San Bernardino, Ca -Cal State San Bernardino will celebrate 15 years of the Watson & Associates Literacy Center’s service to the community when it hosts the Family Literacy Celebration on Friday, Nov. 15.

The event will run from 4-7 p.m. in the CSUSB College of Education’s atrium and the Literacy Center, located in room CE-119, and is free to all ages. Parking at CSUSB is $6.

The family event will feature story reading, a book signing with local authors, pop-up bookmaking, art activity, write around story and music activity, free books, along with parent workshops on literacy and other programs. James and Judy Watson, the center’s namesakes, will also be in attendance.

Founded in 2004, the Watson & Associates Literacy Center is a component of CSUSB’s College of Education. Its mission is to assist students, grades kindergarten through 12, to improve their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Funded by a generous grant from Watson & Associates, the center offers interactive tutoring within carefully designed programs.

The Watson & Associates Literacy Center is designed to provide tutoring services to students who have not yet achieved grade-level proficiency in literacy, or to any student who would benefit from individual support to advance their skills. Tutoring services are provided by America Reads tutors and volunteer tutors who are enrolled in courses in the CSUSB College of Education.

The Literacy Center provides one-to-one literacy tutoring in all four domains of literacy: listening, speaking, writing and reading to children, in grades kindergarten through 12, four afternoons each week, Monday – Thursday, 3:30-4:30 p.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. The tutoring sessions are one day per week for each tutee, one hour per session, and are provided for eight weeks during the fall, winter and spring quarters of the university.

For the last week of tutoring, parents and families are invited to attend a Writing Celebration that highlights and celebrates their student’s writing projects completed during tutoring.

Visit the Family Literacy Celebration webpage for more information on the event, as well as the Watson & Associates Literacy Center’s website for information on its programs.

About Cal State San Bernardino

California State University, San Bernardino is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in Inland Southern California. Opened in 1965 and set at the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, the university serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually. The university offers more than 70 traditional baccalaureate and master’s degree programs, education credential and certificate programs, and a doctorate program in educational leadership. Every one of its academic programs that is eligible has earned national accreditation. CSUSB reflects the dynamic diversity of the region and has the most diverse student population of any university in the Inland Empire. More than 80 percent of those who graduate are the first in their families to do so.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit inside.csusb.edu.