City of Irving Irving, TX

Literacy Resources

What is literacy?

The National Literacy Act defines literacy as “an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English, compute and solve problems at a level of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s goals and develop one’s knowledge and potential.”

The problem

  • Over 637,866 adults in the Dallas area perform at the two lowest literacy levels. This means that, while they have some reading and writing skills, they are not adequately equipped to perform tasks like writing a letter, explaining an error on a credit card statement, or understanding a bus schedule.
  • More than twenty percent of adults read at or below the fifth-grade level-far below the level needed to earn a living wage.
  • Nearly 32 million people in the United States speak languages other than English.
  • Sixty-two different languages are spoken in Irving.
  • Almost half of all adults on welfare do not have a high school diploma or GED.
  • Forty-three percent of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty; seventeen percent receive food stamps, and seventy percent have only a part-time job or no job at all.
  • Fifty to eighty percent of all students in literacy and basic education programs have learning disabilities.
  • Seventy percent of prisoners scored in the lowest literacy levels of the National Adults Literacy Survey.

The solution

The Irving Public Library Literacy Program is a provisional affiliate of Proliteracy America. Based in the East Branch Family Learning Center, we help people improve their reading, writing and English skills by:

  • Evaluating learners to determine their Basic Literacy or English as a Second Language skills and goals.
  • Training volunteers how to teach reading, writing and English to adult learners in one-to-one and small group settings.
  • Coordinating a six-week Family Literacy Program for parents and children to learn English as a second language together.
  • Coordinating a drop-in Homework Center during the school year to assist children with homework, reading, and math skills.
  • Acting as a referral source for basic literacy, GED and English as a second language classes in the Dallas area.
  • Providing a Family Learning and Technology Center with a grant provided by GTE and Literacy Volunteers of America. This lab is used to provide access to educational software, word processing, and the Internet.
  • Assisting churches, civic organizations, and schools in starting their own literacy programs.
  • Educating people about the literacy problem in Irving through public speaking engagements.
  • Providing a Literacy Hotline for learners and tutors to call for more information about the literacy program.

Be a part of the solution

  • Become a basic literacy and English as a second language tutor.
  • Become a Homework Center volunteer and assist children in grades one through eight with homework assignments, reading, and math skills.
  • Become a volunteer. Perhaps your schedule or interests make public relations, marketing, grant writing, or computer assistance more appealing. If so we could use your help in these areas.
  • Become a member of the Friends of the Library. The Friends of the Library help fund the Irving Public Library Literacy Program.
  • Call the Irving Public Library Literacy Program Speaker’s Bureau and have a member visit your church, civic group, or workplace.
  • Donate your time, money or talents to the Literacy Program.
  • Tell everyone you know about the Irving Public Library Literacy Program.

How to become a tutor

  1. Call the Irving Public Library Literacy Line at (972) 721-3776.
  2. Attend a 12-hour tutor training for Basic Literacy.
  3. Tutor a learner one-to-one or a small group of learners.
  4. Meet with your learner(s) at least two hours per week.
  5. Commit to meeting with them for at least a nine-month period.
  6. Attend at least one tutor in-service after completing the 12-hour tutor training.

What makes an effective tutor?

An effective tutor is:

  • Patient
  • Understanding
  • Respectful
  • Creative
  • Sensitive
  • Adaptable
  • Enthusiastic
  • Learner-centered
  • Organized
  • Committed

In addition, the effective tutor has realistic expectations and a sense of humor.

How to become a student

Basic literacy

If you are reading below a fifth-grade level, can meet with a tutor two hours each week, and are committed to learning how to read, call our Literacy Hotline at (972) 721-3776 and ask about student orientation.

Upcoming tutor training and

student orientation dates

Tutor training dates:

Saturday, September 19 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, September 26 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Training will take place at the East Branch Library. Participants must attend both sessions in order to tutor with the library’s literacy program. For information, call the East Branch at (972) 721-3722.

Links to other literacy Web sites