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Suffolk residents have the opportunity once again to return to learning with the Suffolk Literacy Council.

After remaining closed for a year due to the pandemic, the Suffolk Literacy Council is virtually re-opened as of March 15.

The virtual operations hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. However, tutoring hours depend on the tutor’s availability. Suffolk Literacy Council offers free one-on-one tutoring services in Reading, Language, Basic Math, and English as a Second Language in hopes of reaching a community where all adults are literate and perform at their highest potential.

“We are so excited,” said DeAnna Smith, the program coordinator at Suffolk Literacy Council. “We just met with some future students passing out technology to them, and they are so excited too.”

Since the lockdown started more than a year ago, the Suffolk Literacy Council had to close its doors and stop all official tutoring sessions. Some tutors and students could still connect virtually, but not all had the resources to continue.

Many of the students have limited access to technology, making it hard for them to stay connected with their tutor. The Suffolk Literacy Council has collected hot spots and laptops to help fill these needs and help again.

“We have tried to gather laptops and hot spots as well as make some partnerships to get assistance with connecting the students with what they need,” said Smith.

Right now, the literacy council only offers a few basic courses. Smith hopes that they will eventually be able to expand for more virtual workshops to teach digital literacy to help students find more jobs, get a promotion or be productive while stuck at home.

New and old students and tutors are encouraged to reach out and sign up to be a part of the re-opened sessions that are now available.

“We want our students old or new, to reach out and tutors to know we are open and to reach out and get back to learning,” said Smith.

To sign-up or learn more about becoming a student or a tutor, visit suffolkliteracy.org.