Literacy Source

With just one week left in our Back to School campaign, 85 new adult learners are ready to begin their journey at Literacy Source!

From English and digital literacy to citizenship prep and GED completion, our students are stepping into classrooms—some for the very first time—to build brighter futures. Next week, each learner meets one-on-one with an instructor to receive their course materials, set up their tech, and get ready for day one.

⚡ Double your impact: We have less than $10,000 left to raise to unlock a $20,000 challenge match!

Whether it’s $50 for essential tech tools or $250 for GED prep materials, every dollar helps equip our learners with the confidence and resources they need to thrive.

Help us unlock the match and empower our newest students: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/ujxpMXQPrhnI2jaNX78GNQ

This week (Sept 14–18) is National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week! 🎉

From parents reading alongside their children to adults building language, math, and digital skills, adult literacy opens doors across our entire community.

Here are two quick ways to celebrate and make an impact this week:

Explore practical tools, discussion guides, and activities to enrich learning in sessions and at home through COABE: https://www.coabe.org/aefl-week

Send a quick message to our Senators: Adult education funding is critical. Use this pre-filled template to reach out to our senators in just a couple of minutes to urge continued funding for adult education: https://app.oneclickpolitics.com/campaign-page?cid=Tn8m9eTcCO4urwieSI8Cu

Thank you for being part of a community that champions lifelong learning!

A New Chapter: The Literacy Source Book Club

What happens when adult learners reach our most advanced English levels, want to keep growing, but aren’t looking for an academic college track?

We created a new pathway: Book Club!

This quarter, learners are reading Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, exploring idioms, and sharpening conversational skills together. As one student shared: "I like the new Book Club because it helps me practice both my speaking and reading at the same time... It's been a fun and helpful way to improve my English."

Even better, this elective thoughtfully uses classroom capacity, opening up seats in our core English classes for students waiting to get in.

Because creative electives like Book Club aren’t funded by public contracts or grants, community generosity makes them possible. Right now, every donation will be matched to double your impact—and we only need to raise $10,823 more to unlock our $20,000 challenge match toward our Back-to-School goal!

📖 Help us unlock the match and keep adult learners moving forward: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/ujxpMXQPrhnI2jaNX78GNQ

Want an inside look at how our students are exploring Sandra Cisneros's work? We’re diving deeper into Book Club and sharing more classroom reflections in our upcoming newsletter. Subscribe here to read along with us! https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/XjtgWYk/LiteracySourceemaillist?

Telling the story of why digital access matters isn’t just for organizations—individual voices often make the strongest impact. Whether you are an adult learner, volunteer, educator, or neighbor who believes internet access is a basic right, speaking up helps keep digital equity front and center.

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) just released a practical guide, Elevating Our Voices, packed with customizable social media templates and simple tips to help you share your perspective. It uses the recent NDIA v. Trump court ruling as a timely hook to show why local access matters and urge leaders to protect federal digital equity funding.

Download the toolkit & adapt the templates:https://www.digitalinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/NDIA-Social-Media-and-Press-Outreach-Toolkit.pdf

Want advocacy alerts and community updates from Literacy Source? Sign up for our newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/XjtgWYk/LiteracySourceemaillist

Faced with the challenge of not having room in our classes for new students, we look for creative ways to keep adults learning whenever possible.

One way we do this is through Conversation Classes offered through our partnership with The Seattle Public Library . While these classes don't provide the formal instruction of our ESOL (English) classes, they give students an opportunity to practice English, build confidence, and stay connected to a learning community.

For students who choose to attend Conversation Class, it can become much more than a place to practice English.

One student told us:
“I live alone and I have no one to practice speaking with. This makes a big difference for me.”

Another shared:
“Sometimes I feel lonely and low-confidence and isolated. Just coming to this class is a routine, and that’s an everyday small success."

For many students, Conversation Class is one of the few places they have to speak English, make friends, ask questions, share their experiences, and build confidence in their new community.

That's the kind of opportunity we work to create at Literacy Source and one we think all adults who need it should have access to.

Conversation Classes can provide an important bridge, but they cannot replace the formal classes students are waiting for. Please consider donating to our Back to School Appeal raising $50,000 to help more adult learners reach their goals.

Donate at the link below:
https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/ujxpMXQPrhnI2jaNX78GNQ
Join Conversation Class: https://www.literacysource.org/spl-conversation-circles
Volunteer: https://www.literacysource.org/volunteers

Help Unlock our $20K Challenge Match!

As adults head back to school across our region, our classrooms are completely full—and turning motivated learners away is a reality we work tirelessly to prevent.

To keep adults learning, we lean into flexible options like our Conversation Classes. Whether hosted online, at our Lake City learning center, or in partnership with The Seattle Public Library, these drop-in spaces give students a welcoming place to practice speaking English, build confidence, and find community.

Right now, your support goes even further: every gift to our Back-to-School Appeal helps unlock an exciting challenge match, opening more seats for adult learners this fall.

Help us make room for everyone who is ready to learn: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/ujxpMXQPrhnI2jaNX78GNQ

Fall is almost here!
Please note: Our office will be closed September 7th for the Labor Day Holiday.
Classes for Fall Term begin October 5th and run through December 11th. Enjoy the last part of your summer!

Fall registration opened last week at Literacy Source, and before it even opened to new students, we had only 16 available spots left in our English classes.

That means we are already facing the hardest reality of our work: turning people away.

Behind every full classroom is an adult learner still waiting for their chance. Someone who rearranged work schedules, arranged childcare, and found transportation to our doors, only to find our programs at capacity. Even during our summer quarter, demand was so high that we had to turn prospective students away.

The need for adult foundational education in King County is greater than what local providers can currently meet.

Last year, Literacy Source grew to serve 165 more students than the year prior. This year, our goal is to double that and welcome 300 additional learners. To make that happen, we need to expand our capacity.

Your support during our Back-to-School campaign directly funds the instructors, classroom spaces, learning materials, and technology needed to open more doors this fall.

Help us ensure fewer adults are turned away. Donate today: https://secure.lglforms.com/form.../s/ujxpMXQPrhnI2jaNX78GNQ

Please advocate urging the government not increase the cost of Citizenship. The comment period ends today!

Last week our staff and volunteers gathered for a comment writing party.

Here is an example of a comment:
"The proposed fee increases, and most specifically, the ending of the fee waiver and reduced fee options for naturalization are unfair and privilege the rich. Literacy Source works with dozens of naturalization applicants each year who are productive members of our society and want to naturalize, but often are low-income and these rule changes would disproportionally affect their communities and ability to naturalize."

USCIS has proposed major changes to naturalization application fees that would create serious barriers for many people seeking citizenship.

The proposal would increase fees for the N-400 Application for Naturalization and the N-336 appeal form by 75% to 83%, while also eliminating fee waivers and reduced-fee options that many low-income applicants currently rely on.

Follow the link below to share your comment:
https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/USCIS-2026-0265-0001

The Hard Numbers:
The Need For Adult Education Is Bigger Than You'd Think

National data show a significant need. In 2023, 28% of U.S. adults ages 16–65 performed at Level 1 or below in literacy, while 34% performed at Level 1 or below in numeracy. These results come from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), administered by the National Center for Education Statistics.

In 2023, 24.8 million adults in the United States had limited proficiency in English, a population that includes both immigrants and U.S. born adults.

Here in King County, that need is reflected in our increasingly multilingual community. According to the Migration Policy Institute, nearly 1 in 4 King County residents was born outside the United States, and 28.3% speak a language other than English at home.

While not every immigrant needs English language classes, we know many adults in our community are looking for accessible opportunities to build their English and foundational skills. We see the need in our community every quarter, when our classes fill to capacity and we have to turn students away.

Adult education is an essential part of a thriving community, one our community desperately needs more support in.

Donate today support adult learners going back to school!
https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/ujxpMXQPrhnI2jaNX78GNQ