NBLC Programs

All of our programs are provided at no charge to our students. The costs for the books and supplies come from generous donations, grants and fundraisers that we hold throughout the year. Our programs are designed to assist our students reach whatever level they desire without them having to worry about any costs involved.

Whether you are a just a slow reader or don't even know the letters of the alphabet we can help. Our programs are designed to start right where you are and move forward so we take each student individually and assess their needs and go from there.

Our schedule is very flexible with regards to classes. Classes can be held mornings, afternoons, and even in the evenings. Students are matched with a tutor and classes are held either in the office, the library or other public place.

It is our desire to assist our students in all aspects of their life where they may need assistance. Our partnership agreement with Faulkner State Community College also provides much needed materials with relation to our GED program. We have students who have gone on to college after completing their GED while others just simply had learning to read as a life long goal. What ever the goal of the student is we will strive to do our very best to help the student achieve it.

HOW IT WORKS

When a student first comes to us wanting to learn to read they are given a short assessment to determine at what level they should begin. After accessing the level of the student we use either the Laubach Way to Reading or the Challenger Adult Reading Series of books. 

The Laubach Way to Reading Series is a systematic program of teaching more that 260 carefully articulated sequential reading and writing skills beginning at the zero level of literacy. The learner progresses from the sounds and regular spellings of the basic consonants to those of the short vowels, the long vowels, and finally to irregular spellings and more difficult reading and writing skills. There are 4 books in the Laubach series along with correlated phonics books and readers. 

Sometimes students come to us already past the level of Laubach, but not yet ready for the GED prep program so those students start in the Challenger Adult Reading Series. The Challenger Adult Reading Series is a program designed to develop reading, writing and reasoning skills in adult and adolescent students. The first four books in the Challenger series emphasize learning to read, developing basic decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills. Beginning with Book 5, the emphasis shifts to reading to learn, developing higher-level comprehension and reasoning skills while expanding the student's knowledge base. The Challenger series contains 8 student books, 8 puzzle books correlated to the student books and 4 books of writing activities correlated to books 1-4. 

The setup is as follows:

  • All materials are furnished to the student free of charge.
  • Classes are held in a one-on-one setting with the student and tutor.
  • Students learn at their own pace.
LEARNING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CAN BE FUN AND FULLFILLING.

We start with evaluating our students to see what level of english and reading skills they currently possess and from there we use various reading materials to teach and progress their skills further. One of the main systems we use is the Lauback Way to English series. The Laubach Way to English is a series of manuals especially designed for teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL), particularly to functionally illiterate adults.

Another source of material for our students is the Oxford Picture Dictionary. The Dictionary is a comprehensive vocabulary resource, containing over 3,700 words, each defined by engaging art and presented in a meaningful context. The Dictionary enables students to learn and use English in all aspects of their daily lives. Each page or pair of pages in the Dictionary resents a topic covering home and family, the workplace, the community, health care, the world or ares of study. The Picture Dictionary is available in many languages including but not limited to Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. 

The setup is pretty well structure basically as such:

  • All materials are furnished to the student free of charge.
  • Classes are held in English only so all languages will benefit.
  • Depending on the student/students classes are held one-on-one or in small group settings.
  • Field trips are arranged to help students adjust to their new environment and make learning fun.
  • Specialized materials can be obtained to meet individual student needs. As an example a student who loved to cook but couldn't read an English recipe book was given a visual recipe book of very basic recipes with step by step pictures for making the item.
NEED HELP GETTING YOUR GED? STARTING HERE IS A GREAT BEGINNING.

We start out by giving the student a TABE Locator Test (Tests of Adult Basic Education) which is designed to determine the student's level in reading, language and math. Based on the results the students is given work to complete in only the areas they need help in. 

There are 4 levels of instruction: easy, medium, difficult and advanced. Once the student has completed the advanced level in a subject he/she is ready to take that part of the GED test and can move on to the next subject. 

The setup is structure as follows:

  • All materials are furnished to the student free of charge.
  • Classes are held in either one-on-one or group settings.
  • Students work at their own pace.
  • Vouchers are given at the end of the program to make the cost of the GED test less for our students. Each part of the GED normally costs $25.00 but with our vouchers the cost is only $5.00 per part for the student.
  • Partnership with Faulkner State Community College provides materials that are used in the program including the TABE Locator Tests and all study related materials.
SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED A LITTLE HELP WITH LIFE'S BASICS.

This is a new program for us and is designed to assist students with needs of everyday life. Classes are designed around the students individual needs and can include:

  • Drivers Ed classes for the written test. We use the Alabama Driver's Manual and go over it with the student to help prepare him/her to take the written test. When it is helpful to the student the written test can be given orally by the examiner.
  • Check book maintenance. We assist students with opening a checking account, teach them how to fill out a check and how to maintain a check book register. This gives our student more independence in taking care of their own affairs.
  • Getting around the downtown area safely for the wheel chair bound. We have mapped out safe routes for our students showing them where crosswalks and traffic lights are to safely get around the area. We have pointed out where the ramps are on the sidewalks to allow our wheel chair bound students the freedom to go out and about on their own. This gives them the ability to participate in all types of activities that go on in our downtown area throughout the year that they may not have otherwise been able to attend.
  • Resume writing is a new program we are starting. We will teach techniques in preparing a resume and cover letter to enable our students to apply for a job. Along with that we teach them how to dress for success when going on an interview.
  • More life skill classes will be added as the need arises.