The Literacy League
The Literacy League was not always involved in English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. In 1969, Margaret Trussell, Dean of Women at Santa Rosa Junior College and her good friend, Martha Peterson, a community activist, started the League to help adults learn Basic English. Then, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the migration of the boat people, the League began to focus on ESL. By 1979, the League was teaching more ESL than Basic English. Later the League was certified as an ESL provider for immigrants involved in the Federal Amnesty program. And now, the League teaches adult ESL exclusively.
Today’s League has more than 150 trained volunteer tutors and almost 300 students. We have a long way to go—the U.S. Bureau of the Census tells us that there are more than 39,000 adults in Sonoma County who need ESL instruction. |
