Family Literacy Program
The Family Literacy Program’s aim is to lift the whole family so they can meet their personal goals. Parents with preschool (3 years old and over) and/or school-aged children are invited to enroll in the program. Racine Literacy Council also will work with area agencies and schools to accept referrals for families who could best benefit from attending.
Once enrolled, RLC will meet with each family member individually to talk about their goals. As a requirement of participation, parents must give RLC written permission to confer with their child(ren)’s teachers or caregivers. Parents will also set their own goals for academic learning, language learning, or personal development. For instance, adults may want to work toward earning a high school equivalency diploma or develop workplace skills that could lead to a job or promotion. RLC will work with the child(ren)’s teachers and parents to know what academic, social, and emotional development would be most helpful for them.
Families will meet weekly with other families at the local public library for the program. The two-hour session will begin with a whole family fun activity, then parents and children will work separately. Each week, parents will hear about and discuss a parenting topic or another general topic of their choosing. Then adults will be matched to volunteer tutors who will work with them individually or in small groups toward meeting their goals. Children will also have a group activity, according to age and development, then be matched with tutors who will work with them in small groups or individually.
Want more information?
Call (262) 977-2871 to register or to become a tutor.
Volunteer with Family Literacy
Action. Pictures. Simplicity. Fun. Comics conjure these ideas. But rarely might someone consider using comics as a way to teach reading and writing. We did.
When we started the Family Literacy Program, we knew we would be lifting children’s skills from various levels. Starting simply by creating a story with words and pictures was an obvious way to get kids thinking. Executive Laura Sumner Coon is a member of the Racine Founders Rotary Club. She learned of Operation Comic Book, a program created by Ken Glanc, a Rotarian in Cleveland, OH. RLC brought Glanc to Racine to train a dozen tutors and teachers. Then, with the help of funding from the Racine Founders Rotary Club, RLC introduced comic book-making to kids.
We feature the works of our students, ages 9-17, here for you to see how these lesson had several outcomes. Creating a comic involved organization, problem-solving, artistic ability, and imagination. This was especially challenging for our students whom English is not their primary language. But it was also liberating. They could be a superhero. They could decide what world or community problems needed attention and they could offer their voice. When their comics were completed, the students presented them in their language (Spanish or Ukrainian) and in English to all the parents that gathered. Their sensitivity astounded us all. See for yourself!
