Working with ELL parents Archives | The Latino Family Literacy Project

The Changes in Parent Involvement Expectations Over 40 Years

Katherine Del Monte — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 20:26:09 +0000

The importance of education cannot be overstated. The annual American Education Week (AEW) that takes place every November is a reminder of the vital role getting an education plays in this country. The week was founded in 1921 by the National Education Association after it was discovered that 25% of World War I draftees lacked an ability to read. Among the many celebrations of American Education Week is “Parents Day”, devoted to putting a focus on the role parental involvement plays in effective educational outcomes. This component was established nearly a century ago and highlights how parental involvement was as crucial then as it is today. In fact, one might argue that with the multitude of changes in our society and the exponentially competitive job market we live in, education has grown even more significant. The role of parental engagement has increased along with it. The need for a child to succeed academically comes with more consequential trappings than perhaps any other decade before this one.

However, parent involvement has come under fire in recent years as studies bring about conclusions that parental engagement doesn’t necessarily improve academic outcomes for children and even proves to hinder successful achievement in some cases. This research points to a variety of different theories and findings that conclude parents should merely stress how important education is to their children’s future and then simply step aside and let the child excel on his or her own. But this flies in the face of decades of data that show just the opposite, as parents who are directly and closely involved with their child’s education provide a foundation for academic success. There are far more conclusive findings that show an improvement in test scores, attendance, and graduation rates among children who come from households where parents played an active role in education.

Despite the media putting a spotlight on some of these opposing views, the influence of parents on a child’s learning is dramatically positive. Even if the parents themselves are unsure of how to help out with homework, their presence can be felt in making sure the child actually finishes it before class. Even this small step can demonstrate large dividends later on. If a child is struggling with their studies, parents can help them learn or find ways to get additional resources involved to ensure their child’s success. The changes in this involvement can be seen in the ways that parents choose to engage with their children. More of them are getting actively involved in helping with homework and incorporating education into family leisure activities, such as going to a museum or theatre to expose children to culture and history. Technology has also become more prevalent in the methods of education, such as mobile devices, software, and online resources that are readily available. Parents often times give their children access to these items and even use them alongside the child to help them learn.

Lectura books provides award-winning multicultural books. These books are a great tool for students and parents of diverse backgrounds. Multicultural stories allow both students and parents to be able to relate to the story and be more inclined to read and retain the information. This encourages more reading and speaking of English at home. Visit Lectura Books Youtube Page to see some of their most popular book titles.

The Latino Family Literacy Project are experts in working with Spanish speaking parents and can train your staff to work specifically with parents of diverse backgrounds at your school. The company offers both online webinar training and in person workshops.

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The post The Changes in Parent Involvement Expectations Over 40 Years appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

Helping Young Children by Reaching Out to Parents with Books

Katherine Del Monte — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 15:00:48 +0000

Generally, children who are exposed to language and reading at a very young age are more likely to have a chance to excel in their educational pursuits. The New York Times (NYT) shares that Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman said, “The greatest barrier to college education is not high tuitions or the risk of student debt; it’s in the skills children have when they first enter kindergarten.” He goes on to explain that paying for preschool saves society money in the long run.

Before kids reach kindergarten age, children’s minds rapidly develop like no other time in human life. One way to bring learning to the forefront of how we support children as a society is to start, fund, and support programs that boost children’s literacy, including those that empower parents and families through giving them books.

In the NYT article, “Helping Children Thrive,” the Harlem Children’s Zone Baby College and Harlem Gems programs are given as exemplary examples of early education programs. These programs have a four-to-one student teacher ratio and teach pre-literacy, French, and social skills. High quality preschool programs help underprivileged children to make up for some of the resources they are lacking, and another example of a literacy program supporting young children is called “Reach Out and Read.”

Through this non-profit program, doctors and nurses give out books to families during young children’s check-ups and remind them of the importance of reading to children. Children receive new books at each check-up, and the Reach Out and Read site shares that, “many Reach Out and Read program sites create literacy-rich environments that include gently-used books for waiting room use and/or volunteer readers to model for parents the techniques of reading aloud to young children.” Many parents may not be able to afford new books for their kids, and those who might not traditionally read to their children at home can benefit from another adult modelling the read aloud process for them.

Reach Out and Read serves 4.5 million children in all 50 states of the U.S. Their research shows that the preschoolers they work with score three to six months ahead of peers on vocabulary tests. This program is important because it directly recognizes children’s literacy as important to their growth and development, and it is powerful because it can reach so many children through doctor’s visits. By linking reading with physical health, the program honors reading as the crucial element to children’s well-being that research has shown it to be.

Lectura Books provides award-winning bilingual books that are a great tool for English Learner students and their parents. The multicultural stories of each book help to engage the parents of ELL students. This encourages more reading and speaking of English at home. Visit their website to see some of their most popular book titles.

The Latino Family Literacy Project are experts in working with Spanish speaking parents and can train your staff to work specifically with Spanish-speaking parents at your school. Attendees can participate via online webinar training and will learn a culturally competent and research-based program to deliver to parents either online or in person at school.

The post Helping Young Children by Reaching Out to Parents with Books appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

5 Best Ways to Help ELLs with Academic Success

Katherine Del Monte — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 00:53:19 +0000

If you’ve ever spent an extended period of time in a foreign country whose language you do not know, you know how hard it is to navigate. Can you imagine trying to learn math or science or literature in that foreign language, especially if the alphabet is different than your childhood ABCs?

That’s what many English Language Learners (ELLs) face daily in our nation’s classrooms. In fact, one quarter of all U.S. children are first or second generation immigrants, many of whom are not native English speakers. Furthermore, there’s been an uptick in child migration, with a 90% increase of child migrants between 2013 and 2014. ELLs have unique challenges when learning in general, beyond learning English.

Here’s a few techniques for empowering ELLs to learn:

1. Learn more about the culture of ELL students. Cultural and linguistic differences can become assets rather than obstacles. A student’s ease of learning English will be greatly determined by what her/his native language is. The English language ranks 33 out of 239 in “weirdness”, so understanding the key differences between a student’s native language and English helps to instruct that student more effectively.

2. Group kids of different language skill levels together when appropriate.

3. Provide background knowledge. Contextualize what’s being read and avoid idiomatic phrases. For example, if the class is reading a speech by President John F. Kennedy, instruct students about the key themes and facts of his presidency.

4. Complement instruction with visual aids, graphic organizers, peer help and home language help. Bilingual materials can also help students learn.

5. Technology can be an important classroom asset, especially videos and internet resources. Videos, especially, merge visuals and auditory information.

ELLs can be found in classrooms in all 50 states and speak a myriad of languages including Spanish, Chinese, French/Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese. Just as ELLs have unique challenges in the classroom, they also have unique assets when learning too, like the cultural experiences they bring with them to the classroom. With the right tools, attitudes, and methods, ELLs are succeeding throughout the U.S. with the help of dedicated professional educators.

Teachers can find workshops for cultural understanding to help ELL kids and include their parents in the school-going culture. The Latino Family Literacy Project has trained more than 10,000 staff in 17 states. Join our family of readers!
Register Here.

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