NORTHWEST TERRITORIES LITERACY COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 2019 ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 | NWT LITERACY COUNCIL 1 Who We Are The NWT Literacy Council is a not-for-profit organization. We promote and support the development of literacy and essential skills in all the official languages of the NWT. Vision What we do People in the NWT will have • Each year we provide workshops, training, and professional gatherings for community-based literacy practitioners. Topics include family literacy, the skills they need to be Indigenous language literacy, embedding literacy and essential skills, full and active participants youth and adult literacy, proposal writing, program planning, facilitation skills and workplace learning. Our flagship annual Family Literacy Training in their family, in their Institute (FLTI) began in 2001, and has been highly successful since. We community, in their culture, shape much of our training after the success of FLTI. and in today’s society. • We develop, publish, and distribute resources and learning materials for community-based family literacy, youth and adult literacy, and Aboriginal language programs. • We mentor and support local literacy and essential skills practitioners and their projects. Mission • We conduct research into issues that affect literacy and essential skills The NWT Literacy Council development in the NWT, and monitor and share research from other builds capacity through places that impacts our work here. literacy training, research, • We promote the value of literacy and essential skills, through the materials we produce and the events we sponsor. Events include International resource development, and Literacy Day, NWT Literacy Week, National Family Literacy Day, Adult promotion for the benefit of Learners’ Week, Indigenous Languages Month and the Peter Gzowski all Northerners. Invitational Fundraiser for Literacy. • We have an extensive network of interested stakeholders and partners, and share information about literacy and essential skills with them through our newsletters, e-news, social media and website. 2 NWT LITERACY COUNCIL | ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 • We offer fee-for-service plain language design, writing, and editing services, as well as promoting the use of plain language. • We monitor and respond to territorial and national literacy and essential skills policies. • We offer non-formal literacy and languages program to newcomers through our community connections program. • We respond to needs in the community and obtain funding to meet those needs, such as our Community Learning Bond Project. ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 | NWT LITERACY COUNCIL 3 Our Board Members • Ken Latour, President (to October, 2018) • Beverly Garven, Vice President (to October, 2018) • Beverly Garven, President (October, 2018) • Ken Latour, Vice President (October, 2018) • Amy Ryan, Treasurer (to October, 2018) • Rosemary Gill, Deh Cho (treasurer, October 2018) • Suzanne Robinson, Secretary (to June, 2018) • Rachel VanderVeen, Yellowknife, Dettah and Ndilo (September, 2018) • Melani Adams, Beaufort Delta (Secretary, October, 2018) • Norma Gauthier, Tłı̨ chǫ • Minnie Whimp, South Slave 4 NWT LITERACY COUNCIL | ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 | NWT LITERACY COUNCIL 5 Our Staff • Kathryn Barry Paddock, Executive Director • Helen Balanoff, Project Manager • Katie Johnson, Coordinator, Youth and Adult Services (Parental Leave to June, 2018; Coordinator, Family Literacy, June, 2018) • Charlotte Upton, Coordinator, Family and Community Literacy • Emily Smith, Coordinator, Youth and Adult Services • Christine Barker, Coordinator, Family and Community Literacy (Parental leave coverage, to July, 2018; Canada Learning Bond Coordinator, March, 2019) • Uma Sivakumar, Office Manager • Karen Johnson, Community Connections Coordinator • Catriona Profit, Summer Student • Aishah Mohammed, Summer Student Emily Smith Aishah Mohammed Coordinator, Summer Student Youth and Adult Services 6 NWT LITERACY COUNCIL | ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 | NWT LITERACY COUNCIL 7 Message from the President This is the end of my first year as President of the NWT Literacy Council. I have been a member of the Board of Directors since 2011, and have served in various capacities such as Beaufort Delta Representative, Vice President, Beverly Garven President, NWT Literacy Council and Secretary. 2018-2019 saw the Council Health Literacy project. We will relationships in communities continue to forge partnerships create learning materials such throughout the NWT, and to with government departments, as a book and an animatic support the people living in as we respond to needs and (interactive digital story) those communities to be full broaden the reach of literacy around the oral health theme. and active participants in their programming available to family, their community, their NWT residents. We wrapped Our Bison Bus was given culture, and in today’s society. up our pan-territorial NALES its decorative bison wrap, (Northern Alliance for Literacy retrofitted, and hit the road for Mársı | Kinanāskomitin and Essential Skills) project a soft launch in late summer Thank you | Merci with Ilitaqsiniq (the Nunavut of 2018. The bus will be a Hąį’ | Quana Literacy Council) and the wonderful addition to family Qujannamiik | Quyanainni Yukon Literacy Coalition. literacy programming in Máhsı | Máhsı | Mahsı̀ We began a new project communities with road access with Employment and Social outside of Yellowknife. I can’t Development Canada to wait for it to venture up the increase the take-up of the Dempster Highway for a visit to Canada Learning Bond among the Delta. eligible NWT families. We began a new partnership with Our committed, passionate the Department of Health and staff and board members Social Services on an Oral continue to work hard to build 8 NWT LITERACY COUNCIL | ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 People like to use our resources Our resources are in high We also created the following resources: demand. In 2018-2019, we 1. Cooking and Counting Fridge Magnets – September 2018 distributed our resources • Created for NWT Literacy Week 2018 to go with our theme across the Northwest “Everyone in the Kitchen”. Territories. We received 2. Everyone in the Kitchen Recipe Book– September 2018 additional requests for • Created for NWT Literacy Week 2018, Everyone in the Kitchen resources from across Recipe Book contained several recipes of varying difficulty for family members of all ages to make together. Canada, and across the 3. Northern Memory Card Game – February 2019 globe. Our Everyday Math • Created for National Family Literacy Day to go along with our theme series remains some of our of the International Year of Indigenous Language. We made our more popular resources. Northern Memory Card Game. This game was created in two sets, one English and one with a blank space to be filled in with one’s own Indigenous language. ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 | NWT LITERACY COUNCIL 9 NABE and Adult Resources We continue to work closely with Aurora College and the We completed Department of Education, Culture and Employment on the the following development of courses for learners in Adult Literacy and Basic courses for Education (ALBE) programs in Community Learning Centres. pilot testing in This year we pilot tested the course. We revised it and added a Introduction to Community component to let participants work the 2019-2020 Caregiving course in three in the Early Learning laboratory in academic year: communities: N’dilo, Fort Simpson, Yellowknife. The revised course will and Tsiigehtchic. Instructors and be pilot tested in Fall 2019. Literacy Skill Builders 1 students responded positively with (formerly Literacy Essentials) only a few suggested revisions. We focussed strongly on course Numeracy Essentials 1 We reviewed Introduction to development to fit in the new Northern Perspectives Early Learning and Child Care framework for ALBE. (formerly Northern Studies). As always, we are very grateful to all the adult educators who give us such constructive feedback on the courses we develop. Together we are making a difference for adult learners. 10 NWT LITERACY COUNCIL | ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 19 Promoting family literacy across the NWT We promoted family literacy by building capacity in traveling book fair. Books are set up and each student in the community communities through training and by creating resources picks out three free books to for the use of families and community programs. take home. We visited Whatı̀, Gamètı̀, Wekweètì, Hay River, Funding through the Healthy Science Fun, Felt Stories, Choosing Fort Resolution, Łutselk’e, Ndılǫ Children’s Initiative allowed Books, Resources and Funding, and Dettah. We presented literacy us to spend two days training and Family Literacy Nights. games or activities that promote five Aboriginal Head Start staff reading and learning during the members in Fort Providence in Our Advanced Family Literacy Books in Homes visits. Little Chefs and Science Fun. Training Institute was for community The Bison Bus was vinyl wrapped Literacy Council staff modeled the members who have taken to look like a bison this summer and two programs with the students our FLTI and have run family then hit the road for a few events in the Aboriginal Head Start literacy programs. Fifteen people in Yellowknife before hibernating Program and provided the staff with from Hay River, Kátł’odeeche, for the winter. The Bison Bus was materials to continue the programs. Fort Resolution, Dettah, Fort at the YWCA Open House,