(L to R): David Bybee, Tara Nuez, Estella Delgado, Patricia Heller, Ana Palacios-Gomez,
Patricia Gonzalez, Maria Guardado, Dina Hernandez (Principal),
Marilyn Yassin (Team Chair), Walter Zeri.
Meet the Challenge to Involve More Families: Latino Family Literacy Project
From the start, the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School faced a significant challenge. It wanted to encourage families of English Language Learning students—who make up about a quarter of the student population—to participate more frequently in school activities at school and at home. The ATP instituted a number of practices to reach out to these parents, even as it worked to welcome all families in the school. One activity, the Latino Family Literacy Project, offers literacy classes for Spanish- and English-speaking parents, encourages a family reading routine, and works to improve students’ English and Spanish literacy skills.
The district’s Department of State and Federal Programs provided funding for training and materials for the project. The school’s family liaison—also a member of the school’s ATP—guided the practice and established a curriculum with lessons from the Project teacher’s manual and some of her own unique lessons. The school principal designated a room for a Family Center for classes and activities for parents and for storing materials. An ATP member provided translations at the class sessions. Teachers and other documents assessed this program noting more parents volunteering and taking classes on campus. In a targeted evaluation, the ATP found that the children of parents who participated in the Literacy Project performed consistently better over two years on the California English Language Development Test. For information on the Latino Family Literacy Project, visit http://latinoliteracy.com.
Reach Results for Student Success in School: Improve Reading and Writing
The Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at Thomas Jefferson Elementary turned its Family Traditions Reading Night into a special occasion by asking students in grades K–6 to write about special occasions. Inspired by descriptions in the NNPS book Family Reading Night, the ATP’s design included reading activities, a book exchange, a presentation by the county’s children’s librarian, and refreshments. Hundreds of students swapped books. The librarian not only gave good information, but also distributed applications for library cards. Many parents and other volunteers helped organize the event.
At the heart of the evening was an essay-writing contest that students entered before the event. Students’ addressed the question: “What is your family’s favorite holiday?” They involved their parents by asking for information about family traditions. Winners were invited to read their essays aloud to parents, students, and staff at the Family Traditions Reading Night. By hearing the traditions honored before such a large audience, families saw that they were an important part of the Thomas Jefferson community. ATP planners added the writing assignment to the program based on academic needs demonstrated by the CA STAR assessment and district benchmarks. Reading comprehension was a specific target. The ATP planned another essay contest and next Family Reading night on the theme of Family Heroes – another great topic for discussions at home and for improving writing and reading skills!
See Thomas Jefferson Elementary School’s activity in Promising Partnership Practices 2009 on the website at www.partnershipschools.org in the section Success Stories. Visit the school at http://www.busd.k12.ca.us/jefferson.htm.