Page 20 - FGLN SC Onboarding Binder 2021

Mutually Reinforcing Activities
Year 1 Priority Initiatives Overview
Coalition members prioritized recommendations developed by teams for year one operational implementation. Family Literacy and Youth Coaching, Tutoring & Mentoring were selected for implementation. For a complete list of all the recommendations see Attachment A.
 Why Family Literacy?
Family literacy services provide a sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of sufficient
duration, to make sustainable changes in a family and integrate all of the following activities:
 Interactive literacy activities between parents and their children.
 Training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full
partners in the education of their children.
 Parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency.
 An age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life
experiences.11
Studies show that the family, home and communities are the true drivers of a child’s education. Consider these truths:
 Children’s reading scores improve dramatically when their parents are involved in helping them learn to read
 Low family income and a parent’s lack of education are the two biggest risk factors that hamper a child’s early learning and development
 A single year of parental education has a greater impact on the likelihood of a child attending a post-secondary institution than does $50,000 in parental income12
 Why Youth Coaching, Tutoring & Mentoring?
Warm and close relationships with caring adults, supervision, and positive role models are the common resources and investments that mentoring interventions contribute to youth development. Youth mentoring programs, employing best practices, typically:
 Are utilized as a component of a comprehensive youth intervention strategy. Other components that also contribute to youth development include life skills training, academic tutoring, financial aid for college, and a community service requirement.
 Recruit mentors from the community
 Mentees are always at-risk youth
 Train mentors and provide support for the mentoring relationship
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11 Federal definition from: Workforce Investment Act, Community Services Block Grant Act, Head Start Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and Reading Excellent Act.
12 Finnie, R., Childs, S., & Wismer, A. (2011). Under-Represented Groups in Postsecondary Education in Ontario: Evidence from the Youth in Transition Survey. Toronto: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.
Flint & Genesee Literacy Network 10