The Portland Literacy Council (PLC) is a nonprofit organization that supports adult literacy programs, tutors, and students in the Portland metropolitan area.

PLC activities include delivering online and in-person tutor training workshops, supporting Pacific Northwest literacy programs, providing GED test vouchers to low-income students, sponsoring an annual volunteer tutor conference, and publishing an online newsletter and announcements of interest to the adult literacy community.

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New and Noteworthy

PLC’s 2022 Community Impact Report is now available.  This Report describes the inspiring work of the PLC and many volunteers supporting adult learners over the last 18 months.

And please consider making a donation today to support our work! DONATE NOW

 


On our For Tutors page, check out the Resources for Tutoring Online drop-down for a wealth of tools and ideas for Online Tutoring.  Here’s a sampling:


  • The literacy levels of parents are crucial in predicting their children’s literacy levels and educational attainment. (National Institute for Literacy)
  • More than 20% of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level,which prevents them from working at jobs with a living wage, hinders their ability to vote, and impedes their ability to read a newspaper. (National Institute for Literacy)
  • Adults who have not received high school diplomas are unemployed at nearly three times the rate of their peers with high school diplomas. (State of Oregon Employment Dept.)
  • The single greatest indicator of children’s success is the literacy level of their parents.
    • 43% of adults with low literacy skills live in poverty
    • 36 million adults in the U.S. have low literacy skills.

    Break the cycle of poverty:
    Reach a child in need — Teach an adult to read.

The Oregonian Highlights Volunteer Literacy Tutoring

In this article, The Oregonian highlighted the work of PLC President Peggy Murphy, as she supported a Cambodian refugee through her first years as a non-English speaking immigrant to Portland.