Adult Literacy Program

The mission of ALP is to provide free educational instruction to community adults and to improve the literacy of the educationally disadvantaged to levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family and in society.

When Raúl Toledo came to the United States in 2012 from Mexico, he turned to the Kennett Library for help with his language skills and to offer to volunteer to teach computer and math classes.
Thanks to help from ALP and the Library, Raúl recently opened his own business, Kennett Multimedia.
“The platform for Kennett Multimedia is to inform, educate and to help promote all the people, specially, the Latinx community. Everyone has a talent and I want everyone to be able to use their talent. I want to help people to learn new skills and to open their eyes to all the opportunities. I appreciate all the help from the Library,” Raúl said.

The Adult Literacy Program, (ALP) a program unique to the Kennett Library, assists native-born and newly arriving immigrant families in improving their literacy, language, and educational skills while facilitating their integration into the community.

ALP has been offering literacy services to the community since 1979. As of 2020, it has served more than 8,500 adult learners from 55 different countries representing five continents. They have come to ALP to learn English, or to prepare for testing for American citizenship, or to receive help in preparing for the four tests needed to earn the General Equivalency Diploma.

ALP staff offers day classes and evening classes from September to May each year, and also trains community volunteers to individually help any student who requests it. The volunteer tutors provide English language practice and instruction; some tutors teach Civics to help students preparing to take the American citizenship test. Other tutors teach Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts for those students preparing to test for the General Equivalency Diploma.

By the numbers:

  • 26 students have earned their American Citizenship since early 2019 with the help of ALP.

  • 147 students are enrolled in 8 classes for the 2021 fall semester.

  • At least 100 community members volunteer to tutor each year.

  • Classes are held in 3 locations – Kennett, West Grove, and Oxford, and are taught by 6 teachers.

  • 530 people visited the ALP office in 2019 seeking assistance for a variety of reasons.

  • ALP partners with numerous other agencies, including Kennett Area Community Services (KACS), Family Promise, Young Moms, Wings for Success, and Operation Warm.

The new Kennett Library & Resource Center will offer ALP dedicated office space, classrooms and tutor rooms instead of the makeshift study areas in the current library. ALP will not need to reserve and rent classrooms in facilities outside of the Library, but will continue to offer classes in Oxford and West Grove to accommodate the needs of the students.