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

June 2026

Volume 14, Issue 6

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.

It was a pleasure to welcome Dr. Jan Adversario, a lecturer at Texas State University in the Adult, Professional, and Community Education program. She discussed with our tutors the importance of supporting adult students in building health literacy skills as part of their English-learning journey.

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!

June has arrived with warmer days, longer evenings, and the familiar energy of summer beginning to unfold. As we enjoy the season, we also want to gently remind everyone in our LVAEP community to be mindful of heat waves, to stay hydrated, to check in on neighbors and loved ones, and to take care during days of extreme temperatures.

This month also brings moments that invite us to reflect on connection, freedom, and shared humanity. The start of the World Cup reminds us how people from many nations, languages, and cultures can come together around a common joy. And Juneteenth invites us to honor the long journey toward freedom and justice, while recognizing that learning, dignity, and opportunity remain deeply connected.

At LVAEP, we know that the world’s challenges are not distant. Many of our students, tutors, families, and friends carry concerns about events affecting their countries, communities, and loved ones. In times like these, the community we have created together matters even more. Every class, conversation, and act of encouragement becomes a way of caring for one another, especially when words can offer comfort.

In this issue, we are proud to share Daniela’s student story, a reflection on courage, persistence, and the hope that comes from learning English while building a new life.

And we are delighted to introduce Carlos’s tutor story, highlighting the generosity of someone who brings his own experience, skills, and compassion to support adult learners.

We also invite you to read this month’s Featured Story, Adult Learners Are the New Norm, which reminds us that adult students bring resilience, motivation, life experience, and strength to the classroom. Thank you for being part of this community of learning, welcome, and care, and for helping make LVAEP a place where people feel seen and supported.

In the News

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

"New Report Maps Vulnerabilities by State as the Federal Government Seeks to Eliminate Funding for Adult Education Programs.” Migration Policy Institute. https://bit.ly/43HDCBY

“Money Matters: Why Literacy Is an Economic Issue.” Michigan Chronicle. https://bit.ly/4uSRHrq

When learning a new language, there are these small moments that make us feel like we are making meaningful progress. For Daniela, it was the first time she spoke English in a store without fear. Having arrived in the U.S. from Colombia in 2022, Daniela has worked hard to balance work, motherhood, and learning English.

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

Summer PD Free Opportunities

Online Training, Commonwealth Education Trust
“Foundations of Teaching for Learning: Curriculum”
Platform: Coursera (free)
At your own pace. Starts June 17, 2026.
Recommended to join within a week of the start date.

Online Training, Arizona State University
“TESOL Certificate, Part 1: Teach English Now! Specialization”
Platform: Coursera (free)
At your own pace. Starts June 17, 2026.
Recommended to join within a week of the start date.

Podcast Resource

The “Boosting ESL Achievement” podcast is based on the book by teachers, Carol Salva and Anna Matis. Find practical teaching tips and interviews with teachers.

Link: https://bit.ly/4vN17oU

Getting to Know Us
Daniela, LVA student
by Valeria Garrido

When Daniela thinks about her progress in English, one memory stands out: the first time she spoke English in a store without feeling afraid.

For someone else, it might have seemed like a small moment. For Daniela, it was much more. It showed her that the language she had been studying was beginning to become part of her everyday life.

Daniela is originally from Colombia. She came to the United States in 2022, after what she describes as a long journey. Even so, she arrived with hope and the desire to begin a new life. Like many adult learners, she soon found that learning English was connected to almost everything: work, school, and family.

A friend recommended Literacy Volunteers of America, and Daniela decided to begin classes. She had studied through high school in Colombia, but learning English in the United States brought a different kind of challenge. She wanted to communicate better, help her daughter, and create more opportunities for herself and her family.

Daniela has been studying English for a few months, and she notice her pronunciation has improved, and she understands conversations more easily than before. She is still working on speaking with more confidence, but she is proud of the steps she has taken.

Her schedule is not easy. Daniela balances work, motherhood, and English classes. Sometimes it is difficult to find the time and energy to study. But she keeps practicing, supported by her family, teachers, and tutors. She says they have helped her with confidence, patience, and motivation.

There have been moments when she felt discouraged, especially when she thought she was not advancing. But she continued. Now, she can see that steady practice is making a difference.

Daniela says one of her favorite books is The Diary of Anne Frank, because it shows the strength of a young person during a difficult time. Strength is also part of Daniela’s own story. She is proud to be a mother, and proud of the confidence she is building through English.

Today, English helps Daniela communicate in daily life, at work, and at her daughter’s school. Her plans are to keep improving, find a good job, and continue studying.

Her advice to other students is simple: do not give up. Practice every day, even if it is only a little.

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

Adult Learners Are the New Norm

Inside Higher Ed, May 12, 2026
Written by: Joshua Bay

New research challenges assumptions about post-traditional learners, finding that older and working students often show strong persistence and graduation outcomes.

As institutions nationwide navigate the enrollment cliff, new research from the University of Kansas and Florida International University suggests that older, working and commuting students may exhibit characteristics linked to stronger persistence and completion—suggesting ways that colleges can engage with adult learners.

The study examined institutional data from the 2023–24 academic year at a large, four-year Hispanic-serving research institution in the southeastern U.S., including for more than 7,000 undergraduates in the engineering and computing programs.

Researchers found that students older than 25, those working full-time, commuters and students with dependents demonstrated better academic outcomes, including retention, six-year graduation rates and cumulative GPA. The findings suggest that characteristics often viewed as barriers may not necessarily hinder student success.

Haiying Long, a professor of educational psychology at Kansas and a co-author of the study, said many institutions still structure academic programs around the schedules and needs of traditional students. But she noted that the engineering students at the Hispanic-serving institution, which has a large commuter population, reflect the increasingly diverse demographics colleges nationwide are encountering.

“Institutions need to change their mindset and look at post-traditional students as the new norm, not as abnormal,” Long said. “That’s why we refer to them as post-traditional students—not nontraditional students—because ‘nontraditional students’ implies there’s something abnormal about this student.”

“Older students bring in a lot of experience,” she added. “They are mature, they have good study habits, they juggle many different responsibilities in their lives and they have to be highly motivated in order to persist. There are a lot of strengths they have, and they can bring a very diverse perspective into the classroom.”

For the full story, please copy and paste this link into your browser: https://bit.ly/4aHIb2T

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

Team Spotlight (Cont.)
Carlos Andrade-Sanchez, Tutor
by Valeria Garrido

Carlos Andrade-Sanchez knows what it feels like to be an English learner. He remembers the effort it takes, the patience it requires, and the frustration that can come when something important is still just out of reach. He also knows what becomes possible when a new language begins to open.

Carlos is originally from Ecuador and has lived in Bloomfield for about 12 years. A recent graduate of Rutgers University Newark, he earned a degree in Biology with a minor in Health and Society. During college, he tutored high school students in math and science and conducted clinical research in the emergency department at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Today, he works as an emergency medical technician for a Belleville-based medical transport company and is preparing to apply to medical school.

After college, Carlos wanted to give back to his community and found LVA through a Google search. As an immigrant and former ESL student, he immediately connected with the organization’s mission.

“I believe literacy is needed to achieve social mobility in this country,” Carlos says. “Learning English opened many doors for me.”

Carlos signed up for tutor training in September 2024 and has now been with LVA for a little over a year. He currently works with four students, each with different backgrounds, personalities, and goals.

One student who stands out is Sheri Rezkalla, a mother of three who has been learning with Carlos for about a year. Despite her many family responsibilities, Sheri makes time for English, asks thoughtful questions, and looks for additional resources when she wants to better understand a concept.

Another moment that stayed with Carlos came from a student working in construction. The student asked to learn vocabulary related to power tools. Carlos built a lesson around workplace words and phrases. At their next class, the student happily shared that the vocabulary had helped him understand instructions more clearly and read a tool manual at work.

For Carlos, that moment revealed the power of small lessons. What may seem like simple vocabulary can change how someone functions, communicates, and feels in daily life.