Program Partners

Friend of Literacy supports free GED classes throughout Knox County.  Our current program partners are Knox County Schools Adult Education, Adult Education at Pellissippi State Community College, CAC Ross Learning Center, the GED program at the Knox County Sheriff’s Detention Facility, and the Knoxville WAVE Program.  Our support to these programs includes $48,000 in donations to pay for teachers and supplies, recruitment and placement of students into the appropriate program, GED scholarships for students unable to afford the $55test fee, and recruitment and training of volunteers who assist students.

Learn Now Program

FOL’s direct service program, Learn Now, serves low income students in classrooms near their homes. Currently we hold classes at three locations in south, north Knox County, and our newest site just opened at Pond Gap Elementary School. Classes are held two days a week for a total of 4 hours of instruction a week.  With the exception of Pond Gap, these sites utilize volunteers to teach the class.

New Readers Program

Our New Readers Class is the only class in Knoxville for adults who are unable to read. The class provides free instruction for the one in ten adults who function at a low literacy level. The class is led by a reading specialist and assisted by volunteers.

Knox County Sheriff Detenion Facility Program 

The program at the Knox County Sheriff’s Detention Facility, in partnership with Knox County Schools Adult Education, began almost three years ago.  To date this program has awarded 200 GED’s. Upon earning a GED, a person is granted a thirty day credit to his/her sentence resulting in a savings of over half a million dollars to Knox County. Research shows that the rate of recidivism for those students who achieve their GED while incarcerated – or shortly after release – drops dramatically from 46% to 18%.

What a GED means to our Students and the Community

Through our programs, we assist our students in their efforts to be independent and financially stable. According to a December 2007 study by the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research, people with a GED or high school diploma earn an average of $9,000 more per year than those without one.  They are also 72% more likely to be employed.    Research conducted by the National Institute for Literacy states that while parental income and marital status are both important predictors for children’s literacy levels, neither is as significant as having a mother who completed high school or has a GED.  By developing a more educated population, we broaden students’ job opportunities and increase their earnings potential; and in doing so, decrease the intergenerational cycle of poverty, raise workforce effectiveness, increase civic participation, and improve the community’s overall economic well-being.

Our goal at Friends of Literacy is to give students the basic tools they need to become better workers , parents, and citizens. Obtaining a GED is  an important step for our students toward lasting changes which result in financial stability and independence in their lives.  If you know someone that could benefit from these services please e-mail us  info@friendsofliteracy.org or call 865-594-1507.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO COMPLETE THE PROGRAM?

• It takes an average of 3 months for a student who enters at a seventh or eighth grade level to complete the program.
• It take an average of six to nine months for a student who enters at the fifth or sixth grade level to complete the program
• Students who enter at the lowest grade levels can take as long as two or three years to learn to read