Bringing Literacy Home for Adult Learners

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When he was in kindergarten, Don Hable's mother was told he would have trouble reading. He did, and he was eventually sent to a special-education school where he says he did nothing but "goof around" all day. Eventually, he left, and began working with his father in the family heating and cooling business.

In February, his sister brought Don, now 18, to the Literacy Council of St. Louis - a bustling room off a side street in a hard- luck corner of town. Inside, amid folding tables and chairs, recent immigrants from all corners of the globe mix with native English speakers and tutors. It's here that Ruth Korte, a volunteer for eight years, took Don under her …