On Thursday, July 18, LINC’s Content and Delivery Specialists, Evelyn Cabreja and Allie Zambito shared their best practices for Engaging Families as Partners in Learning and Development at the virtual Lillio* Back to School Summit.
Evelyn and Allie joined panelists: Tirusha Dave of Ellie’s Academy and Dr. Kenneth Kunz, educator, coach, and author of Bienvenidos Book Club, and facilitator: Heather Wiederstein, Lillio’s Chief Product Officer to discuss how LINC leverages resources and strengths in our community to support early literacy development.
Take a look at what our experts had to say.
LINC implements a Community Literacy Model (CLM) with a focus on creating sustainable change in our communities and we do that by empowering its greatest assets - parents, schools, hospitals, daycares, small business owners, and elected officials.
We get everyone invested in raising a literacy-rich community, we then offer our workshops/programs that focus on educating parents to raise readers every day.
There are several aspects of our work that build community beyond the walls of our schools.
Our parent workshops give parents activities to do at home that will reinforce what they are learning at school (or before they enter school) while keeping every moment playful. Caregivers can use these activities during a playdate, share them with other caregivers, and they often do. This spreads the opportunities for literacy learning far beyond the walls of the school.
We also hold events out in the community–in parks, libraries, even on the trains–which makes our work visible and accessible to all families. We want families to see that reading is a core value of their community, and that other caregivers in the community are engaging in this work. Everybody knows that you can read at school, most folks know you can read at bedtime.
We want to show families that reading can happen everywhere, and can be a fun part of everybody’s daily routine.
We build bridges between home and school because we envision a world where the same skills being taught at school are being reinforced at home! We earn the trust of teachers and parents, providing them with research-based tools and activities that align with the science of reading. LINC offers 9 different workshops series that are specifically tailored to the the different strands of the reading rope - we know these are the critical skills needed to raise a skilled reader.
Allie Zambito, Content and Delivery Specialist
We build trust and agency among parents and caregivers. It is so critical that schools and daycare centers meet families where they are, and bring an asset-based mindset, knowing that families have much to offer and we need their talent. Families will be engaged when they feel welcome, when they feel valued and appreciated, and where they can learn and grow. That is how we engage families and caregivers at LINC. We give them the space and opportunity to be involved, to share their culture, and remind them that they are their child's first teacher.
70% of parents in LINC programs are reading to children 3 or more times per week. They become members of their child’s PTA. They decide to go back to college. Parents are reading in languages they feel most comfortable.
We provide space and tools for them to learn to read to their children and also to communicate with other parents. We connect them to each other, to their local libraries, and to other community partners. Families come back to us sharing what they are learning in our workshops and programs. We see family-to-family learning because these are trusted sources. I myself am a testimony to LINC’s model as I discovered LINC in my local library and was a Very Involved Parent (VIP) before I became part of the LINC staff.
Evelyn Cabreja, Content and Delivery Specialist
LINC is passionate about engaging families as partners in early learning and was thrilled to share strategies during this panel. Thank you to Lillio for this wonderful opportunity to join over 500 participants who value the importance of early education.
For more information about LINC’s workshops and other programs, please contact Josh Barocas, Director of Early Literacy at jbarocas@lincnyc.org.
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* This summit was presented by Lillio, a tech platform that provides services to early learning centers and daycares.
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