Joyce W.

Joyce was born in 1948; she was raised a small farming community in the northeast section of North Carolina. Joyce’s parents had 12 children and Joyce was the second youngest. Her parents were sharecroppers during the height of segregation. Though Joyce completed the eleventh grade, she missed many days of school and spent most of her time helping her family by picking cotton, setting up tobacco for curing, picking corn and peanuts, and feeding the livestock.

Joyce moved to Philadelphia in 1967 to help her sister who was having complications with a pregnancy. Joyce stayed and started a family of her own. While she yearned to return to school and complete her education, she realized she would have to wait until her children graduated from high school or found sustainable employment.

Joyce registered for LSH’s literacy classes in 2008. In each class, Joyce has shown marked improvement. She is determined to reach her goal and succeed in her studies. In the past year, Joyce suffered a heart attack and has had surgery on her shoulder, but she has managed to continue with her studies and attend classes regularly. In a time span of fourteen months, Joyce has improved her reading by two educational functioning levels (an educational functioning level is roughly equivalent to two grade levels), which is very rare for a beginning literacy student and a huge accomplishment!

 

Stacey R.

As a child, Stacey spent years in school struggling to keep up with other students. While math was always her favorite subject, reading was not. She remembers having panic attacks and anxiety issues at a very young age. Because many children and even teachers would make fun of her reading skills, she developed very defiant behavior. Instead of getting the support and attention she needed to improve her reading skills, she was often in trouble for her behavior. Stacey was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia.

Stacey met her future husband in 9th grade and in 10th grade she discovered she was pregnant. Knowing how hard it would be to raise a child as a teenager, she opted for adoption. Stacey remembers vividly not being able to read all of the words on the adoption contract and having to rely on her mother to make sure it included all the terms she wanted. When she decided to return to school after the adoption, she realized that she was too far behind in her studies and could not catch up on the work. Stacey decided not to reenroll.

Eventually Stacey and her boyfriend married and had two more children. When her eldest son, David, began struggling in school, she immediately decided to get him tested and just as she suspected he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Stacey was very insistent on getting her son the extra help and support he needed to succeed, and David entered a school which could accommodate his learning differences. Stacey saw David face many of the same challenges she had faced as a child. Unlike her experience, he was able to overcome them with a lot of hard work and support. Unfortunately, David was fatally shot right before he entered high school. Everyday Stacey thinks about her son’s accomplishments, which keep her focused and motivated. “I saw that David could do it and because we were so much alike, I know that I can do it too!”

Stacey enrolled in Pre-GED classes in the spring of 2008. At first saw was very nervous, especially when she read aloud in class. It took while for her to feel comfortable, but she never gave up and soon found the support she needed to gain her confidence. Although she still faces many challenges, Stacey says “I will never give up; no matter how long it takes.” For the first time in her life, she was able to read an entire novel. She cannot believe how many improvements she has made since she started classes. “I absolutely love to read now,” Stacey states. She is currently reading The Sisters Grimm novel series and she cannot wait the start her next book!