ROCK SPRINGS — The Sweetwater Literacy Center has opened in downtown Rock Springs to provide free literacy services for children and adults, aiming to address persistent reading challenges in the county and across Wyoming.

The nonprofit literacy center, located at 538 Pilot Butte Ave., Suite No. 7, opened Nov. 10 and offers K–12 literacy instruction, adult basic literacy education including GED preparation, and English as a Second Language programs for individuals who primarily speak Spanish or other languages at home.

“All of our programs and services are free to the public,” said Kim Larson, executive director of Sweetwater Literacy Center.

Larson said one-on-one tutoring allows the center to meet students where they are academically while also addressing confidence and emotional barriers to learning.

“A lot of what we do here is instill faith and confidence in themselves,” Larson said.

In addition to one-on-one tutoring, the center hosts weekly programming, including Spanish-language children’s story time on Tuesday nights, English story time on Thursdays and an open mic nights on Fridays. 

The center is currently operating without public funding. Larson said the organization has been funded out of pocket while working to complete the process of securing 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, which was delayed during the recent federal government shutdown. Larson plans to pursue funding through the city and county as the next step.

Larson said the center was created in response to ongoing literacy concerns in Wyoming. Sweetwater County ranked last among the state’s 16 largest counties for literacy testing during the 2023–24 school year, according to previous reporting by SweetwaterNOW.

The literacy center uses an instructional approach known as structured literacy, sometimes referred to as the science of reading. The method emphasizes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, and is supported by cognitive science research on language acquisition.

“That is the exact design of the literacy center,” Larson said, adding that the approach is systematic and intentional.

The center also focuses on adult learners including GED and ESL students, their most successful programs so far. Larson said accessibility has been a priority, with appointments available mornings, evenings and weekends.

Residents seeking literacy services or interested in volunteering can find more information at sweetwaterliteracy.org or through the Sweetwater Literacy Center’s Facebook page.