Family literacy workshops prep parents for back-to-school

Family Literacy Coordinator Laura Straub reviews the public school calendar with The ILC students during a back-to-school workshop

Back-to-school season can be stressful for any parent, but for The ILC students, it can feel insurmountable. Not only is the language foreign, so is the entire school system. There are so many unknowns: how to enroll their child in school, which supplies they need and where to get them, when school starts, etc. All of this uncertainty can put extra stress on both parents and children.

The Family Literacy Program at The Immigrant Learning Center was created to give our students more confidence in supporting their children’s education.

This August, Laura Straub, coordinator of the Family Literacy Program, held back-to-school workshops for our student parents ahead of the new school year. Our lower-level students learned basic vocabulary about school supplies, where to find them and how to understand the school district calendar, while higher level students focused more on problem solving and navigating school websites.

These workshops also offered opportunities for Laura to identify problems some students were facing. For example, a student realized they hadn’t signed their child up for school, which Laura was able to address.

As the school year progresses, Laura will continue to offer timely, family literacy workshops. The November workshop will teach parents how to read report cards and what to ask during parent-teacher conferences. A future workshop will help The ILC students understand who to turn to for various needs at their children’s school