Five Julie’s Moms Win Top National Literary Prizes
Five mothers from Julie’s recently won top literary awards from an international writing competition held by WE LEARN, a national literacy organization. We are proud to announce that 12 of the 14 women who submitted stories were also published in the magazine Women’s Perspectives.
Lisa Norton and Emilia Morales won top Honors awards. Receiving Honorable Mentions were Patty Fenton, Iris Perez, and Lynne Gilcoine-Tracy. The women also attended an international conference organized by WE LEARN that took place in Providence, Rhode Island in March. They presented a workshop on their writing experiences and read their stories aloud to the full conference at the Celebration of Writers.
Lynne Gilcoine-Tracy, a Julie’s mother, said “I felt like I was going to pass out, but when you read your story a miraculous feeling comes over you knowing you did an excellent job.” The conference brought together women who are participants in adult literacy programs across North America.
Dorrie Nord, a teacher at Julie’s who joined the women at the conference recalls: “It is a very hard thing to go up on a stage in front of 400 people - but the women were great. I was so blown away. All four of them read their pieces and talked about their personal experiences at Julie’s. People were very moved. There were participants from Canada, all over US, even some folks from Belize who performed a traditional dance!”
Next year’s WE LEARN conference is already generating interest among the women at Julie’s. We’ll keep you posted!
Dear Julie’s friend,
We hope you enjoy the following highlights from
this past year. In spite of the intense pressures of the recession on our families - as it has been for many throughout the nation - we have seen significant successes this year at Julie’s Family Learning Program.
Through gifts and in-kind donations, you can become a part of the life line to the operations of this program. Thank you for your support!
Sr. Louise Kearns, SND, Director of Adult Services
Sr. Jean Sullivan, SND, Director of Children's Services
Robert D. Monahan, Director of Operations
Adult Services: Highlights
Twenty percent of the participants in the program began or are attending college. We have an unusually high number this year.
75% of the mothers in the ‘GED track group’ have passed four of the five GED tests.
Five women received scholarships to attend college.
Nineteen mothers submitted writing to the international writing competition of the US literacy organization Women Expanding Literacy Education Action Resource Network (WE LEARN). Julie’s mothers succeeded in getting sixteen writing pieces published in WE LEARN’s journal, far more than any other submitting organization. One of our mothers received the top award and was asked to deliver a speech at the conference. Two other mothers received prizes.
100% of mothers present in our core daily program achieved the following:
Improved their adult basic education (literacy, math skills, etc), and their parenting skills (i.e. increased involvement with their children’s school and teachers, more patience, more time spent reading with their children, better anger control and discipline management, etc.).
Improved their financial management, family budget, and computer skills.
Expanded their knowledge of health and nutrition issues.
Over 100 families received food cards, emergency food, Holiday meals, and/or back-to-school assistance. Many of the families also received rent and utilities assistance.
Children Services: Highlights
100% of our Montessori students entering the first grade (a third of the whole class) for September tested above grade level (Scholastic School Readiness Test).
All tested at the 80th to 90th percentile; one child scored in the 99th percentile. What is remarkable is that most of these children have succeeded in accomplishing these high standards in spite of coming from and living in very difficult circumstances such as homelessness, situations of domestic abuse, and economic scarcity.
100% of the children received individual assessments and learning plans at the beginning and end of the year.
Five children (1 infant, 3 toddlers, and 1 pre-schooler) were diagnosed as needing special intervention and began receiving these on-site intervention services in collaboration with the New England Medical Center and other agencies. One child at Julie’s began to display significant hearing problems. Through the persistent intervention and assistance of Julie’s, the child gained admittance into the Beverley School for the Deaf.
In conjunction with the Read Boston program, the pre-school children read over 260 books last year.
100% of the children showed age-appropriate growth in language and motor skills as tested in evaluations.
Five mothers from Julie’s recently won top literary awards from an international writing competition held by WE LEARN, a national literacy organization. We are proud to announce that 12 of the 14 women who submitted stories were also published in the magazine Women’s Perspectives. 
We hope you enjoy the following highlights from 