2Gen Approach to Literacy, March 2018

Sharon Darling, NCFL

The Literacy Cooperative, with generous support from PNC, was very pleased to have Sharon Darling, president and founder of the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) to address the community at The City Club of Cleveland on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. This event was an extended celebration of Read Across America Day, observed on March 2nd. 

Ms. Darling is a nationally recognized expert in family literacy who described a two-generational (2Gen) approach to literacy where child and care-giver are addressing their literacy needs together on an inter-generational pathway to education and independence. The NCFL works with local partners, shares innovative practices and resources, provides professional development, awards and funding, and advocates federal and state policies to sustain and expand family literacy and engagement services. We were honored to host Ms. Darling at this year’s luncheon.

In addition to her address at The City Club, Ms. Darling was interviewed by Wayne Dawson on Fox 8 News’ Morning Show with The Literacy Cooperative’s Bob Paponetti and appeared on 90.3’s radio program The Sound of Ideas with Dr. JaNice Marshall, The Literacy Cooperative Board Member and Assistant Vice-President of Access & Community Engagement for Cuyahoga Community College’s College Pathways Program. We were happy that Ms. Darling could share her message in a variety of venues. To see video clips of these interviews or to view photos from the luncheon, please click on the links.

A 2Gen approach embraces the entire family and encompasses more than just educational needs. It’s a blend of post-secondary education and employment pathways for adults and educational development and enrichment programs for children, combined with economic supports like access to housing, transportation, and financial literacy.

Likewise, physical health and mental health can be a component of the 2Gen approach since these have a major impact on a family’s ability to thrive, and are a critical factor in the well-being of children and their caregivers. Additionally, social capital is a key feature of the 2Gen approach. Social capital are relationships that empower and support a family. Contact with family and friends, participation in community and faith-based organizations or school and workplace relationships, as well as connection to case managers or career coaches can build a family’s social capital.

When education needs are addressed for adult and child simultaneously, with economic, health, and social supports integrated into the spectrum of services, families have better outcomes that are long- lasting.

There are different models of how to accomplish a 2Gen approach. Some have a primary focus on either the child or the adult, with additional services. Others have an integrated system or network. The challenge is for services to align, share data and evaluation tools, and to collaborate meaningfully so that families can advance themselves and realize their full potential.

There is an emerging body of research and findings that is available about the 2Gen approach. To learn more about it you can visit Aspen Institute’s Ascend Program and Annie E. Casey Foundation to access many of their resources.

Director’s Message, March 2018

As we each do our part to improve literacy in our community, more and more we see the need to coordinate and align our services. Literacy cuts across all sectors and spans a lifetime. From employers to clinics and schools, for children and adults, we need to focus our efforts on improving the skills of the whole family in all aspects of life. It’s a big commitment, but one we can do together.

In celebration of Read Across America, The Literacy Cooperative, with generous support from PNC, hosted a special luncheon featuring Sharon Darling, the founder and president of the National Centers for Families Learning (NCFL) on March 7th. NCFL advances literacy and education by developing, implementing, and documenting innovative and promising two-generation (2Gen) practices, networks, and learning tools. By assisting parents and caregivers, as well as, their children with their learning needs, the entire family is empowered. We were excited to have Ms. Darling in Cleveland to share her best practices and to inspire us to strengthen our own learning networks for families.

This issue of our newsletter gives an overview of what a 2Gen approach looks like with links to articles and resources on the topic. We hope you will find these useful and thought-provoking. The Literacy Cooperative will host a Literacy Summit on May 11, 2018 to bring together early childhood and adult literacy providers, along with other types of organizations that serve families. We hope this will be an opportunity to take a deeper look at 2Gen approaches and how we can work more closely with each other to provide coordinated services.

Also, take a look at the feature about the Warrensville Heights School District’s Supporting Tutors Engaging Pupils (STEP) program. STEP is a one-on-one, volunteer reading intervention for struggling learners that uses a 6 part approach to achieve success. Warrensville Heights has a strong program that utilizes high school students as their trained volunteer tutors. They have had great results and fostered a cross-school community.

As always, we appreciate the work you do to improve literacy. We are always looking for ways of connecting with you. We have a diverse set of trainings scheduled for this year. Check out our Events page on our website to see what upcoming sessions are planned. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter so we can be connected on social media and join our mailing list if you are interested in receiving our “Literacy Week in Review” e-blast.

Regards,

Bob Paponetti

The Plain Dealer: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library sends free books to preschoolers

Jenna Huff snuggles in her mother’s lap. She turns a page of “ABC, Look at Me.” She runs her finger along a picture. She prattles as she goes. The sounds aren’t recognizable words, but that’s OK. According to experts, Jenna’s learning to read all the same.

The Cleveland Heights near-2-year-old gets a free new book in the mail every month from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a national program launched by someone better known for songs than books.

The program serves children from birth to age 5, regardless of income, in many parts of the country, including nine Cuyahoga County communities or school districts, all of Summit County and all of Lorain County. Any family in those areas with a child under 5 can sign up at imaginationlibrary.com.

Jenna’s mom, Demetra Madlock, says Imagination has already taught Jenna to love books and understand a bit of the contents. “She notices things like trees and babies. She’ll say ‘tree’ and stuff. When the book’s upside-down, she notices. She points at stuff. She’s getting it.”

During Madlock’s workdays underwriting for Progressive, her parents take care of Jenna and read to her from the Imagination books. The parents are retired teachers, but neither family household has many books at Jenna’s age level. Madlock also says it’s hard for the family to take Jenna to a public library.

Studies show the youngest brains grow fastest, and the sooner they’re fed, the better. Children learn more by sharing laps and read-aloud times and conversations about the books than by seeing and hearing the same contents on a TV or computer. But many low-income homes have no books for young readers.

The library reached Cuyahoga three years ago. Now it serves about 2,500 families in Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, University Heights, East Cleveland, Euclid and the school districts of Garfield Heights, Warrensville Heights, Maple Heights and Bedford.

The Cuyahoga program is part of the Literacy Cooperative, a 12-year-old local nonprofit that also supports elementary school tutoring, parent workshops and adult literacy programs. The Heights Family Foundation and Bruening Foundation cover the local costs: about $35 per child per year. The cooperative is seeking sponsors for more communities, such as Cleveland.

In Summit County, the library is run and funded by United Way for more than 12,000 children. In Lorain County, it’s run and funded by the Stocker Foundation for more than 5,000 children.

Parton started Imagination Library in 1995 in her home county in Tennessee. At imaginationlibrary.com, she says she got the idea because her dad couldn’t read or write. Still, “I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams… The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”

In its 23 years, the library has sent nearly 100 million books to nearly 1.2 million children in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. Experts pick the 60 titles, and the library gets bulk deals from Random House publishers and the U.S. Postal Service.

The books range from obscure to acclaimed, such as Ezra Jack Keats’ “The Snowy Day” and Watty Piper’s “The Little Engine That Could.” Two books per year contain both English and Spanish. The Cuyahoga program also supplies reading tips, a monthly newsletter and links to other services for children and families.

Imagination’s leaders say no fewer than 41 independent studies have shown the program boosting family reading habits and school readiness.

Local leaders hope parents use the books not to drill children but inspire them. Joan Spoerl, who runs the program in Cuyahoga, says, “We’re really emphasizing the joy of reading.”

The original article can be viewed here.