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Materials Used in Program
Parenting Materials
Due to working with parents with a variety of English level
proficiencies, WR-C staff members developed their own parenting
materials that cover topics related to nutrition, health,
safety, reading with children, and participating in children’s
educational development by using ESL techniques such as role
plays and journaling. Topics are introduced using handouts
that have short, imperative sentences written in simple English
followed by a picture.
Parent-and-Child Together Activities
Parent-and-Child Together activities are related to the parenting
topic and developed in-house. They usually include crafts,
games, reading, and other group activities to foster parent-child
bonding.
Early Childhood Classroom Materials
The early childhood curriculum is compiled from a variety
of sources. For example, “Letter of the Day” worksheets
are taken from First School Preschool Activities and Crafts
website http://www.first-school.ws.
Library Materials
At the library, WR-C staff leads parents through an orientation
to show them the various resources available to them. There
is group story time using the children’s “big
book” collection and then parents and children choose
their activities, including reading together, listening to
books on tape, or playing educational games on the internet.
With input from library staff, culturally relevant children’s
books are purchased and donated to the library in order to
help motivate refugee families to use the library more often.
Wordless books by Tana Hoban have been an excellent resource
for working with preliterate and nonliterate parents. WR-C
staff has developed simple library scavenger hunts where parents
and children find various books or locations in the library.
These have been successful in making the library visits more
meaningful for parents with varying English language proficiencies.
Groups Served by Program
WR-C serves over 75 refugee children in grades K-12 in over
25 Chicago Public Schools each year. In addition, approximately
30 refugee and immigrant parents with children ages 1-5 are
served through the Family Literacy program each year. Populations
served include: Somali Bantu, Meskhetian Turks, Sudanese,
Ethiopian, Liberian, Togolese, Burundian, Sierra Leonie, Eritrean,
Iranian, Iraqi, and Burmese.
Funding
The Family Literacy Program is made possible through a grant
awarded by the Illinois State Library, a Division of the Office
of the Secretary of State, using state funds designated for
literacy. Funding also comes through the Refugee Social Services
grant from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago,
the Prince Charitable Trust, and the Illinois Community College
Board. The youth program is primarily funded through the Refugee
Children School Impact Grant. There is additional funding
in collaboration with the Chicago Public Schools to provide
enhanced professional development to teachers serving refugee
children.
Staffing and Required Staff
Training
Program Staffing (not all full-time):
Early Childhood Education Coordinator, Children’s Social
Worker, Youth Services Coordinator, Director of Education,
Assistant Director of Mental Health Clinic, Program Support
Specialist, Adult ESL Instructors, BA/BSW/MA/MSW/PsyD Interns
Staff Training:
WR-C staff are encouraged to attend and present at local,
regional, and state conferences and do so frequently. Pambazuka
project staff members attend and present at Chicago’s
annual conference on working with immigrant and refugee families
and the annual Illinois state Family Literacy Conference.
Social Workers and ESL Instructors are required to attend
additional workshops each year to maintain credentials.
Program Evaluation
All written materials, such as surveys, are translated into
parents’ primary languages as often as possible to ensure
accurate feedback. Volunteers and staff members provide the
translation.
Parenting education:
At the end of each group session, each parent shares what
he or she learned and writes it in his or her journal. Parents
complete quarterly surveys about parenting classes.
Parent-and-Child Together activities:
Program staff observe parents and children during activities.
Parents complete quarterly surveys about Parent-Child activities.
Library:
Staff keep weekly records on attendance, topics covered, and
methodology used. Parents complete library journals to record
what books they checked out from the library to read with
their children. Parents complete quarterly survey about library
activities.
Early Childhood Education:
Social Workers use “Ages and Stages” assessment
tool and the Early Childhood Education Coordinator uses a
developmental skills checklist to track children’s progress.
Samples of the children’s work are kept in their files.
Program
Outcomes
From July 1, 2006- December 1, 2006, program outcomes included:
- 81% of parents have obtained library cards
- 100% of parents are familiar with age-appropriate books
for their children
- 60 % of children ages 3-5 have accessed educational games
on the internet at the library
- 86% of parents who have attended two, eight week ESL
class sessions gained at least one SPL
- 88% of parents participated in parenting lessons on the
importance of reading to children
- 100% of parents have learned ways to participate in their
child’s educational development through games that
use common household objects
- 93% of parents learned how to access educational resources
including Head Start, WIC, and Chicago museums through checking
out free museum passes at the library
- 93% of parents learned how to identify developmental
skills in young children
- 88% of parents learned health and nutrition guidelines
and resources for their children
- 63% of parents learned about safety in the home and community
and how to handle emergency situations in the U.S
- 50% of children ages 1-2 have participated in reading
readiness activities and developed age appropriate social
skills appropriate for a U.S. classroom setting
- 83% of children ages 3-5 have developed age appropriate
pre-literacy, social, and pre-math skills. They have also
learned to identify body parts, days of the week, and types
of weather in English
Other Key Elements
The majority of the family literacy activities
meet on site. There are three adult ESL classrooms, an early
childhood classroom, and a conference room that is used for
the parenting groups. The library is located less than a mile
from the WR-C office. The youth program meets at a local church
located within walking distance from WR-C’s office location.
Program Contacts
World Relief-Chicago
3507 W. Lawrence Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
Keri Lucas, Director of Education
klucas@wr.org
773.583-9191 x248
Richelle Haines, Youth Services Coordinator
rhaines@wr.org
773-583-9191 x249
Program Dates
The Pambazuka Project began in 1999 (with the Family Literacy
program beginning in 2004); it is still operating year round
as of February 2007.
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