Who We Are

What's Here?

• Mission Statement
• About Top Floor Learning
• History of Top Floor Learning
• Frequently Asked Questions

Top Floor Learning Mission Statement

It is Top Floor Learning's declared and demonstrated mission to promote and provide personalized tutoring services in basic literacy skills and to sponsor a dynamic, comprehensive program of life-long learning opportunities for adults.

Top Floor Learning, Inc. is a state and federally chartered non-profit 501(c) (3), tax-exempt corporation with headquarters on the third floor, the Top Floor, of the Palmer Public Library's magnificent new facility at 1455 North Main Street, Palmer, MA. Pursuing its expanded mission and goals, Top Floor Learning shall strive:

• To fully engage our most critical resource, the private citizen, in every aspect of Top Floor Learning's outreach and growth.
• To promote public awareness of our core literacy services to those with the need or desire to acquire or improve English-language skills, basic math and computer skills, GED preparation or Citizenship preparation.
• To encourage anyone with an interest in sharing or teaching a particular subject, skill, talent, hobby, experience, or virtually any area of study, to make that interest known to Top Floor Learning.
• To recruit caring, giving people into our cadre of volunteers. Volunteers are fully trained by Top Floor Learning staff to deliver one-to-one tutoring services in basic literacy skills; to assist other teachers; to help design curriculum workshops; to support fundraising events, and to generally assist TFL Directors and administrative staff. Volunteers are the true lifeblood of the Top Floor Learning community of learners.
• To become full partners with regional civic and community groups and with the business community. Our partnership with the Palmer Public Library is long and strong, and we intend to make it stronger. We aim to strengthen partnerships with affiliated libraries and with other regional learning centers to build and support a resource and information sharing network. Top Floor Learning seeks to build mutually beneficial partnerships with the business community by vigorously promoting the accessibility and benefits of its programs and services to the region's workforce

About Top Floor Learning

Since 2004, Top Floor Learning has provided a wide range of adult literacy programs and lifelong learning courses, workshops, and lectures to the residents of the Quaboag Hills region and surrounding areas. Here are some facts about Top Floor Learning.

• We are a non-profit 501 (C)3 organization,
• We have provided adult literacy services since 1978 and used to be known as Literacy Volunteers of Quaboag Valley. Top Floor Learning was incorporated in October 2003.
• We are located on the third floor of the Palmer Public Library, but we are a separate entity with our own staff and board of trustees
• We are self-supporting - we do not receive income from the town of Palmer or the state
• The income from our Lifelong Learning program partially supports our Adult Literacy services. Adult Literacy fees are capped at around $1.25 per hour.
• We also depend upon the financial support of interested individuals, corporate donors and foundations to continue providing quality adult literacy services
• All tutors in the Adult Literacy program are volunteers and we are indebted to them for their service and commitment

Our goal is to provide affordable, high-quality programs and give people in the area the opportunity to explore their interests and nurture their talents and potential.

If you have a talent or expertise you would like to share, please call Lisa Remillard, Director of Lifelong Learning, to discuss teaching a workshop.

If you would like to become trained as a volunteer tutor in GED, math, reading and writing, ESL or Citizenship, please call Marsha Gaudette, Director of Adult Literacy, to find out more details about our training programs.

If you are interested in donating to Top Floor Learning, please call Margaret Boyko, Chief Executive. You may also donate on our website by clicking here.

We thank those area businesses and individuals who support our work.

WHERE TO FIND US:

Third Floor, Palmer Public Library, 1455 North Main Street, Palmer, MA 01069 Telephone: 413 283 2329.

History

Top Floor Learning will carry on the extraordinary 25-year legacy of Literacy Volunteers of Quaboag Valley. It is upon this platform of longstanding and widely acknowledged public service that Top Floor Learning intends to develop the region's premier literacy and life-long learning center.

Literacy Volunteers of Quaboag Valley was set in motion in 1978 with a special grant, awarded to the Palmer Public Library by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, to develop an adult literacy program featuring volunteer tutors trained to provide one-to-one instruction in basic literacy skills. Literacy Volunteers of Palmer was launched the following year as an agency-based organization. Sponsored by the Palmer Public Library, Literacy Volunteers of Palmer was accepted as a full affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., operating under the direction of the library's Board of Trustees and the supervision of the Library Director. The Library's trustees, in 1993, granted Literacy Volunteers of Palmer its request to become a community-based organization operating under its own bylaws and Board of Directors. In 1995, reflecting the organization's growing regional scope, its name was changed to Literacy Volunteers of Quaboag Valley. In 2001 LVQV received a three-year Accreditation Award from Literacy Volunteers of America, acknowledging the organization's continuing standards of excellence. Literacy Volunteers of America and Laubach Literacy International merged in 2002, and affiliates of the merged organizations were made affiliates of Proliteracy America. Literacy Volunteers of Quaboag Valley maintained its affiliation with Proliteracy America until July 1, 2004, when Top Floor Learning, Inc. assumed the leadership and mission of LVQV.