Community Conversations: Literacy

Thanks to all who attended! Subsequent to the meeting, we have compiled a list of resources from presenters and attendees. [click here]. If you have additional resources, especially those relevant to the Monadnock region, please send that information and we will included it.

This Community Conversation took place on Tuesday, September 8, 2015.
If you are reading this, then you rely on written communications to keep you informed of hundreds of things throughout your day – some as basic as reading a menu or calendar, communications with friends and work colleagues through email or text messaging,  reading the daily newspaper, or a novel for entertainment.

Those with limited or no reading ability live in a different world, with significantly restricted opportunities to enjoy their lives and advance their occupational and social opportunities.

In this Community Conversation we look at some of the factors behind the struggle: childhood environments, lack of educational opportunities, and challenges with learning skills which can even impact highly intelligent individuals. We will explore ideas for how as a society we can better integrate and appreciate those with limited reading capabilities.

We are excited to have this program occurring on National Literacy Day. Panelists include:

Jennifer DeCoste,  the Assistant Director at Keene Community Education. Jennifer has worked to support Adult Education programs at the local and state level for a decade. She graduated from Lesley University with a specialization in literacy and language and is continuing her graduate studies on an ongoing part-time basis. Jennifer has had a lifelong interest in reading, researching and teaching and hopes to share her interests with children in New Hampshire and Vermont by serving as a Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) board member.

Duncan McDougall is the founder and Executive Director of the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF). Duncan has worked as a management consultant, freelance writer, teacher, and public radio commentator. He has written articles for many publications including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and The Toronto Globe and Mail. Duncan has also been a commentator for New Hampshire Public Radio.

Duncan graduated from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in 1987 where he was awarded the Arnold F. Adams prize for Entrepreneurship. He then joined Mercer Management Consulting, a Boston-based international management consulting firm, where he was a partner specializing in marketing strategy.

Susan Sarles is the Principal of Jaffrey Elementary School.  She has been an educator for 35 years; 3 years in public schools and 12 in private. As a classroom teacher, she has taught varied grades from K-3, served as Curriculum Coordinator at
Brooklyn Friends School before moving to NH. In Jaffrey-Rindge, in addition to serving as principal, she is the Reading Specialist and Title I Project Manager, She holds an undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in Elementary Education with specializations in Integrated Language Arts and Early Childhood Education, and a Master’s degree and Reading Specialist training through Hunter College (City University of New York

Corinne Chronopoulos is Director of the Peterborough Town Library and President of the Reference and Adult Services section of the NH Library Association. Working in the public library sector for the past five years, she is interested in maintaining literacy as a core service to the community, even as the role of public libraries shifts to innovation and discovery opportunities. Corinne was previously the Director of Pelham Public Library where she developed a robust after-school program for youth focused on building technical and social literacy skills. Corinne has her Masters in Library Science from Simmons College and a BA from the University of New Hampshire.

Community Conversations is a series that explores many of the issues impacting our communities. A partnership between the Monadnock Center for History and Culture and the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, each Conversation features local experts talking about challenges faced by our communities. Some issues are global in nature, but each conversation is designed to examine the topic from a local perspective. The program provides residents with the opportunity to learn more about key issues impacting their communities, to engage in a civil dialog with speakers and with each other, and to come away with a sense that there are things that individuals and communities can do to foster change and improvement. The program is free and open to all.

Community Conversations are held in Bass Hall at the Monadnock Center for History and Culture, 19 Grove St., in Peterborough.  The program is free and open to all.