Family Literacy

The program offers a variety of training and workshop events to assist families and their preschool children.  Literacy night events and financial literacy trainings are aimed at achieving the priorities that are outlined in the 2007 Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act.

Success Stories

On the enrollment visit in September, a Head Start mother indicated that she was interested in getting her General Education Diploma (GED). Her Family Advocate helped her enroll in our GED Program. This mother started classes and was ready to take her test in January.  She took the test and found out that she had passed. The mother has since applied to Broome Community College and has asked her Family Advocate to help her work on obtaining information on financial aid.  This mother has taken full advantage of the opportunities that Had Start has to offer.

Head Start Parent is an English as a Second Language (ESL) student who joined the GED classes in September.  On the TABE he scored very low and was put into the low level GED class.  He had never attended school in his native country because he needed to work and help provide for his family.  When he moved to the States he worked while his wife attended college and began her career.  She is now a nurse and is the provider while he attends school.  He attends GED classes two mornings a week and ESL classes two nights a week.  In April, he tested again using the Pre-GED assessment. He is now passing Social Studies, Science, and Writing.  His self-esteem and confidence has grown.  He has the support of the class which lets him know all the time how far he has come with his education. He is scheduled to take the GED exam in June.

During a recent field trip to the pet store the children were given clipboards and pencils to write and draw what they were seeing and the different types of things they were interested in.  One student took full advantage of having his clipboard.  After seeing one of the animals that was shown he asked how to spell the names and wrote each one on his paper.  He then included a drawing to go along with his writing.  This shows how the “project on learning” approach encourages children to use their writing skills.

A Head Start parent has struggled with finding employment. She has gone through the Broome Employment Center Program and has even submitted her resume into their computer system to assist with her job search.  Her Family Advocate spoke to her about other possibilities such as going back to Binghamton University, Ridley Lowell and Elmira Business Institute.  On the April home visit the mother shared with her Family Advocate that she was accepted at Elmira Business Institute and started classes in June for medical billing and coding.