photo by: Shawn Valverde

File photo of the Lawrence Public Library on Friday, July 26, 2024.

A Lawrence library official says a new tutoring program designed to help adults improve their literacy and English skills in one-on-one meetings is “ready to go” after an initial launch this year.

The Lawrence Public Library announced Friday in a press release it was offering free one-on-one tutoring for adults seeking to improve their literacy skills. The program is for both fluent English speakers who want to develop reading and writing and for adults learning to speak English, according to the release.

Liz Stuewe, an adult education specialist with the library, told the Journal-World the library began developing the program thanks to requests from patrons who said they could use some additional support in their learning.

Stuewe said Lawrence has really good adult education programs, so these tutoring sessions could be a complement to those programs; however, some people said they preferred one-on-one support instead of a classroom setting, while others needed weekend or evening availability. This program creates a “flexible, accessible place” for students, Stuewe said.

photo by: Contributed

Liz Stuewe, an adult education specialist with the Lawrence Public Library. She is helping lead a new one-on-one literacy tutoring program for adults at the library.

The program was “soft launched” in January, Stuewe said, and it has already trained around 15 volunteers who are “ready to go” for adult literacy students. The library helped train those volunteers through a program created by a national nonprofit called ProLiteracy. Tat teaching curriculum available to the tutors to use with their students, but Stuewe said tutors also learned how to develop custom lessons, giving them a variety of options for teaching.

“They can completely use the teaching curriculum, use hybrid lessons or custom lessons,” Stuewe said. “It is dependent on the students’ needs.”

The library matches students with trained volunteers for the one-on-one tutoring sessions, according to Stuewe. The pairings are made based on the student’s available times as well as the student’s literacy goals. Stuewe said that volunteers come from a “variety of different backgrounds,” including some who had teaching experience. If a student said they had experience in a certain field, she would work to pair them with a tutor that matches their interest.

So far, Stuewe said that eight pairs of tutors and students have been matched and have been meeting for lessons, while other volunteers have started training to serve as tutors. Stuewe said the library is matching pairs together for tutoring “as (students) make requests,” and she hopes the program can continue to grow so all potential students can get matched with a tutor.

Stuewe said that there has been a strong interest from the community to serve as a tutor, and many library volunteers “immediately stepped up” to express interest and train with the program. At the moment, the program would just have each tutor meet with one student since it fits well with the curriculum and helps them develop a good relationship. That could change based on the needs of the public, and Stuewe said the aim is to help as many people improve their literacy skills as possible.

“We’re hoping to learn and grow and adjust (the program) based on the needs of the learners,” Stuewe said.

For people who are interested in serving as a volunteer, Stuewe said they can contact her through email or attend a volunteer meeting to learn more. The next meeting will take place on March 24 at 6 p.m. at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. To sign up for tutoring, people can visit the library’s website at lplks.org/adult-literacy or call the Library at 785-843-3833 extension 161.