SPRINGDALE : Program helps families improve English skills
Posted on Thursday, November 20, 2008
SPRINGDALE — Sylvia Magana moved to the United States from Mexico 11 years ago, but she waited until recently to start learning English. She enjoyed reading books in Spanish with her granddaughter Maria Adame, but that bond was weakening because of a growing language gap.
Maria, a second-grader at Elmdale Elementary School, spends the day learning lessons in English only to return to a household of Spanish-speaking relatives. In August, Magana enrolled in the school district’s Family Literacy Program, taking English classes at night and learning alongside her granddaughter in the classroom one day a week.
The program, which targets 70 Hispanic parents whose children aren’t fully fluent in English, started this fall at Elmdale, Lee and Jones elementary schools. An announcement Wednesday at Jones Elementary revealed that the program will be financed through a $ 600, 000, three-year grant from the Toyota USA Foundation.
Springdale School District is one of five districts nationally selected from 191 proposals for $ 3 million total.
Magana and her granddaughter now share books in English, with Maria carefully reading the words as her grandmother slides her fingers across the boldly printed sentences, occasionally pausing to discuss a concept. Their favorite book tells of bears hibernating for the winter, giving the two opportunities to review specialized vocabulary.
“I did this for my babies,” Magana said, referring to her two grandchildren. “It’s so special for me.”
Magana’s daughter Adriana Adame attends classes with her kindergarten son Gerardo.
Through the program, parents take part in their children’s lessons in the classroom, attend night English classes coordinated by the Northwest Technical Institute and Ozark Literacy Council, and participate in meetings designed to address education and family concerns.
Models capitalize on the family-driven Hispanic culture, building educational accountability and support, said Sharon Darling, president of the National Center for Family Literacy.
“It provides parents with the skills they need to encourage literacy in the home,” she said. “Poverty, the education of the parent and whether or not English is spoken in the home — these are the key factors that determine a child’s success in school.”
The three schools have enrollments of 54 percent to 69 percent English-language learners, or pupils who are not academically and conversationally proficient in English. Of those children, 71 percent to 94 percent are from low-income families.
A 2007 study by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation found that 82 percent of Arkansas’ immigrant children from Mexico and Central America have at least one parent with limited English proficiency, and 58 percent have two parents of that designation. The study notes that a lack of conversational English skills limits a parent’s ability to be involved in their child’s education.
Community organizations in Rogers and Springdale have offered night classes and family tutoring for years, but lacked the resources to incorporate the programs into the school day, said Jim Allen, executive director of the Ozark Literacy Council.
“This helps acclimate the family to the school,” he said. “That school culture is so important.” Sandra Carrillo, who moved to Springdale from Mexico 10 years ago, takes classes with her daughter Jessica Paez, a thirdgrader at Lee Elementary. “I want to help my daughter with her homework,” Carrillo said. “Every year she grows up, it’s harder for her and for me. I want to change that.” Coming from a culture where parents aren’t involved in the schools, Carrillo now attends Parent-Teacher Association meetings, she said. Carrillo hopes to attend college, using her new English skills to spark her future education. “I want to be a good example for my daughter and not just tell her to do it,” she said.
To contact this reporter: eblad@arkansasonline. com
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