Adult Literacy Centre

To be literate is to have status, respect and accommodation from others; to have skills in communication (verbal, written, sign, gestural or other language); and to have access to the information and technologies that make possible self-determined participation in the communication processes of one communities and broader society.

(The Roeher Institute, Literacy, Disability and Communication: Making the Connection 1999)

Literacy Approach

The KACL Adult Literacy Centre provides educational opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities. We are a program that expands the traditional view of literacy beyond acquiring numeracy and reading skills.

Program development continues to evolve based on an action research model of reflective practice. Teaching strategies are evaluated and improved through research and collaborative reflection.

Literacy Consultants work with each learner individually in a variety of community settings.  Learning is self-directed and reflects each learner’s chosen goals.  The Adult Literacy Centre provides access to the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

Guiding Principles for the Adult Literacy Centre:

Everyone has opinions, desires and wishes that need to be  expressed and respected.

Everyone is respected as an individual with unique skills and abilities that are recognized and valued.

Everyone deserves highly competent and creative educators with high expectations for their learner.

Everyone learns through life’s experiences while communicating   with others.

Goals for the Adult Literacy Centre:

Learners will have the choice and the means to communicate for themselves.

Through a practice of continuous research and reflection, literacy consultants will strengthen their potential to support learners and their community along a continuum of expanding communication strategies.

The entire community will have opportunity, knowledge and the means to communicate diversely among its citizens, with or without spoken language.

 

International Adult Learners’ Week (IALW) 2011 in Canada will be held from April 2nd through April 9th. The Week celebrates adult learners across the country and the joy of learning throughout life.

In December 2009, The Belem Framework for Action, Sixth International Conference on Adult Education, identified "the need to place adult learning and education in a broader context of sustainable development.  It also states that effective policy, good of good governance, financing, participation, inclusion, equity, and quality are all necessary for adults and young people to exercise their right to education."

The Kenora Association for Community Living supports adults with intellectual disabilities to live a meaningful and satisfying lifestyle and interact as equals in their community with continuing opportunities for personal growth, through education, training, support, advocacy and an informed public.

The KACL Adult Literacy Centre provides educational opportunities, access to the latest Information and Communication Technologies.