"I would like the classes to continue to help me improve as a person and understand the English language to be able to help my daughters read books, read a medical prescription, understand their doctors and be able to make doctor's appointments without asking another person for help, to do it for myself. I appreciate this opportunity you all give us. I hope it is possible to continue classes. Thanks." -mother who attended English in the Schools classes through Literacy Network

Over 160 adults attended English in the Schools classes during the 2009-2010 school year at MMSD sites including Hawthorne Elementary, Leopold Elementary, Glendale Elementary, and Sennett Middle. Families from Lowell, Schenk, and Emerson Elementary schools also met at the Goodman Community Center. In addition, English in the Schools programs took place at Glacier Edge Elementary in Verona, Sauk Trail Elementary in Middleton, and Marshall Elementary School in Marshall. Students became more confident and comfortable both in the school and with English. They felt they now had "a place" in the school community and were more entitled to participate. They felt more like they belonged.

Our goal: To help families foster a positive educational environment by increasing literacy activities in their home and parental involvement in their children's schools. English in the Schools instructors focused on topics that included:

• Reading school schedules, calendars, lunch menus, and school report cards
• Engaging in parent-teacher conferences
• Identifying excused vs. unexcused absences
• Filling out registration forms
• Writing a letter to a child's teacher
• Learning vocabulary for health and illnesses
• Calling a child in sick

The parents reported a wide variety of meaningful achievements. Low-literate adults learned how to copy letters. Others participated in parent-teacher conferences in English for the first time, connected with Parents' Nights held at their schools, and attended committee meetings to explore volunteering. One class went on a field trip to the local public library to apply for library cards and check out books, while another group purchased and maintained personal writing journals. One of our most successful activities across sites was the Reading Log that teachers encouraged their students to fill out. Parents took home a reading chart and recorded how many minutes they spent reading on their own and with their children each day. This helped parents establish a reading routine with their children. One father practiced vowels and numbers with his daughter at least every other day. Another father(who attended a beginning level class) told the instructor that before the course, he never read with his children…and now he does!

Parents applied the communication skills they learned in class to improve their work and community lives as well. One mother is much more confident using her listening and speaking skills in public and helps translate for her manager and other Spanish-speaking employees. Another used health-related vocabulary to talk about visiting the doctor for both her child's fever and her own back pain. Yet another never had the confidence to leave phone messages in English before. After practicing them in class, she talks directly to the representative in her insurance company's office instead of requesting an interpreter.

For More Information:
Jennifer Sell
Group Instruction Director
Literacy Network
1118 South Park Street
Madison, WI 53715
(608) 244-3911 Ext. 55.