Who is Father Tolton?
Fr. Augustus Tolton, whom the Tolton Adult Literacy Center is named after, was the first African-American priest in the U.S. He overcame many hardships to have a great impact on the lives of many disadvantaged people.
The man we all know as Fr. Tolton was born in Ralls County, Missouri, in 1854 to Peter Paul Tolton and Martha Tolton. Fr. Augustus Tolton was born into slavery and was considered property of a slave owner known as Steven Elliot. During this time the Civil War in the United States had begun, and Augustus' Father, Peter Paul Tolton, fled to join forces with the Union army. He was killed during combat. Augustus' mother, meanwhile, took care of their three children in Missouri. This left her worried though because Missouri was still a slave state. So Martha Tolton gathered her children and they escaped across the Mississippi River to Quincy, Illinois.
A devout Catholic, Martha Tolton insisted on a Catholic education for her children. Therefore Father Tolton attended the all-black Lincoln School and later enrolled at St. Boniface parochial school. Due to prejudice, Father Tolton was forced out of St. Boniface after only one term. He then was accepted into St. Peter's school by Fr. McGirr. Father McGirr saw something special in Father Tolton, because of his excellent grades and liking towards religion.
After graduating from St. Peter's, Father Tolton attended St. Francis College. When the young Father Augustus Tolton decided on the priesthood, social conditions in the U.S. made it necessary that he trained for his calling in Rome. After six years of studying, Tolton was ordained on April 24, 1886 and became the first African-American priest in the U.S. Father Tolton said his first Mass in St. Peter's Basilica over the tomb of St. Peter, an honor ordinarily reserved for the Pope. On July 25, 1886, Father Tolton was installed as pastor of Quincy's St. Joseph Church, a black congregation.
Upon being forced to leave his home in Quincy because of racial hostility, Father Tolton settled in Chicago and founded St. Monica's Church (now St. Elizabeth's), the first Black Catholic Church in Chicago. He remained in Chicago until his death July 9, 1897. Despite the difficulties he faced there Father Tolton made it known that he wanted his burial to take place at Quincy.
General Information
Description
Tolton Center is an adult education program that provides employability skills, family literacy and child services in low-income communities in the Chicagoland area. Tolton has been recognized as a leader in adult education at local, state and national levels.People Served
800 people annually, including low-income adults and children; ex-cons; people battling substance abuse; the homeless; abused women; as well as the impoverished.Programs
- G.E.D., Pre G.E.D., Basic Skills and Literacy
- Employability
- Child Services
- Family Literacy
- English as a Second Language (ESL)
Tolton Center Staff
More than 20 staff members provide services at 5 sites throughout Chicago.Tolton Center Volunteers
More than 50 volunteers contribute 5000 hours of service annually and play important roles as tutors, counselors and mentors.Tolton Center History
Founded by De La Salle Institute in 1991, Tolton has grown from one to three sites over the past 10 years. In 1998, a partnership with Chicago Public Libraries led to the development of two Tolton sites: One at the Chicago Bee Branch Library located at 3647 S. State Street and a second site at the Henry Legler Library located at 115 S. Pulaski. A third site is located within the Alain Locke Charter Academy at 3141 W. Jackson.Funding Sources
69% Government Contracts; 18% Foundations; 10% Corporations; 3% Individuals.Tolton Center Contacts
| Lawrence Blakley Executive Vice President (312) 842 - 7355 x142 |
Susan Perez Director of Adult Education (312) 746-7744 (West) (312) 747-3468 (East). |
Assessment
Before students begin classes they are tested to determine the type of assistance which will most benefit them. At the beginning of each session, each student takes a Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT) and a Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE). These tests equate student literacies to traditional K-12 grade levels. When taking these same tests after classes, students average 7 months improvement in 11 weeks on the SORT. On the TABE, they average 19 months improvement in reading comprehension and language expression, and nearly the same in language mechanics. Their math and computation skills go up an average of 15 months during the same few weeks.Range of Classes
Tolton offers classes in four different ranges. For the more than 60% who cannot read or write at an 8th grade level, Tolton offers Literacy and Basic Skills training. For the 96% of the students who did not graduate from high school, Tolton Offers pre-GED and GED preparation. The Literacy/Pre-Literacy program assists those who work at below 3rd grade level. For those in the 4th to 6th grade range, Tolton offers the Basic Skills program. When students reach the 7th and 8th grade level they begin working toward their GEDs; and preparation for the exam begins in earnest once they move to the 9th grade level.
Once students begin classes, nearly 70% stay with the program, transcending their daily battles with poverty to complete classes. Ultimately, 80% who finish the program and take the GED pass and move on to greater challenges.
Some students have been so successful that Tolton started its own chapter of the National Adult Education Honor Society, Recently, a student who began at a third grade level passed the GED exam after only 3 years of study. Others have gone on to work as cosmetologists, medical assistants, or in the skilled trades. Some continue their education at local community colleges or universities.
Upon completing Tolton's Adult Education Program, students leave with much more than the ability to read and write. They have confidence in themselves and value what they know and what they have experienced. They come out with a revitalized vision of who they are and what they can achieve.
Tolton's Employability Program
The Tolton Center's four-month Employability Program offers students an opportunity for job success. The program concentrates on developing self knowledge, career exploration, basic computer skills, interview techniques, and resume writing. Through the Employability Program, students are given the opportunity to tour various job sites. Onsite job shadowing and unpaid internships are offered to students giving them the chance to apply what they have learned first hand. The Employability Program at the Tolton Center is proud of their 87% success rate of employment for students who complete the four month program.Free of charge to students
Based on a secular curriculum, the Tolton Education Center serves those who live in one of the most economically disadvantaged areas of Chicago. In Grand Boulevard for example, the 1990 Census shows that more than 23,000 of the neighborhood's 35,000 residents earn less than $13,359 in households of four. Half of the people in the community receive public aid and more than half are single mothers supporting children. A 1995 study by Roosevelt University Professor Pierre Devise found that Tolton serves four of the six poorest communities in the US with over 2,500 residents.
Tolton enables economically disadvantaged people to improve their reading, writing, math and analytical abilities so they can complete their education and effectively enter a labor market which requires them to continue learning and adapting to developing technologies. The curriculum emphasizes the real life situations these adults find themselves in and contextualizes learning through discussions and lessons, which explore possible solutions. The teachers at the Center work with each individual holistically, integrating discussion of their difficulties both inside and outside the classroom.
