IN THIS ISSUE

Introducing PASSPORT

Student Turns Lemons
into Lemonade — and Tacos

Adapting Environments to
Meet Special Needs

Success Comes in 3s

The Jacqueline Sue Bates Story

Mill Workers Go Back to School

GED Student Nominated for
Poet of the Year

Countdown to the New Millenium

In 1998 Korey Williams came to Middle Georgia Technical Institute's Adult Literacy Program with the goal of obtaining his GED. Having been blind since 1991 as a result of congenital glaucoma, Korey was nervous about going back to school. After losing his sight, he felt isolated and depressed. However, he realized that he needed to make a positive life change, and that education was the first step. The adult literacy program welcomed the challenge of creating a learning environment that could meet Korey's needs.

The first area to be considered was the physical environment. The school building met accessibility standards, so Korey set about becoming familiar with the layout of the building. A mobility instructor from the Department of Rehabilitative Services met with him several times at the Corder Road site and taught him the route from the parking lot to the building, the layout of each room, and the location of payphones, bathrooms, snack machines, water fountains, and emergency exits. This instruction gave him the confidence he needed to move from one class to another. His teachers made the classroom setting easier for him by providing seating close to the entrances and exits. When transportation to the center became a problem for Korey, the teachers volunteered transportation to and from the site.

The next area of concentration was adapting the instructional environment. During classes, Korey was paired with a tutor who would read all of the assignments orally and act as a scribe. The peer tutoring turned out to be beneficial for both Korey and his tutor. Serving as tutors for Korey reinforced learning and acquainted other students with the needs of the physically challenged. As an auditory learner, Korey would tape the class sessions and later listen to them at home. Middle Georgia provided him with audiotapes of GED instructional programs. In math and writing, Korey received many hours of one-on-one tutoring with individual instructors. Korey was the first blind student Diane Harrington had tested. "We took it one test at a time over a period of six to eight weeks," a GED examiner of ten years, Harrington said, "Korey was allowed extra time on each test."

"As the examiner, I was concerned about the writing and math parts of the test," she added. During the writing part, Korey brainstormed aloud, while the examiner took notes. He then organized his thoughts into sentences and paragraphs. Harrington said that this part went slowly because she had to stop Korey and ask him to spell individual words. During the math portion, he worked the problems out in his head or on scratch paper. "I think the fact that he was able to see until age 17 helped him with this part of the test."

Teachers, administrators, and students celebrated with Korey when he graduated on May 28, 1999. This was the year-long culmination of a team effort united with the common goal of seeing Korey receive his GED diploma. At the ceremony, Korey delivered the invocation and the message that with the help of others and against all odds, we can each achieve our goals.

Middle Georgia Tech adult literacy students (left to right)
Bert Edwards, Angela Boswick, and Mary Paster; Lois Reed - Teacher,
with Judith Bruce, and Korey Williams.

Barbara Fatkin
Part-Time Literacy Teacher
Middle Georgia Technical Institute
Warner Robins, Georgia
SDA 32