Creating Community in “The Friendly City"

A few years ago, Julie Logan found herself on the Skyline Literacy website. Logan had been searching for a way to be more involved in the volunteer community within Harrisonburg, and after signing up for tutor training sessions, she began her journey with Skyline as a level 1 tutor alongside her team teacher, Bill Reinhold. In addition to the joy she gets from teaching students, Logan says that teaching with Reinhold has been an extremely rewarding experience as she’s gotten to observe how his dedication and background knowledge has enriched the learning environment. 

Logan’s favorite part about teaching is simple-- getting to know her students. “As the students’ ability to speak English increases, they are willing to share aspects of their lives,” she says. Logan says that watching the motivation and progress of her students over the course of the year is impressive and exciting to see. The COVID-19 pandemic has made Logan miss seeing her students in person and getting to know them face-to-face. “I miss the personal interaction that can be had in a classroom setting” she adds. 

While Logan is a teacher for Skyline, she admits that she has also been a student in many regards as well. “I have learned a lot about the community of Harrisonburg by working with Skyline. Our community welcomes people from many different countries who speak a variety of languages.” Logan says that meeting and connecting with her students has taught her more about Harrisonburg, but also about other cultures and communities. 

Logan notes that organizations like Skyline Literacy help “the friendly city” of Harrisonburg become a stronger, more welcoming community. “Skyline Literacy helps folks by connecting them with steps to feel belonging to their own homes.” Logan encourages fellow Harrisonburg residents to support their local immigrant communities by investing in organizations like Skyline. “Helping people acquire a basic level of communication is the first step to citizenship,” Logan says, adding that Skyline Literacy is an integral part of making that first step possible.