Our Staff:
Yamila Acosta, Director of Programs and Services
Shelly Pena, Program Coordinator
Our Board:
R.J. Jenkins - President, Acting Executive Director, Columbia University
Billy Gilchrist - Vice President, HDG Hotels
Ken Boggs - Treasurer, First Federal Bank of Florida
Adam Woods - Secretary, F&M Bank & Trust
Sarah Bland - City of Ocala
Katy Burton - Marion County
Ashley Dowler - Advent Heal
th
Howard Epstein - USA Scientific
Kay Epstein - University of Florida
Sara Allen Johnson - Marion County
Keith Molinary - North Florida Regional Medical Center
Jeffrey Stone - Santa Fe College
Brad Tropello - Blanchard, Merriam, Adel, Kirkland & Green, P.A. Attorneys at Law
Megan Whittaker - The Keep Downtown
Leena Williams - Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services
Our Work:
The Marion County Literacy Council (MCLC) is a 501(c)(3) organization that helps adults in Marion County who lack mastery of basic educational skills to gain valuable literacy skills to improve their lives and function successfully in society. MCLC began in 1999 when local philanthropist, Barbara Woodson, recognized the gap in programs for adults who needed basic help with math and reading. MCLC was founded to teach adults to read, help students pass the GED test, and to teach English to speakers of other languages. Literacy is defined as a person’s ability to read, write, speak, and compute and solve problems at levels necessary to function in society, secure employment, achieve goals, and develop knowledge and potential. In Marion County, an estimated 1 in 5 adults cannot read above a fifth-grade level. This means that everyday tasks that most of us take for granted are difficult for many adults in our community. Simple tasks such as paying a bill, helping a child with homework, grocery shopping, filling out a job application, or reading a prescription are overwhelming. It has also been shown that, on average, 100 hours of adult literacy education raises a person’s annual income by as much as $10,000. The Marion County Literacy Council serves and supports people in Ocala and Marion County who, historically, have been underserved or left behind. Our students are majority women (75%), they are majority people of color (60%), many of them live in rural and underserved communities, and almost all of them come from socio-economically disadvantaged families. Low literacy is costly not only to individuals and families, but also to employers and to our community more broadly. Individuals with low literacy struggle to find employment and they often settle for low-paying jobs while fighting to increase their earning power to support their families. Perhaps most heartbreaking is the long-term effect that parents’ low literacy has on their children. Low literacy is an intergenerational ill: the strongest indicator of a child’s success in school is that child's mother’s level of education. By having the courage to seek our services, our students are trying to break the cycle of low education and poverty. The goal of the Marion County Literacy Council is to help aspiring adults in our community – especially those who are socio-economically disadvantaged – improve their quality of life by giving them critical tools to help break the cycle of poverty. Our educational programs generate over $300,000 of community service value every year. On an average annual basis, 85% of students complete a placement assessment such as CASAS, GED Ready Pre-test, TABE test, or other pre-test assessment; 70% of actively engaged GED students earn their GED; 75% of actively engaged ESOL students improve their English skills by at least one grade level per semester; 50% of actively engaged ESOL students report that they witnessed a positive change in their income since enrollment; 80% of actively engaged Adult Basic Education students (students who are learning to read and write) improve their literacy skills by two levels within one year. These numbers represent real upskilling and real educational achievements that result in more secure employment, higher wages, and better overall quality of life for our students and their families.
