Blogs

The Literacy Council of Central Alabama has named Lori Graphos interim executive director. Graphos, who joined the organization in February 2026 as operations coordinator, brings 18 years of classroom experience and a longstanding passion for literacy to the role.

Functional Literacy for Adults Is a Community Issue, Not Just a Personal One Functional literacy for adults means being able to use reading and writing to handle the tasks that come up in everyday life. Reading a medicine label. Understanding a utility bill. Filling out a form. Helping a child with homework. These are not…

Low Adult Literacy Is Already in Your Workplace Adults with low literacy are not a group that exists somewhere else. They are already in your workplace. They are on your team, in your department, in your facility. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, roughly 21% of U.S. adults read at or below a…

Someone Around You May Be Living With Low Literacy Right Now Low adult literacy is one of the most hidden struggles in any community. The adults living with it are skilled at working around it. They have been doing it for years. They know which restaurants have pictures on the menu. They let someone else…

Who You Will Be Sitting Across From When you volunteer as a literacy tutor with us, you are not working with someone who took a few years off from reading. You are sitting with an adult who may have quietly navigated a world built on words without being able to fully read them. Someone who…

Have you ever been at work and felt nervous when a computer screen changed or a new task popped up? Maybe it was an email you did not understand or a system you had never used before. Moments like that can make anyone feel unsure. For many people, learning basic computer skills for adults is…

Summer break gives children time to relax, explore, and recharge. However, it can also be a time when reading and learning habits begin to fade. Many parents worry about summer learning loss, especially when routines become less structured and kids spend more time away from school. At The Literacy Council of Central Alabama, we believe…

Some nights, helping your child with reading feels easy. Other nights, it feels like nothing is working. You sit together with a book, trying to stay patient, while your child grows frustrated or distracted. If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Many families experience this at home. This is where parent literacy support can…

Many adults struggling with low literacy reach a point where they want more from life but are not sure where to start. Maybe work and family commitments limit their time for learning. Perhaps a lifetime of frustration, low confidence, and the silence that accompanies low literacy have made it challenging to seek help.  This is…

At some point, many adults think about going back to school. It may happen during a job search, while helping a child with homework, or when thinking about the future. That moment often comes with mixed feelings. Hope, doubt, and uncertainty can all show up at once. The truth is that earning your GED in…

Some moments make you realize how much language matters. It could be a school meeting, a job application, or a phone call you keep putting off. We hear stories like this all the time from adults across Central Alabama, and they all share the same feeling. They want to communicate clearly and feel confident doing…

A New Year Means a New Opportunity January is often filled with promises to eat better, work out more, or spend less time on screens. But there’s one goal that often gets overlooked: becoming a stronger, more confident reader. The start of a new year is a natural time to think about change. Whether it’s…

Learning Shapes More Than Lives On any given day, classrooms, libraries, and learning centers are buzzing with people trying to improve their skills. Some are children practicing their reading, others are adults studying for a certification, and some are newcomers learning English to connect with their community. What all these moments share is one powerful…

Why Workplace Literacy Is a Business Problem in Central Alabama Your newest hire is standing at a workstation holding a laminated safety card. They have read it three times. They still are not sure what it says. This is more common than most employers realize. In Alabama’s Appalachian counties, which include all five counties The…

Imagine moving to a new country, starting fresh, and realizing the English you learned back home is not enough to get by at work or in daily life. That was Daniel’s story when he moved from Costa Rica to Alabama. Even with his background in dance and teaching, English felt like a barrier. Then Daniel…

Learning as an Adult Isn’t Easy. But It Changes Everything Imagine trying to read a job application when the words don’t make sense. Or sitting in a doctor’s office, confused by a form you can’t understand. Or wanting to help your child with homework, but not knowing how. These everyday challenges show just how important…

Learning to Keep Up with a Digital World Imagine this. You want to apply for a new job, book a doctor’s appointment, or help your child with schoolwork. But everything you try to do needs a smartphone or computer. You feel stuck. Confused. Even a little embarrassed. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In…

Remember the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Contestants would sit under the spotlight, facing big questions with only a few lifelines. The tension was real, but every answer brought them closer to life-changing success. In some ways, becoming a literacy tutor is similar because you have the chance to be someone’s lifeline. You…

Literacy transforms lives in ways you might not expect. It’s not just about reading a book or filling out a form. It’s about unlocking confidence, finding a better job, helping your kids succeed, and even staying healthy. For many adults, literacy means finally having control over their future. Imagine not being able to understand your…

If you watched The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, you remember the song. It was about a big change, a move to a new place, a new start. It was exciting, and it felt like anything was possible. Spring feels like that. The days get longer, the weather warms up, people clean their homes, plant flowers,…

Literacy success means more than learning to read and write. It’s about finding your voice, building confidence, and creating connections that help you thrive in a new place. For Daniel Hernandez-Chapman, literacy success meant bridging the gap between his past achievements and his new life in Alabama. Daniel moved from Costa Rica in 2021 with…