Exciting chapter at literacy center

LEHI — When Hesther Rippy and her husband, William, moved here from Dallas 20 years ago, she said their primary goal was to spoil their grandchildren.

And though she proudly will tell you "mission accomplished," she now acknowledges a higher purpose in the move that changed her life and is making a genuine difference in the lives of Lehi residents.

Sitting in her office in the Rippy Literacy Center, located in the Lehi Public Library, Rippy takes a moment to look out into the spacious computer lab and bask in the quiet buzz created by more than 40 students, each working with his or her own reading tutor.

"I love it when it's like this," she says. "I love seeing everything going so smoothly, seeing all these children working with their tutors."

The Rippy Literacy Center is the giant step in a journey that began in 1997, when Rippy, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was asked to be a stake literacy specialist.

"I asked where I should go to be trained," Rippy said, "and they said, 'We don't know. Just find some way to help people learn to read.' "

With that broad mandate, Rippy approached Lehi city officials to see what help they could offer.

The city's help started with a charity golf tournament hosted by Micron that netted a donation of just over $22,000 to buy books and get the center started at the city's Arts Center where an 8-foot by 9-foot office was provided. The church assignment quickly evolved into a citywide effort.

"We called it the cockpit," Rippy said of the Arts Center office. "Students had to be tutored out in the halls where people were rehearsing."

When it became obvious the Arts Center could not house the rapidly growing program, the City Council set aside 2,000 square feet in the newly remodeled library.

At the center's grand opening in November 2002, Lehi Mayor Ken Greenwood unveiled two surprises for Rippy: a photo of her and her husband (who had passed away in April of that year) and the wrought-iron sign that would identify the new center as the Rippy Literacy Center.

"It was quite a surprise," said Rippy, the emotion obvious in her voice and eyes.

Today, the Rippy Literacy Center is in its busy time of the year. Summer tutoring programs in reading and math serve 730 students, and that number is still growing. Students attend two 50-minute classes each week, working one-on-one with a tutor or in small groups.

In the main room, students receive help with reading from one-on-one tutoring and reading programs on the center's 41 flat screen computers, paid for by a $28,000 donation from an anonymous couple.