With sadness, and out of an abundance of caution, Literacy Volunteers Winchester Area will close its office and suspend its operations until at least Monday, March 30. We encourage our volunteers and students to practice social distancing and good hygiene in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
That means:
- Wash your hands.
- Stay home if you are sick.
- Minimize close contact with those who are sick.
- Seek medical attention if you experience fever, cough, or difficulty breathing.
- Wash your hands.
We will use the LVWA website, Facebook, and text message to communicate with our community about plans to reopen. If you need to reach someone right away, call Mark at 443-798-4725.
DISTANCE LEARNING
Lisa will send an email to all volunteers with some suggestions on how to fill the downtime with some creative, virtual lessons. In the meantime our friends at Literacy Volunteers Charlottesville/Albemarle have posted some helpful suggestions on how you might continue to learn or teach. Some of those suggestions include:
- Whether via phone, the internet, or email, lessons can be given remotely using technology.
Use Skype, FaceTime, or Facebook Messenger to continue your tutoring? These apps allow video chatting for free (they use data or wifi instead of your phone service), and can allow you to meet.
- Many English language learners are concerned about their skills in having phone calls with native English speakers. This could be a good time to practice those skills by having a couple of phone calls during the week.
- If the student is predominately working on reading and writing, assigning a story to read and having your student email their response to your questions could be a way to continue your work together. You could use a site like Newsela.com, which has leveled news stories for English language learners with study questions already prepared. Newslea does require that you set up an account – free accounts are available.
IMMIGRATION LEGAL SERVICES
We will take new immigration legal cases on a limited basis, based on urgency and our ability to conduct consultations on the phone. To schedule a legal consultation, email legal@lvwa.org or call 443-798-4725.