Message from the Executive Director
Dear Colleague:
Thank you for visiting us at the SCALE website. We believe in and value the commitment college students bring to literacy work. We hope our website will offer you the tools to stay motivated, work effectively, and contribute to the vision of change in our communities that motivates us all.
At SCALE, we believe that literacy is more than just reading and writing. Our definition involves critical thinking and action. Increasing literacy skills helps learners achieve their goals and empowers them to be more effective advocates for both themselves and their communities. As a result, literacy is a tool for personal and social transformation, and a vehicle for social justice.
We promote a participatory, learner-centered approach to literacy in which power in the program and in the classroom is shared with learners, volunteers, and community members. Shared decision making - about lesson content, choice of reading materials, or program evaluation - makes our outreach more relevant to individual and community literacy needs.
Further, to be effective, we address, and invite you to consider, the larger societal contexts of education. How do culture, class, and other "isms" influence our opportunities? Which policies create greater opportunity, and how can we be a voice for those policies?
Throughout this site, we aim to provide information and inspiration to college students, program administrators and learners themselves so that together we can address the underlying barriers to literacy. We invite you to join with us in our work, and we welcome your reflections, suggestions, and participation.
Sincerely,
Megan McCurley
SCALE Executive Director
