Dear TLC Community,
Through 31 years of operation, The Literacy Center has become highly resilient, weathering all kinds of challenges and difficult times. Our community’s current public health situation will test our resiliency once again, and I am confident that once again we will rise to the occasion and continue to serve our mission of enhancing lives and promoting self-sufficiency through quality adult education services.
In order to ensure we can continue to provide exceptional learning opportunities to our students well into the future,
The Literacy Center will be closing for a “vacation week” effective Friday, March 13 th and continuing through Sunday, March 22 nd .
The building will be closed, and all teachers, tutors, and students are asked to stay home during this time. During this week, the administrative staff members will be working remotely to develop a contingency plan for The Literacy Center moving forward.
This decision was made with feedback from TLC’s Board of Directors President and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The public health situation is rapidly evolving, and we are staying on top of it by remaining in constant communication with the area’s health departments to make sure we are making rational, informed decisions that put health and safety first. Clear, consistent communication is going to be extremely important in the upcoming weeks. Please refer to our website for updates, or call TLC and leave a message with any questions, concerns, or any information. Someone will call you back within 24 hours. We will update the website daily, as well as post on social media, about any changes to our organization’s operations.
As the situation is evolving, no further decisions are being made about classes, events, or the International Tasting beyond March 22nd at this time. We will update our community at the end of next week with more information.
Although I sincerely hope this situation will not last long, my intent is to be prepared should it come to that. We will be working together to find ways for us to utilize technology to provide educational opportunities to students in a way that does not compromise anyone’s health and safety.
During this time, we encourage you to focus on staying calm and staying healthy. Practicing good hygiene, keeping your distance from others, staying very hydrated with water , and recognizing that anyone can be a carrier of germs is critically important. I encourage you to get information from reliable sources, such as the CDC website ( www.cdc.gov ), your local health department website, or your primary care doctor. I recommend being as vigilant about fact-checking sources as you are about washing your hands. If you feel that you may be sick with symptoms similar to COVID-19, you should call your doctor before anything else. Do not go to the hospital or doctor without calling first.
If you have come in contact with someone who has COVID-19, you should contact your local board of health, health care provider, or the Massachusetts State Epidemiology line at (617) 983-6800, or Rhode Island Department of Health’s screening line: 401-222-8022. They will inform you what to do next.
The Literacy Center community is a strong team. We will continue to work together to deal with whatever comes our way. Please know that I am available to you via email or phone if you have questions, concerns, or ideas. Please reach out at any time at ablount@theliteracycenter.com or leave me a message on 508-226-3603 x 16, and I will return your call as soon as I can.
As always, thank you for all you do for our students, and for each other.
Sincerely,
Amanda Blount, MSW