Maine Family Literacy Initiative news

An Education to Grow On

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:03:34 EST

Local Program Helps Educate Teen Parents

by Rebekah Rhodes

Teenagers who find themselves unable to finish school due to pregnancy or childbirth now have a place to turn to help complete their education.

This past school year, The Growing Tree Project was started in Knox County to provide young parents and their children with educational services. This program is funded by a Maine Family Literacy Initiative grant from the Barbara Bush Foundation.

Programs available to young parents include general education diploma and diploma programs and instruction on how to support their children through their early developmental stages. Parents who also enroll in literacy services and adult learning at the same time receive parent education through the Parents As Teachers Born to Learn curriculum.

The project is a collaboration between four different partners — Passages, which is an alternative high school program from The Community School in Camden, Parent Education/Family Services of Knox County, School Administrative District 5 Adult and Community Education and Rockland Public Library.

The program’s goals have been expanded for the upcoming year, to include programs for 4- and 5-year old children, incentives and programs directed towards father participation, and the expansion of the collaboration to include Rockland Public Library.

Andrianna Benito, 19, of Rockland, participated in the Growing Tree Project by enrolling in the Passages program last year with the goal of earning her diploma. Benito dropped out of school two years ago because of personal issues and later on learned she was pregnant. Her daughter, Kaihla, is now a year old.

Benito said she decided to join the program because she thought it was best to finish her education.

The Passages Program of the Community School in Camden is a fully accredited alternative high school with three separate programs for at-risk adolescents. The program has three teachers that serve 21 students during the year. Teachers and counselors work with young parents in their homes as an alternative to high school, teaching them 26 core skills related to their education and responsibilities as parents and as adults. Passages has had 81 successful graduates.

To be considered for the program, Benito had to fill out an application and complete three essay “challenges” about herself.

Benito said she has been very enthusiastic and successful in her studies. A student may be enrolled between six months and one year, depending on how long and how fast the student chooses to work.

“For her, it’s a lot better than going to GED classes,” said Benito’s mother, Mary Jane Timmons.

Benito said she tried a GED program, but it was too rigid and she did not receive the one-on-one help she needed with her studies.

She also attended the SAD 5 alternative school in Rockland, but school soon became impossible with her lack of transportation.

The biggest bonus of enrolling in the Passages program was the ability to be taught in her own home, Benito said.

Once a week, a tutor comes to her home and works with her. Benito never has to worry about childcare and when she attends workshops, which are a required component of the program, the program either provides childcare or reimbursements for the cost of hiring a babysitter.

Passages is what Benito considers a self-directed program. At her own pace, Benito has the opportunity to learn core skills including understanding abuse, scientific method, budgeting, computer proficiency, health and nutrition, first aid and job hunting.

Instruction also includes how to care for a young child, and covers information about early development — teaching the new mother what to expect and how to pick up on warning signs of possible disabilities.

Students in the Passages program also are required to choose an elective on any subject they are interested in and complete the coursework successfully. Benito chose to study baby sign language. All subjects come with objectives and the students are expected to apply them in their daily lives.

Benito said the work is never too demanding and that she is able to complete it while Kaihla is sleeping. Benito is hoping to graduate in June 2008.

The Growing Tree Project, was among eight recipients to receive a $25,000 grant through the Maine Family Literacy Initiative. The group has received the grant for two consecutive years, which will provide funds to help cover numerous expenses including personnel expenses, children’s groups, father activities, materials and supplies, taxi vouchers and gas cards. The 2007-2008 budget is estimated at $38,800.

Last month, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy awarded $234,995 in grants to Maine schools, libraries, community-based organizations, adult education programs and colleges that promote the Maine Family Literacy Initiative.

The Teen and Young Parent Program of Knox County has been providing services to teen and young parents since 1990. The program began as a grassroots volunteer organization, providing mentors to teen parents to assist them in continuing their education. Under the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the program has grown to provide parenting education, workshops and activities for young parents and a family literacy collaboration.

Parent Education/Family Services of Knox County has provided free home-visiting parenting education to any first-time family since 1999. Five certified parent educators deliver the Parents as Teachers Born to Learn curriculum through home visits to more than 80 people each year. Parents as Teachers supports early language development and improved school readiness for young children.

MSAD 5 Adult and Community Education serves more than 250 literacy level students and an average of 125 GED students every year. Classes are offered in adult basic education, GED preparation and literacy and basic skills upgrades. The Rockland center offers a full-time learning center with one full-time instructor and 25 literacy tutors.

The newest partner is Rockland Public Library, a facility that serves more than 12,000 people in Knox County.

“We believe that reading is an essential skill, and always will be. Access to information, to books, and to a broad vision of the world is what we offer our public,” Nikki Maounis, director of the Rockland Public Library, wrote in a letter to the Maine Family Literacy Initiative.

Maounis also wrote that there is a large part of the community that goes without library services because they are unaware of what the library has to offer or because of their feelings of intimidation.

“Public libraries in general have long suffered from an ‘image’ problem, and this is particularly true in communities where the education and income level are not high,” wrote Maounis.

In 2005, only 89 percent of Knox County high school students graduated according to the Maine Department of Education. In Rockland, only 88 percent of students graduated, 41 percent of students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and 49 percent of all Rockland residents are below the federal low and moderate-income level. Literacy Volunteers estimated that 5,000 people in the Rockland area couldn’t read above the 6th grade level.

The Maine Department of Education estimates that an average of 2,000 students drop out of school every year in Maine. In 2002, 1,147 teen girls left school due to pregnancy and childbirth. During the 2004-2005 school year, 64,355 students received subsidized school lunch, which totalled 33 percent of all public school enrolment and every year the number of students who do not speak English increases by four percent.

For information on taking part in programs that are a part of the Growing Tree Project call 594-0975 or 594-1980.

Kelly Michaud

Internet News Director

& Editor of Special Publications & NOW!

Courier Publications

301 Park St.

Rockland, ME 04841

Phone: 207.594.4401 ext. 281

Fax: 207-596-6981

http://www.MaineCoastNOW.com

Harvesting Family

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:01:08 EST

By Shannon Parker

As the last blooms fade on late fall mums and pumpkins become soft, our midcoast community hunkers down for a long Maine winter. The orange and russet colors that have warmed window boxes and front porches will soon be covered in a blanket of white snow. It is the time of year when thoughts turn to family and the holidays, to thanks and giving. During this season we instinctively take stock of what we have accomplished over the course of the last year and how truly thankful we are to have loved ones.

For one young midcoast parent who works with the Teen and Young Parent Program, her poem When I Heard beautifully conveys gratitude and the joy of motherhood.

When I Heard

When I found out I was pregnant

I was happy; I knew when I found out my life would change

But I was bound to have you and be the best mommy to you

Mommy was sick but you still hadn’t kicked

When I went to the doctors at 10 weeks I heard

I heard my life change before me,

I heard the beautiful sound of life,

I heard my heart grow right then,

I heard you my baby,

my boy, my love, my dream, my heart, my soul, my wish, my baby

My life was then complete

My life was complete I realized

I could defeat anything

when I heard.

This young woman knew she was dedicated to her growing child, but didn’t have all of the tools to make her dreams come true. She had an educational goal of improving her literacy skills and completing her high school diploma and a family goal of securing stable and affordable housing for her young family. Above all, as the poem states, she had a personal goal to be the best mother to her baby. When she enrolled with the Teen and Young Parent Program, a Parent Educator took the time to develop a goal attainment plan and set about helping Ms. Robinson get the health, educational and social supports she needed to raise a healthy child in the world. She is now a student in the Passages Program of the Community School and has continued her enrollment in the parent education component of the Teen and Young Program since June 2007. Her first child is now a year and a half old, and he is on target in all areas of development. He loves books and his vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. A second baby was born in August, and his transition to the family and the world has been eased by the parenting support and child development information mom has received from her parent educator. This young family’s experience shows us all that family extends far beyond those with whom we share a home, and into the community. So as we all turn inward and give thanks for our loving families, it is appropriate to thank the Knox County community and agencies like the Teen and Young Parent Program of Knox County for their investment in our youth, our future.

The Teen and Young Parent Program of Knox County is committed to building a strong, nurturing community for young families and offers several services especially for teen and young parents. These programs include mentoring, family literacy services, child development advice using the Parents as Teachers^TMcurriculum, weekly playgroups for parents and children, group enrichment events like scrapbooking and open swims at the YMCA, assistance accessing community support systems, and much more. The mission of the Teen and Young Parent Program is to support young parents and their children through the involvement of caring, trained volunteer mentors and parenting education home visits.

These programs are voluntary and no fee is charged to participants. Funding is provided through grants from the Maine DHHS, Bureau of Health, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Liteacy and local support and donations. Contact us at (207) 594-1980 or toll free 877-972-5804 (in Maine) for more information.

Shannon Parker is the MSAD 5 Director of Adult and Community Education

The Missing Piece of the Proficiency Puzzle

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EST

Recommendations for Involving Families and Communities

Building on Kentucky’s pioneering tradition of setting high standards for students, CPAC strongly recommends that Kentucky become the first state in the nation to set a standard for family and community involvement that is focused on improving student achievement. This standard includes six objectives designed to involve families and the community to improve student achievement, so that our state will meet its goal of all children’s reaching proficiency by 2014 and thereafter.

To read the entire document, visit the Kentucky Department of Education's website at http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/Student+and+Family+Support/Parents+and+Families/The+Missing+Piece+of+the+Proficiency+Puzzle.htm

Study Shows How to Maximize Adult Literacy Classes

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:46:02 EST

National Center for Family Literacy

LOUISVILLE – (June 11, 2008) A National Center for Family Literacy study found that adult literacy results can improve as much as one grade level gain for an average of every 10 hours to 13 hours of instruction.

Personalized instruction, additional teacher training and diagnostic assessments of the adult participants are the key components to producing strong results.

“This is great news for the 34 million U.S. adults who are hindered by low literacy,” said Sharon Darling, NCFL’s president & founder. “It’s great news for the economy, which needs well-educated workers; and it’s great news for our children, who need financial stability and education role models.

For more on this article, visit the National Center for Family Literacy website at www.famlit.org or go to http://www.famlit.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=gtJWJdMQIsE&b=1335479&content_id={C0DCA063-8EA1-45DB-91C3-5133F47DA0DB}¬oc=1