 8

The Insider

Download PDF

The Insider, the monthly newsletter of LVA Essex & Passaic Counties, will keep you in the loop on all the organization’s upcoming events.

America’s literacy crisis didn’t happen overnight. This veteran educator says everyone shares responsibility. We invite you to review this article by veteran educator and scholarship strategist Lavenre Mickesn, also known as the Scholarship Mama, on the literacy crisis: https://bit.ly/4bWsSEj

Literacy Volunteers of America Essex & Passaic Counties

90 Broad Street, 2nd Floor, Bloomfield, NJ 07003
(973) 566-6200, ext. 217 or 225

195 Gregory Avenue, 2nd Floor, Passaic, NJ 07055
(973) 470-0039

Cristhian Barcelos        -Executive Director
                                           [email protected]
Jorge Chavez                 -Data Processing Coordinator
                                           [email protected]
Sydnay Eckerling         -Education Coordinator
                                           [email protected]
Valeria Garrido             -Social Media & Newsletter Coordinator
                                           [email protected]
Cheryl Locastro            -Tutor Support Specialist & ESOL Instructor
                                           [email protected]
Marisol Ramirez           -Student Coordinator
                                           [email protected]

Greetings LVA family!

August always carries a sense of transition. Summer is still with us, but backpacks are appearing in store windows, families are preparing for new routines and studying again. Back-to-school season is a reminder that learning does not belong only to childhood or to a classroom. It can begin, or begin again, at any point in life.

That spirit of possibility runs through this month’s LVA stories. Sabrina came to the United States from the Dominican Republic in May 2025 with her mother, carrying both the emotion of leaving the familiar and the hope of building new opportunities. Learning English was part of that new beginning, and she found LVA after hearing it recommended as a strong, comprehensive program. Her story reminds us how language learning can become a bridge to confidence, independence, and belonging.

We also introduce Nancy, a semi-retired kitchen and bathroom interior designer whose career began with hospital and school interiors in New York City before moving into residential and small-office design. Nancy joined LVA a little over a year ago after close friends became tutors themselves. Tutoring was something she had long considered, and LVA offered a way to turn that interest into meaningful service.

Our Featured Story this month looks at another essential part of learning a language: listening. Education Week explores why listening is sometimes overshadowed by reading, writing, and speaking, and why deliberately teaching and practicing it can strengthen learning across all four areas.

As August invites students back to school, may it also remind all of us that learning is lifelong, connection matters, and every new skill can open another door.

At LVA, those doors open through patience, practice, and human connection.

In the News

Copy and paste the highlighted website into an internet search bar to view the following stories.

"Is the definition of literacy changing?" Technician. https://bit.ly/3SD1Zi9

"The Science of Reading and Teaching English Learners to Read Are Not Incompatible." The74. https://bit.ly/3UHlLJO

There was a special moment when Sabrina first completed an entire conversation in English. It may not seem like much, but those moments when a student realizes they have made significant progress are incredibly encouraging and motivating for adults working hard to adapt to a new culture and learn a new language.

Tutor Training Workshop

Online Training, by Jo Krish
Platform: Zoom (sponsored by LNJ)
Wednesdays, 6 to 8 pm
August 19, 26, & Sept. 2, 9, & 16, 2026

Online Training, by Ally Schmidt/Karen Flood
Platform: Zoom (sponsored by LNJ)
Tuesdays, 6 to 8 pm
Sept. 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29, 2026

Online Training, by Laura Pistoia
Platform: Zoom (sponsored by LNJ)
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 to 11:30 am
Sept. 8. 10. 15, 17, & 22, 2026

Tutor Support Workshops

"Getting Started with Writing Prompts," with Dr. Erik Jacobson
Platform: Google Meet
Thursday, October 8, 2026, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

"Welcoming New Students to Established Groups," with Vanessa Dixon
Bloomfield Public Library, Conference Room
Monday, September 14, 2026, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Oxford Teacher’s Club

Free Adult ESL resources from Oxford University Press that include training videos about teaching strategies as well as podcasts discussing important topics.
https://bit.ly/4qxNs3W

https://www.lvaep.org/workshops

Getting to Know Us
Sabrina, LVA student
by Valeria Garrido

When Sabrina remembers the first time she completed an entire conversation in English, she does not focus on the mistakes. She remembers the feeling afterward: pride.

It was a small moment, but an important one. Sabrina had come to the United States from the Dominican Republic in May 2025 with her mother, leaving behind the life she knew to pursue new opportunities. The move was emotional and hopeful, but starting over also meant learning how to navigate a new country and a new language.

Sabrina had already earned a university degree in General Psychology in the Dominican Republic, where she studied human behavior, mental health, research, and psychological theories. In the United States, learning English quickly became an important part of rebuilding her independence and imagining what could come next.

She heard about Literacy Volunteers of America through people who recommended the program as a valuable resource for immigrants. Since joining, she has seen meaningful progress, especially in listening and comprehension. She can follow conversations more easily now, and with each new interaction, she is becoming more confident speaking.

Her teachers and tutors have played an important role. Sabrina describes them as patient, kind, and encouraging. They correct her respectfully, she says, and help her see mistakes not as something to fear, but as part of learning.

She reinforces those lessons every day. Sometimes she studies formally; other times, practice comes through videos, music, online materials, or conversation. Her mother’s support has also been essential, helping Sabrina stay focused through the challenges of adjusting to a new life.

She still wants to improve her pronunciation, expand her vocabulary, and speak more comfortably. Some days bring frustration, but Sabrina has learned to keep moving forward.

That journey also connects with her favorite book, Paulo Coelho’s The Witch of Portobello, whose themes of identity, spiritual growth, and searching for one’s true self resonate with this chapter of her life.

Looking ahead, Sabrina hopes to continue improving her English and eventually use her psychology degree in the United States. More than anything, she wants to build a happy, stable life. Her advice to other learners is simple: be patient, practice whenever you can, and do not be afraid of mistakes.

Literacy opens a wide door to life. Help us keep that door open with your donation!

Thanks in large part to you, we can aid hundreds of students each year. Please continue your efforts to improve the lives of others by giving the gift of literacy.

http://www.lvaep.org/donate.html

Listening to Learn: How to Teach English Learners This Overlooked Skill

Education Week, August 11, 2026
Written by: Larry Ferlazzo

Listening is one of the four essential domains (the others are reading, writing, and speaking) for English learners—and for all students. It’s also a skill that often gets less attention in the classroom.

Here are some instructional strategies educators use to help English learners—and other students—master that critical skill.

‘I Needed to Directly Teach Listening’

Valentina Gonzalez is a longtime educator and advocate for English Learners who works with schools across the nation and beyond to support multilingual education. Her most recent publications are Equitable Instruction for English Learners in the Content Areas and Welcome to Teaching Multilingual Learners:

It took me a while to realize that unless I wanted to spend time reteaching and reviewing what I had already covered, I needed to teach listening directly. Here are some ways I try to teach both my English learners and monolingual English-speaking students to be effective listeners:

Direct teach. When I began teaching (in the late 1900s), cellphones were not a concern nor were tablet computers and online games. Kids were still playing and interacting with each other in person. But over the years, that changed. With the development of handheld technology and online gaming, kids’ interaction with one another has become increasingly virtual and less face-to-face, introducing a need for explicit teaching of in-person conversation skills. Suddenly, I had to teach students how to sit or stand near one another, physical proximity. How to look one another in the eye. How to tilt a head and nod as the one person speaks. How to wait until the speaker stops. How to paraphrase what the speaker said or ask for clarification.

Modeling. There are a few ways I modeled listening and speaking protocols. If I had the benefit of a co-teacher or teacher’s aide in the classroom, I would use that person to role-model a conversation. We modeled two examples: one that demonstrated effective listening and one that did not. The class discussed the characteristics of both.

For the full story, please copy and paste this link into your browser: https://bit.ly/4qqgy5b

Student Resources

Learning a new culture is more than studying a language. Tutoring is more than learning techniques. Our “Resources” webpage covers everything from legal matters, health care, & scholarships for immigrants, to professional development for tutors. Give us a look @: http://www.lvaep.org/students.html

Volunteer Spotlight
Nancy Kautz, Volunteer
by Valeria Garrido

Nancy has spent much of her professional life thinking about how people move through spaces. A semi-retired kitchen and bathroom interior designer, she began her career in New York City, designing hospital and school interiors before focusing on residential and small-office projects.

Last June, she stepped into a different kind of space: an LVA classroom. The idea of tutoring had appealed to her for some time. Good friends had retired and become LVA tutors, and their experience helped inspire her to sign up.

Nancy initially had five students. Over time, two found jobs, and another moved away. By winter, her class had become smaller, and for a couple of months, it was just Nancy and one student, Barbara. That individual time became especially meaningful.

Nancy describes Barbara as hardworking and lovely, and she has noticed real improvement in her conversational English. One project helped make that progress visible. Together, they got Barbara a library card and selected a biography from the children’s section. Each week, Barbara read three chapters and wrote down unfamiliar words and expressions.

By the end of the book, Nancy noticed she was speaking more comfortably and approaching conversations with growing confidence.

One expression in particular led to a memorable lesson: “take for granted.”
It was a phrase Nancy, like many native English speakers, had used without thinking much about it. Barbara’s question opened a wider discussion about what it means to take something, or someone, for granted. For Nancy, the conversation felt especially relevant because people learning English can sometimes experience being overlooked or underestimated.

Nancy has always loved language. Although she is not fluent in French or Spanish, she knows enough of both to converse at a basic level and is fascinated by the prospect of becoming bilingual. She says she is deeply inspired by students willing to do the difficult work of becoming comfortable speaking English.

Her biggest challenge as a tutor is responsibility itself. She wants to make sure her students are truly learning and that she is making a difference.