Meet our Mid-Valley: Vivian Ang shares her passion for literacy

This is part of a weekly series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community.

Vivian Ang failed the third grade because she couldn’t read.

She believes that was largely because for the first three years of her schooling, her teacher approached reading instruction using the "whole language" method. While the method works for some, it did not work for Ang.

When she repeated the third grade, she had a new teacher who focused on phonics.

The experience stuck with Ang, now the director of Salem's Mid-Valley Literacy Center, which aims to teach adults the literacy skills needed to increase their quality of life and economic stability.

“That kind of motivated me to understand that there are a lot of folks who have issues with reading … that they have to have help, as I did,” she said.

Founding Salem's Mid-Valley Literacy Center

Ang graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in animal science. She was sure she was going to be a vet.

Instead, she has spent the past two decades working with immigrants, learning Spanish and striving to improve adult literacy in the region and across the state.

After receiving her bachelor's degree, Ang went on to receive additional credits in Bilingual Education and Cross-Cultural Communications from Portland State University and Western Oregon University.

She worked for nine years as a coordinator for the Literacy Volunteer Program at Chemeketa Community College Santiam Center. When Chemeketa Community College decided to close the literacy volunteer program, Ang knew the work could not stop.

“Truthfully, I had no intention of starting a nonprofit,” Ang said. “I did not want to do it. I kept saying to God, ‘Please find somebody else.'”

Despite her hesitance, the Mid-Valley Literacy Center opened its doors in 2009.

It outgrew its first space at a church in Keizer and moved into the East Salem Community Center in 2016. Ang said 14 years in, she does not regret committing to run the nonprofit.

She loves seeing people change their lives.

Teaching literacy skills to thousands of adult students

Her team has helped thousands of adults, including people from 60 countries and at least 30 languages. A majority of students are Latino, but the center is open to anybody — as long as they’re adults, Ang said.

Nearly 800 tutors have been trained and have volunteered at the literacy center over the years — 793 to be exact.

The Mid-Valley Literacy Center is not attempting to supplant schools, Ang emphasized, but instead is geared to adults who have faced barriers or could fall through the cracks.

This past Tuesday, the center was celebrating more students passing their citizenship test, one of the several programs available.

Improving adult literacy does not only benefit one individual but the entire community, Ang said.

"We just delight in helping people," she said.

Classes at the Mid-Valley Literacy Center include English at all levels, Spanish and English GED, computer basics, and the Instituto Nacional para la Educación de los Adultos or INEA course geared to teaching native Spanish speakers how to read and write in Spanish.

The center will also prepare students for their citizenship exams and offers pre-CNA classes for English Language Learners looking to become certified nursing assistants.

There are never more than 10 students in each class, allowing students to connect with their tutors. And bigger classes can be intimidating, Ang said.

In the coming months, Ang hopes to expand their workplace literacy program.

Those classes are off-site and focus on improving safety on worksites. Ang said the curriculum is customized for each business, with tutors going on-site and teaching English around vocabulary specific to their work. Tutors also teach Spanish if an employer wishes to be able to communicate better with employees or clients.

Examples of businesses they've helped span cabinet-making, agriculture and pie makers.

The program not only makes sites safer but improves productivity, Ang said, eliminating barriers that could affect a worker and their performance.

Businesses can reach out to the center for more information. Anyone looking to tutor or donate can email info@midvalleyliteracycenter.org, visit midvalleyliteracy.org or call (503) 463-1488.

If you have an idea for someone we should profile for this series, please email Statesman Journal senior news editor Alia Beard Rau at arau@gannett.com

Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her atdlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter @DianneLugo.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Mid-Valley Literacy Center Director Vivian Ang helps Salem