Who We Are & What We Do

For over 35 years the Moncton Regional Learning Council (formerly the Greater Moncton Literacy Council) has been continuously providing the only free, confidential one-on-one volunteer tutoring for individualized literacy and learning opportunities to new readers in the southeast New Brunswick region.  The Council’s purpose is threefold:

• To tutor those adults and youth who need assistance to upgrade the skills in reading, comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, basic mathematics and other life skills.

• To recruit and encourage those adults and youth to seek assistance and instruction.

• To recruit and provide training for potential tutors.

Our “Each-One-Teach-One” programs are adapted to the goals of our students who receive free and confidential services from our volunteers who are trained in accordance with the standards established and maintained by Laubach Literacy New Brunswick.  We do all of this with the support of Laubach Literacy New Brunswick, of which we are an affiliated council, the Greater Moncton Literacy Advisory Board, Legs for Literacy together with local corporate and service club encouragement.

Youth and adults who come to us, mostly through word of mouth, are generally those who through their very negative public school experience are not willing to try any form of education that requires a classroom setting and so receive individualized assistance from our Council’s tutors commensurate with their learning styles and availability.  With the boost in their self-esteem resulting from this approach comes the motivation to accomplish other educational and personal goals that our learners originally assumed were not possible.

The Council offers a variety of programs and learning opportunities.  They include our traditional adult and youth one-to-one tutoring, English second language, peer youth tutoring in high schools, family literacy training for parents and care-givers, individualized tutoring for children in the public schools and “Story Time” with the Moncton Boys’ and Girls’ Club. Despite all this activity for so many years, the dedication of our volunteers and the need for our services in the community, we are still not reaching a significant number of families and individuals who could take advantage of our services but don’t know we exist. Society has stigmatized those with low literacy skills so that only a few who acknowledge that they need help will step forward.  The tragedy in all of this is that families continue to be marginalized and the children are denied so many opportunities available to their peers from more educated or affluent homes.

Our Council believes that education is both an individual right and a public responsibility and that literacy is the key factor in all of this.  Health, education and literacy are inextricably linked and are the vital components of social and economic development that are best achieved through the active partnership of families, individuals and organizations in the community. 

Responding to a known societal deficiency in human and social needs, through our work we strive to achieve change and build a stronger future. 

Mission Statement

To provide and support programs which improve the literacy skills of people in our region.

Vision Statement

To enhance lives and build a stronger community through improved literacy skills.

Value Statements

• We recognize that literacy is a basic social value;

• We recognize the right of all individuals to improve their skills and quality of life;

• We believe that it is the right of the learner to receive consistent quality service;

• We will maintain consistent quality standards in working with learners to achieve their goals;

• We will maintain consistent quality standards in recruiting tutors to ensure respect and dignity for learners;

• We recognize the necessity of community involvement and value the dedication and contribution of learners, volunteers and employees.

Executive Committee

Peter Sawyer (President)
Joanne Barry (Secretary)
Robert Smith (Treasurer)
Valerie Higgins (Volunteer Training)

Community Network

The unique volunteer services offered by our Council are carried out in conjunction with our network of community agencies including:

• Laubach Literacy New Brunswick,
• Department of Post-Secondary Education Training and Labour,
• Moncton Community College,
• The YWCA,
• United Way of Greater Moncton and Southeastern N.B. Region Inc.,
• South East Region Adult Learning Board,
• Department of Social Development,
• MAGMA,
• Moncton Boys’ and Girls’ Club,
• School District 2,
• Moncton Headstart,
• Greater Moncton Literacy Advisory Board,
• City of Moncton,
• Volunteer Centre Inc.,
• Learning Disabilities Association N.B.,
• Legs for Literacy,
• Youth First Committee and the
• Frye Festival.