Certified Literate Community Program

CERTIFIED LITERATE COMMUNITY PROGRAM

To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.

--Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

Welcome!

Welcome to the Certified Literate Community Program web page. We invite you to browse our links and become familiar with the program.

CLCP of Region IV, SDA 33 consists of Atkinson, Ben Hill, Coffee, Irwin, and Wilcox counties and is a partnership resulting in improved literacy levels of children, families, and workers in the entire community.

Its purpose is to:

Harness power of communities, businesses, education, and government to fight illiteracy

Foster a collaborative approach in mobilizing all of the communities' resources

Address scarce adult education funding needed to recruit adult students.

What is literacy?

Literacy is the ability to "possess a degree of proficiency in reading, writing, and other skills that will enable an individual to adapt to technological and other changes in our society, to compete in the job market, to develop a sense of self worth, and to participate in our democratic process."

Family Literacy

By age four, children who live in poor families will have heard 32 million fewer words than children living in professional families. One in five of America’s children below the age of five lives in poverty.

The family is the most powerful influence on a child’s ability to succeed. Literacy is the foundation on which all learning is based.

Family literacy is a proven intergenerational approach that improves the literacy, language, and life skills of both parents and children.

Long-term research verifies that literacy programs produce significant results: Adults obtain and keep employment, a higher percentage of adults achieve GED equivalency, and the amount of literacy activity in the home increases by 80 percent. Adults who participate in literacy programs often pursue educational and job-related goals, such as earning a high school diploma or GED, learning English, and gaining computer skills. Uniquely, they also have opportunities to learn how to create a learning environment at home, regardless of their current literacy level. Children receive age-appropriate instruction that prepares them for school and starts them on a path of lifelong learning.