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Joan Acosta

The little paper
that could

From an award-winning newspaper
for British Columbia’s adult learners
to an award-winning literary magazine
recognized worldwide, Capilano
College is renowned for its respected
publications. The first of the two,
The Westcoast Reader, is celebrating
its 25" anniversary this year. The
other is The Capilano Review, which
will turn 35 next year.

The WCR is a popular newspaper for
adult literacy learners and new
immigrants. The publication is
designed to help new readers develop
reading skills, while providing
interesting and relevant information
with an adult focus. It started in
1981 with a circulation of 8,000.
Today, each issue reaches more
than 100,000 people.

The Westcoast Reader's editor, Joan
Acosta, writes all the articles, many
of which she adapts from The
Vancouver Sun and The Province
newspaper. Joan said that readers
find something very appealing
about real news and real stories.

“T couldn’t exist without the
relationship with the Pacific
Newspaper Group,” explained the
former English as a second
language instructor, who is
negotiating a similar agreement
with The Calgary Herald. “The Sun
and The Province allow me to
simplify their stories and use their
photos at no cost.”

Another important partner for the
North Vancouver resident is the
North Shore News, which has been
supplying the WCR with free photos
for the past 20 years.

With a tight budget, Joan has
creatively produced more than 20
special supplements over the years
to help finance the publication.
The one on HIV/AIDS received
worldwide attention when little
was known about the virus.

Throughout its 25-year history, the
WCR has helped thousands of people
develop literacy skills. They range
from adult ESL and literacy learners

to hearing-impaired adults and
children to people recovering
from strokes. Tt has also been
transcribed for blind readers and is
very popular in both upper
elementary and high schools.
Articles are written at three levels
of difficulty, providing even
beginning readers with a starting
point for reading.

In 1987, the WCR received a Leaders
of Readers Literacy Award from
Family Circle magazine and the
Council for Periodical Distributors.
It was the only Canadian project
to win one of four $5,000 US
awards for fighting illiteracy.

Joan herself has received numerous
individual awards, including the
Order of British Columbia, which
she received in 1994.

“Tt was very meaningful and a
great honour to receive the
award from David Lam, who was
B.C’s Lt.-Governor at the time,”
Joan said. “Very few educators
have received the Order of B.C.,
so it was really special— particularly
because this was before literacy
was recognized as an important
issue by the government.”

For more information, visit the WCR
website at www.westcoastreader.ca.