| Southwest Solutions’ Early Language Learners Program (ELLP) serves low-income Hispanic families with children in kindergarten through third grade. The families we serve typically come to us with little literacy in English. Parents attend 4 half-days a week or 2 after-school sessions per week. During adult education classes, parents learn English using the same curriculum as their children, so that parents will be prepared to help with their children‘s homework. One hour a day, parents sit in and experience firsthand their child’s classroom or after-school program.
Our ELLP program operates at four schools: At each of these schools, we also offer Even Start supportive child care programming for siblings of the children in the ELLP program. Even Start enables young children to become "ready to learn" before entering kindergarten. The mission of the program is to help parents become full partners in the education of their children, and to help children reach their full potential as learners. Our Family Literacy main office is located at 7060 McGraw St., Detroit, MI 48210 (in the former rectory of St. Andrew Church). For more information about any of our programs and how to enroll, please contact us at 313.896.2800 or email us. | |
- Our Family Literacy program is best in the nation in outcomes of parents reading to their children, parents supporting their children’s academic achievement, and parents expecting their children to graduate from high school and then complete college
- 96% of parents improve their ability to speak, read and write English
- 100% of children birth through 3 reach developmental milestones within a year of services
- 92% children in K-3 have demonstrated the ability to read at or above grade level
- 100% of all children enrolled in programming have been promoted according to grade level
- Children are more than twice as likely to read above their grade level as their peers not in the program
- Almost every parent in the program now expects their children to earn a college degree
- Parents participating in ELLP (formerly TFLP) for one or two years showed an average 21.6% increase in mean ESL Educational Functioning Level, a 32.7% increase in the types of literacy activities participated in with their child in a week, and a 14.3% increase in the types of school visits made over a year
- 2009 study by the National Council for Family Literacy (NCFL) rated our ELLP program "outstanding" and found that children in the program significantly improved their overall academic performance, self-confidence, classroom behavior, social skills, and family support
- Same NCFL study found that parents participating in ELLP significantly increased the time devoted to reading to their children
Our Early Language Learners Program initially began as part of the Toyota Family Literacy Program (TFLP), which has has created more than 200 program sites in 26 states. Program sites are developed in partnership with local community agencies. Of all the TFLP sites across the country, Southwest Solutions’ program demonstrated the best results in increasing the literacy levels of parents and children, according to the Toyota Program’s own metrics. Our Early Language Learners Program continues to lead the way in raising the literacy and educational expectations of parents and families. Parental expectations and involvement are critical factors in determining a child’s success and motivation in school.
Southwest Even Start makes a significant difference for families participating regularly in all four program components: early childhood education, adult literacy, parenting education, and parent/child interactive learning. For both parent and child, the difference goes well beyond the present. It improves future prospects and strengthens family relationships.
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Counseling Overview
