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

July 2026

Volume 14, Issue 7

The Insider

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

Dr. Darnelle Richardson, a leader in adult education for ever 30 years, joined us this past month to help us steps understand techniques to teach students to express themselves more comfortably not only in class, but in real life experiences as well. Thank you for your support!

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!

July is a month of celebration, reflection, and connection. This year, the Fourth of July carried special meaning as the United States marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The anniversary invites us not only to remember the ideals expressed in 1776, but also to consider what freedom, equality, opportunity, and belonging require of us today. Those promises become meaningful when every person has the language, literacy, confidence, and support needed to participate fully in community life.

July is also bringing people together through the World Cup. As Argentina and Spain prepare to meet in the final here in New Jersey, many of our students, tutors, volunteers, and neighbors will be cheering, sharing traditions, and celebrating the international spirit that makes our communities vibrant.

At the same time, we remain mindful that this is an uncertain period for many immigrant families. Concerns about safety, separation, and the future continue to weigh heavily on members of our community. We hope LVA can remain a place of welcome, dignity, learning, and human connection.

In this issue, we share the stories of Luisa and Jonathan. Luisa came from Colombia, determined to improve her English, and through LVA, she has found a more personal path toward confidence and possibility. Jonathan first volunteered with LVA while completing high school service hours, but discovered that even quiet, behind-the-scenes work can make a meaningful difference.

Our Featured Story explores why English learner students need opportunities to help shape the policies and programs that affect them. Their voices matter, their experiences offer insight, and listening to them strengthens education for everyone.

We hope this issue reminds us that literacy is more than a skill. It is a pathway to participation, belonging, and hope.

In the News

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

"New Podcast: Embracing Expansive Literacies.” International Literacy Association. https://bit.ly/3TlYDQw

“Booker prize launches new Quick Read in effort to boost adult reading rates.” The Guardian. https://bit.ly/4ynEsli

“Federal Grant Cuts for English Learners Face Lawsuit.” Ed Week. https://bit.ly/3RiHEOk

If you have ever studied a language without the opportunity to travel or live in a country that speaks it, you will understand Luisa’s story. She had studied English in Colombia, but when she arrived in the United States and discovered she was pregnant, she realized learning English had become quite the urgent matter.

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

"Taking the Fear out of Speaking," with Dr. Darnelle Richardson
Bloomfield Public Library, Conference Room
Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Podcast Resource

In under 15 minutes listening to the “TESOL Pop” you'll hear ideas, teaching insights, and stories that make you feel part of the wider ELT community.
Link: https://bit.ly/3R2wzRE

https://www.lvaep.org/workshops

Getting to Know Us
Luisa, LVA student
by Valeria Garrido

When Luisa came to the United States about two years ago, she arrived with a plan: she would learn English.

She had studied English in her native Colombia before, enrolling in several academies, but she never felt she was making enough progress. Luisa already understood the power of language. A native Spanish speaker, she had learned German and remembers how gratifying it felt to receive her certificate and navigate a culture different from her own. Later, during a difficult trip to France, she struggled to communicate clearly. That experience made learning English feel urgent.

Soon after arriving in the United States, however, Luisa discovered she was pregnant. Attending classes in person became difficult. While exploring other options, she followed a friend’s suggestion to ask at the library. That is where she found LVA.

Luisa has now been studying with the program for about a year and a half while caring for her young daughter. She completes her lessons, practices with her books, and makes the most of every class. Because she spends much of her time at home, speaking remains her greatest challenge. Class gives her a place to express her opinions, improve her pronunciation, and connect with classmates through a screen.

Her progress is visible in meaningful moments of daily life. She can communicate during her baby’s medical appointments, order food at a restaurant, take the bus, and find her way home. Each experience helps her feel more independent and connected to the community around her.

Luisa also brings significant professional experience to her studies. She has a degree in foreign trade, master’s degrees in marketing and commercial management and in team leadership, and a specialization in artificial intelligence. Without English, she felt that her education and professional growth had reached a barrier. Now, she feels she is moving forward again.

She credits her teachers’ activities, videos, corrections, and pronunciation support, but she also emphasizes personal discipline.

“Practice every day, listen, and speak without fear of making mistakes,” she says. “With discipline and confidence, progress comes.”

In the future, Luisa hopes to become an entrepreneur and support other mothers who are raising children without family nearby. She imagines speaking fluent English, studying another language, and helping her daughter without language ever becoming an obstacle.

“Learning English is opening doors,” Luisa says. For her, every new word is another step toward independence, belonging, and the life she is building.

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

English learners should be in the room when policies are being shaped, but they rarely are

Ed Source, June 9, 2026
Written by: Keerthi Eraniyan

As a high school junior and student board member, I spend a lot of time in meetings about education. But at one of them recently, I realized something I couldn’t stop thinking about afterward: I almost never saw English learner students in the room.

Not at student representation panels. Not at public forums or student program presentations. Not even at district English Learner Advisory Committee meetings.

California has the largest English learner population in the nation, with more than 1 million English learner students in public schools — about 17% of the state’s K-12 enrollment. These students are directly affected by decisions about artificial intelligence, attendance, discipline, mental health and academic opportunities. Yet the students most affected by educational inequities are often the least represented in conversations about how schools should address them.

So, I asked some of my multilingual learner friends and classmates why.

Their answers were difficult to hear. Some said they felt intimidated speaking publicly in English, a language they hadn’t completely mastered yet, and others worried their accents would make them sound “not smart enough” to represent other students. These were some of the smartest and most perceptive students I knew, students who cared deeply about their education and had strong opinions about issues widely discussed in education spaces. But many had quietly decided those spaces to express student voice were not meant for students like them.

That should concern California schools, especially as districts increasingly emphasize “student voice” and student-centered decision-making.

Part of the problem is that schools often define leadership through fluent, confident participation in English or activities that require English fluency. The students most likely to speak at meetings or serve on advisory councils are often students already comfortable navigating those environments, all while many multilingual students are still trying to translate the room.

For the full story, please copy and paste this link into your browser: https://bit.ly/44w2H3d

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
Jonathan Moreira, Volunteer
by Valeria Garrido

When Jonathan first volunteered with Literacy Volunteers of America in the summer of 2021, he had a practical goal: to complete the service hours required for high school graduation and gain an early glimpse of the working world.

He did not expect the experience to become so personally meaningful.

Jonathan returned for three summers, in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Most of his work happened behind the scenes. He sorted files, organized paperwork, and called to remind students to finish their registration. The tasks could seem ordinary, but their effect was visible. Staff told him that many of the students he contacted later came into the office and completed the process.

That connection helped Jonathan see how small actions can remove barriers. Although he was not tutoring students directly, he witnessed their appreciation when they were able to register, particularly when scholarships covered registration costs.

He also saw how much effort it took to sustain the program. At the time, Cristhian, Jorge, and Marisol were carrying much of the office’s daily work. Jonathan remembers Cristhian working persistently to secure new grants after earlier funding became unavailable. To Jonathan, this was an example of leadership rooted in determination and a genuine commitment to helping people adapt to life in a new country.

The experience was important for Jonathan in another way. After 18 months of quarantine, volunteering helped him return to a regular routine and become comfortable working with others again. It restored confidence in his abilities and helped him emerge from a difficult emotional period during early 2021.

One of the most challenging parts of the job was calling prospective students who spoke neither English nor Spanish. Communication was not always easy, but Jonathan continued because he knew that helping the office run smoothly supported people who needed English instruction.

Today, he no longer volunteers regularly, but he still directs prospective students and others interested in the program to LVA.

Jonathan hopes the LVA community understands that he tried his best with every assignment. His story reminds us that meaningful work is often made up of many quiet acts.