The Great Courses and the Washington Literacy Center Partner to Fight Illiteracy in the Nation’s Capital
New resources available for the 90,000 reported illiterate adults
The Great Courses and the Washington Literacy Center are teaming up in the new year to address two significant barriers to literacy access to training and educational resources. With approximately 90,000 reported illiterate adults in Washington D.C. challenged with employment, this partnership will make critical tools and resources attainable, and provide a foundation for work.
The Great Courses is making its entire catalog of more than 600 courses available to tutors and students of the Washington Literacy Center, which has been helping D.C. residents learn to read since 1965. Among the resources donated to the Washington Literacy Center will be The Great Courses Plus streaming video-on-demand service of over 4,000 hours of lectures on topics from vocabulary and basic math skills to history, science, and health and wellness. Additionally, a customized library of DVD, CD and digital download courses from The Great Courses library is being collaboratively curated to build on the literacy curriculum and enhance the learning environment for both instructors and students.
“We can use The Great Courses’ diverse catalog of courses to ignite the love of learning in our community and ultimately open doors for them,” said Jimmie Williams, executive director of the Washington Literacy Center. Courses such as ‘Building a Better Vocabulary, Mastering the Fundamentals of Mathematics and Art of Conflict Management’ are strong additions to our existing curriculum and will support our instructors, staff and volunteers to empower students, their lives and careers.”
Nationwide, 36 million adults lack basic literacy skills, according to the National Coalition for Literacy. The problem greatly impacts their employment, wages, standard of living and their own children’s future academic success.
This marks the first of what we hope will be many community-centered partnerships to empower lifelong learning for everyone said Paul Suijk, president and CEO of The Great Courses. The single greatest hurdle to becoming a lifelong learner is to overcome the stigma of illiteracy, and we’re proud to join the Washington Literacy Center to help fulfill its 50-year strong mission to eradicate illiteracy and improve lives in the District.
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