Literacy program is 'warm, welcome'

By Phyllis Lehrer
Staff Writer

Published on January 02, 2009

While she has lived around the world, working with adult learners from around the world has broadened Toon Fuderich's horizons.

Fuderich is the Amherst site director for The Literacy Project, a post she assumed in October.

Sitting in the ground floor office, located at 401 Main St., Fuderich spoke of The Literacy Project, her duties and her experience.

The Literacy Project, which also has sites in Ware, Orange, Northampton and Greenfield, offers basic literacy classes as well as GED classes. All the classes are free, funded in part by the state Department of Education.

Students who enroll want to obtain the GED, improve reading and increase skills for employment, said Fuderich.

But what The Literacy Project needs is visibility, not to many people know about it, said Fuderich, who lives in Amherst with her husband, Robert. The couple have two grown sons.

Current enrollment is 29 students, who range in age from 17 to 70 and represent many countries and cultures. Enrollment is open, meaning students can begin at any time and leave at any time. Students come from Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, Shutesbury, Hadley, Belchertown and Sunderland. Some even come from Springfield since there is a huge waiting list for classes there, she said.

The students are committed. Some have been marginalized; some are victims of domestic abuse; some are poor. And while the idea of an adult learner is that of someone older, Fuderich said there are more teenagers and high school drop outs who come to the program. "It's not that people fail school, but schools fail people," she said.

As site director, she hires staff, interviews students and administers diagnostic tests to place students at the appropriate level. And she does the paper work, which is critical.

"There is a lot of reporting. We have to be accountable, track each student's progress."

She said goals are set during the initial interview and follow up tests conducted.

The classes are student centered. "We engineer all instruction to the general needs of the students."

Fuderich said it is a challenge for teachers because students come in with different levels of ability and teachers have to meet that.

"If a student shows a gain, improvement, it's a feather in our cap. No victory is too small to celebrate. If there is a slight gain, we celebrate. We are cheerleaders and coaches," she said.

She cites the success stories of two students, one who took classes for two months and the other for three weeks, and both passed the GED.

In addition to being the site director, she teaches reading classes. Three classes are offered at 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Because there is only one classroom, it limits the offerings. This is an issue for those who work and would like to take the GED course, but it is only offered in the morning, she said.

The program goes beyond literacy and offers other help, she said. A transitional counselor comes in 10 hours a week to deal with health, child care, housing and transportation issues. The project is a member of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and snacks are provided for the clients.

Working with residents from various countries and teaching dovetails with her experience. Fuderich has an undergraduate degree in education in English from a university in her native Thailand.

She came to United States in 1982 and taught at a Navaho reservation for two years. She earned a master's in counseling from the University of Massachusetts. She worked at the Fort River Elementary School with the Cambodian students and did outreach with families. She was working on her doctorate at the UMass Center for International Education. However, the family left before she finished. She returned to complete her degree and graduated in May.

Her husband, who works for UNESCO, has been posted around the world. The family lived in Pakistan and Zagreb. She taught sixth grade for eight years in Geneva, Switzerland.

When she saw this job posted she realized it was a "wonderful opportunity." She said she wants to make the program "warm, safe and welcoming. We put a lot of effort in building community among students." One method: She prepared a complete Thanksgiving dinner for her students.