Book Clubs Strengthen Literacy Values
At the first Book Club session this year, only one in ten of the parents
in our Book Clubs said that they read to their child three or more times a week.
But by the end of the program, that number increased to nine in ten parents!
This past year was the second year we delivered our full Parent-Child
Book Clubs Program, a 25-week program that meets weekly to focus solely on the
activity of reading in the home. Parents who graduated from the Avance-Dallas Parent-Child Education
Program volunteer to lead the Clubs. This year we served 147 parents and their children through 15 Book Clubs
offered at 14 sites on Dallas, Irving, and Mesquite ISD school campuses.
The following
chart outlines the impact our Book Clubs had on participating families. Parents
took the “Book Clubs Survey” prior to the first meeting and again after
completing the Book Clubs. Here are the results:
| Measurement | Prior to the Book Clubs | After Completing the Book Clubs |
| Read to child 3 or more times a week | 11% | 90% |
| Bought or borrowed from the library 4 or more books in the
last month | 38% | 60% |
| Has a library card | 58% | 78% |
| Has 4 or more books in the home | 70% | 94% |
| Motivates child to
ask questions and talk about the book while reading to the child | 35% | 69% |
Families expressed great satisfaction with the Book Clubs. In fact, 96%
of participants who completed the post-program Survey said they wanted to
continue the Clubs. The Book Clubs were a tremendous success in cementing
literacy values in low-income families with low educational attainment.
Family Literacy
Partner Spotlight
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has made an $8,779 investment in our Family
Literacy Program in the low-income neighborhood of West Dallas.
The Avance-Dallas Family Literacy Program seeks
to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving educational
opportunities for low-income Hispanic families. The program builds off of our
core Parent-Child Education Program with its early childhood program for young
children, parent education program, and parent-child reading activities, and it
integrates an adult literacy component through ESL and GED classes.
This year, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation
awarded more than $6.7 million in grants to 476 nonprofit organizations and
libraries to support adult literacy, family literacy and summer reading
programs. Dollar General’s commitment to literacy is an integral part of the
company’s culture.
Dollar General believes learning to read, receiving
your GED or learning the English language is an investment that opens doorways
for personal, professional and economic growth. That’s why their commitment to
literacy remains strong. And it’s our privilege here at Avance-Dallas to continue partnering with them through our
Family Literacy Program.
Adult
Literacy Partner Spotlight
The TJX Foundation has awarded Avance-Dallas
a $5,000 grant to support our Adult Literacy Program, which provides ESL and
GED classes to parents in our regular program.
The TJX Foundation’s mission is to contribute to
programs that provide basic-need services to disadvantaged women, children, and
families in the communities in which they do business. In 2009 they supported
more than 1,100 nonprofit organizations across the U.S.
Avance-Dallas
connects with TJX Foundation’s focus on education. They direct support to
programs that provide academic and vocational opportunities for the
disadvantaged, including early-intervention, mentoring, tutoring, GED, and
college coursework as well as programs that teach people to speak, read, and
write English.
Our Adult
Literacy instruction advances Hispanic families by helping parents speak and
read in English, strengthening their job marketability through ESL and GED
classes. We’re honored to work with the TJX Foundation in
advancing adult literacy in Dallas!
Partners
Empowering Parents
Target and the Women of St. Michael are both empowering parents through grants to Avance-Dallas. Target’s $2,000 grant supports our
Parent-Child Book Clubs, and the Women of St. Michael’s $2,500 contribution
supports our Toy-Making Program.
Target has
provided $2,000 to help make our focused Book Clubs possible. The Book Clubs teach and
motivate parents to continue frequent, expressive reading with their young
children, taking leadership in the home.
This grant is
part of ongoing efforts by Target to strengthen families and communities
throughout the country. Since opening its doors, Target has given 5 percent of its income to organizations that support
education, the arts, social services, and volunteerism. Today that equals more
than $3 million every week.
The Women of
St. Michael is a local group of concerned women from Saint Michael and All
Angels Episcopal Church who seek to make a difference in the lives of the
neglected who have great need. The St. Michael Woman’s Exchange, a gift shop in
Highland Park Village, raises funds for their outreach projects.
The Women of St. Michael’s grant provides
toy-making supplies for parents in our program, teaching them to use their
creativity and to engage daily in educational play with their children.
Target and
the Women of St. Michael are making a lasting impression on the parents in our
programs, empowering them to take charge of their homes and
prepare their children for academic success.