NNLC provides English as a Second Language, Adult Basic Skills, and GED preparatory instruction for adults, 18 years of age and over, who lack a high school diploma or GED or essential basic skills to function successfully in the workplace.

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History

NNLC’s humble beginnings are credited to a small group of Washoe County women who saw a need to teach undereducated adults how to read or speak English. In 1973, Lola Jones decided to help two Korean girls learn English. Soon, Jones’ efforts were multiplied as Esther Early, Aurora Cortez, Claire Everson, Janet Frandsen, Lou Schaffer, Kathleen Olsen, and Pat Zimmerman trained volunteers to teach using the Laubach Literacy method of "each one teach one." For nearly 20 years, these dedicated individuals and the volunteers they trained met one-on-one with adult students for an hour each week in quiet corners of Washoe county libraries, coffee shops and book stores. Their efforts and instructional materials were funded through private donations and most often from their own pocket books. In the late 1970s, the group realized the demand for adult literacy services was growing as the County’s population began to spiral upwards and they laid the foundation for the organization’s future.

With its new non-profit status in hand, the founding Board of Directors applied to the Nevada Department of Education for an Adult Education grant. With this funding, the volunteers were able to purchase additional instructional materials and serve almost 50 students. However, funding from this source brought with it a new type of responsibility – the need for accountability. How was the money being used? Exactly how many students were being served? How many students were advancing academically? Between this added responsibility and the growing need for services, the Board of Directors recognized the need for full-time oversight and hired an Executive Director.

The release of the 1990 Census data and the National Adult Literacy Survey in early 1995 substantiated the need for NNLC to expand its role as an Adult Basic Education provider. Immigration was increasing, nearly a quarter of the adult population lacked a high school diploma or GED and nearly a third were functioning at the two lowest levels of literacy proficiency unable to perform basic life skills tasks such as reading, writing, interpreting and "doing the math."

In the mid-‘90s, NNLC moved from its one-on-one delivery method to classroom instruction, offering its students six hours of instruction every week in two levels of English as a Second Language (ESL). It also moved from its donated facility on Plumb Lane to rented space at the Center For Employment Training’s location on Evans Avenue. By the end of fiscal year 1996, NNLC was offering three levels of ESL classes twice a day and serving a small group of ABE students – 216 students were served that year, with 210 being ESL and 6 being ABE. ABE students are most generally our own American born; however, the acronym stands for Adult Basic Education.

Fiscal ’97 brought more changes and program expansion. The state’s federally funded Adult Basic Education programs were mandated to implement the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment system (CASAS), a competency-based assessment of life skills mastered through reading comprehension. With the implementation of this system, accountability was not only about how many students were served, but how many advanced (by assessment scores) from one level of instruction to another. Increased accountability and program expansion drove the need to expand NNLC’s staff which now included two full-time employees, one part-time, a Welfare Work Experience aide, and two VISTA volunteers. NNLC’s program expansion included "off-site" programs of instruction (mostly ESL classes for parents) at elementary School locations.

By spring 1998, NNLC’s facility was bursting at the seams – it needed at least three more classrooms. Led by Chairman Ken Santor, the Board of Directors decided to again “bite the bullet” and take on a larger rent payment. NNLC moved to the Greenbrae Office Center in Sparks and expanded its services by offering four levels of ESL mornings and evenings and a mixed-level ABE/GED class. The new fiscal year (July 1998) began a new funding appropriation – Adult Basic Education programs were now funded through the Adult Basic Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act. This legislation guides how and what NNLC teaches its student population. Through its provisions, NNLC increased the intensity and duration of its class structure, strengthened its accountability standards, increased its partnerships in the community and created an environment for continuous program improvement. By the end of fiscal year 2005, NNLC was serving almost 1,000 students.

During the years 1998-2005, NNLC had a long list of accomplishments that saw it rated among the top four programs of instruction in Nevada and receiving national recognition for its State Leadership program – Nevada Certified Literate Communities. It was commonly known that the most consistent thing about NNLC was change, as program improvement was top priority and accomplishments included:

Curriculum Development and Implementation

NNLC staff wrote and implemented:

  • A two-level phonics-based pronunciation curriculum
  • A three-level ESL life skills/employability skills competency-based curriculum
  • A 52-lesson Family Literacy curriculum based on 26 children’s storybooks
  • Curriculum guides for Adult Basic Skills and GED preparatory instruction
  • Workplace-specific curriculum for Golf Course Maintenance and Landscaping
  • A technology-based curriculum in basic computer skills
  • A 64-hour "Life Skills That Work" curriculum for use with special populations to increase their confidence in gaining/retaining employment

Program Expansion

  • ESL and ABE/GED instructional hours were increased to 12 hours a week
  • A computer lab was installed through community partnerships with Cybernauts, Inc., Microsoft Licensing, Inc., and Advanced Telcom.
  • Off-site programs increased to serve 21st Century schools, Title I schools, Family Resource Centers, a church, and two recreation facilities
  • Workplace specific programs included resort properties, a linen manufacturer, a underground cable company, and a championship golf course.
  • Family Literacy programs were conducted at five elementary school sites

Civic Activities

  • Provided quarterly classes for students with the goal of passing the citizenship test
  • Hosted three annual Community Involvement Institutes for Intermediate and Advanced level ESL students: the first focused on advocacy, the second on volunteerism, and the third on job training and postsecondary education opportunities
  • Involved students in Sparks Chamber of Commerce activities
  • Entered floats built and designed by NNLC students in three City of Reno 4th of July parades
  • Facilitated Advanced ESL students in adopting the Sparks Marina in a community service clean-up campaign for six months as a class project
  • Staged mock political campaigns and elections using voting machines donated by the Washoe County Election Department
  • Served as a voter registration site

Special Programs for Special Populations

  • Provided ABE classes for clients at Washoe Association of Retarded Citizens Center (WARC)
  • Equipped NNLC’s administrative office with a TTDY system and classrooms with adaptive accommodations for students with visual and hearing impairments
  • Provided like skills classes to clients participating in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program in northern Nevada
  • Acted as a host site and assisted with orientation for potential employees in the Reno ReTRAC program
  • Served as a math study site for the Electrical Workers and Operating Engineers Apprentice ship programs

Student achievement that evolved as a result of these accomplishments was highlighted at annual recognition picnics.

Spring 2006 found NNLC moving to its present location at 1400 Wedekind Road in Reno. Little improvements needed to be made to the two-story building originally built by the Builders’ Association in 1985 to make it a comfortable home for NNLC’s Adult Learning Center. Students and teachers alike were in awe at their new learning environment.

Change still being the most consistent thing at NNLC, new curriculum was adopted at the beginning of fiscal year 2007-08 and ESL students began to practice their English in the computer lab using the Rosetta Stone® software program.