Helping vulnerable families give their children and even start toward school success: One rural community's efforts

Childhood Education, 2001 by Dimidjian, Victoria Jean

The family literacy program immerses both parents and young children in a language-rich environment. Parents gain needed speaking and reading skills in English, while their young children explore the developmentally appropriate learning environments. Currently, the Bethune Center has three separate learning rooms for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. In addition, parenting classes and parent/ teacher training with an early education instructor who speaks Spanish has helped parents gain greater awareness of their children's needs and how to best meet them. Finally, adult education classes help parents acquire job skills and earn degrees. Over the past two years, parents in the program have completed four ESOL classes and one ABE / GED class. In all three of these areas, this Even Start Program is engaging families for longer amounts of time than the national average, as reported in a U.S. Department of Education national evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program (1998).

Immokalee's Even Start Program

Newcomers to the Even Start Program (located in one wing of the Bethune Center) cannot help but be impressed by its close-knit, almost family-like atmosphere. This is particularly evident in the rooms where the administrator, office staff, and early childhood staff work directly with parents and children. The warm greetings and spirited interactions build strong connections between program staff and parents, helping to reassure parents that they will be welcomed back if they ever need to leave the program.

Many adults learn about the Even Start Program and its guidelines when they register for classes at the Bethune Education Center; others are referred by family members or friends. The program administrators are committed to reaching individuals who would otherwise not be in school, and so they actively recruit people at the public health clinic, CYF and WIC offices, the public library, and other community facilities. All administrators and staff live in the Immokalee area and so the program becomes known through word of mouth. Presentations about the program are held at Head Start programs, the community's elementary schools, and various houses of worship.

Once a person makes an inquiry about the program on the phone or in person, a VISTA staff member provides information and conducts an informal screening process. Families interested in enrolling their children are provided with a tour of the center, a letter (in either English, Spanish, or Creole), and an invitation to attend the Wednesday parents' meeting. In addition, they have the opportunity to participate in ongoing education and skills acquisition classes at Bethune. Only after gaining a full picture of the program and the commitment needed to participate are families formally enrolled.

Nearly three quarters of the families enrolled in the 1998-99 academic year were Spanish-speaking; most had emigrated from Mexico. Other families emigrated from San Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Many of these families speak, in addition to Spanish, a Mayan dialect known as Konjobal; the center now has materials published in Konjobal that were made available by the Florida Department of Education. Home visiting staff use the families' home language, but also encourage the parents to use English.