Literacy Links

Family Literacy

Good Practices
Family Literacy: Building Bridges to the Future

By Diane Browning, Robbie Moore, Larry Browning, Baylor University

Parents have the opportunity to nurture the development of their children in many ways. One of the most exciting and powerful opportunities is through reading. Parents should be the child's first and most powerful teacher. Children whose parents read with them are more likely to experience success in school than other children.

In communities around our state many parents are unable to share the gift of reading with their children. Low literacy adults may not model appropriate literacy behavior and often pass on to their children attitudes that keep them from breaking the cycle of illiteracy. Family literacy programs provide opportunities for parents to learn and grow while nurturing their child. The primary focus of family literacy is to develop self-sufficient families by teaching adults and children to read.

The strongest foundation upon which to build a family literacy program is the language and culture of family members. Adults learn best in a setting of cultural comfort and respect. Learning for both children and adults occurs within the context of the family. Successful programs focus on the needs and interests of families and provide instructional episodes using language experience, environmental print, and informational and narrative reading.

Communities must coordinate and integrate existing federal, state, and local literacy resources to provide their families with support needed for them to achieve self-sufficiency. A single organization can provide only one strand of service. The key to meeting the needs of children and their families is through a braided approach to service. Schools can braid Title I, Even Start, migrant, and other categorically funded programs to meet the needs of families. At a community level the braid could include school-based programs in collaboration with adult education, workforce development, community-based organizations, Head Start, and United Way as well as churches, temples, and synagogues. By interweaving the strands of service, we build a stronger bridge to the future for children and their parents.

For more information, contact the Texas Family Literacy Assistance Center at Baylor University, Center for Adult Learning at (800) 557-3522 or (817) 755-3857.

Baylor University's Center for Adult Learning was established in response to concerns about the discrepancy between the literacy level of the adult population and the level of literacy required to function within our society. The overall goals of the Center are two-fold. They are to improve adult and family literacy and to prepare Baylor students as adult educators and family educators. One of the Center's current grants funded by the Texas Education Agency is the Texas Family Literacy Assistance Center (TFLAC). TFLAC provides assistance to and training for family literacy providers in adult education programs, schools, and community-based groups.