Tidewater Literacy Council

Tidewater Literacy has served the needs of nonreading adults in Tidewater for over 30 years. TLC is affiliated with ProLiteracy America (formerly Laubach Literacy), an organization furthering the cause of adult literacy worldwide.

Tidewater Literacy Council offers One-To-One tutoring to nonreading adults.
Nonreading adults living in the Tidewater region (Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach) of Virginia can contact Tidewater Literacy Council to register for free One-To-One tutoring.

Free evaluations are offered to adults who request help from Tidewater Literacy Council to improve their reading skills.

Adult students whose reading ability exceeds the level offered at TLC are referred to Adult Basic Education programs in the city where the student resides. Tidewater Literacy Council is a non-profit organization. Our operating budget is derived from donations, grants, and fundraising events conducted throughout the year.

Tidewater Literacy's Administrative Office is located in Portsmouth, Virginia, (map courtesy of MapQuest), at 700 London Street, just at the entrance to Olde Towne, approximately 2 blocks from Naval Regional Medical Center.

Directions: Downtown tunnel into Portsmouth, take 1st exit,Effingham Street. Right on Effingham, to London Street. Right on London Street. 1st Left, Green Street. 1st Left from Green Street into parking lot of Red Cross Building.

The Need

TLC trains and manages a corps of volunteer tutors who work with students in a one-to-one setting. Volunteers work with motivated adult students to meet their self-identified goals that include life skills (practical application of literacy skills) as well as general literacy instruction.

More than 20% of adults read at or below the fifth-grade level; far below the level needed to earn a living wage.

The National Adult Literacy Survey found that over 40 million Americans age 16 and older have significant literacy needs.

The needs of nonreaders are critical and widespread. To illustrate the pervasiveness of the problem, consider the following facts from the National Institute of Literacy:

A nonreader earns 42% less than a high school graduate
Individuals with less than six years of schooling are four times more likely to end up on welfare
43% of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty; 17% receive food stamps
70% have no job or only a part-time job
As the education level of adults improves, so does their child's chances for success in school
Only 51% of prisoners have completed high school or its equivalent compared to 76% of the general populatio