In the 1990s, we recognized that parents of young children who sought out adult upgrading programs often encountered so many interruptions they were unable to reach their goals. A purposeful review of one year's attendance patterns at a community literacy organization showed 100% of those parents with pre-school children were unable to stay in the program long enough to meet their learning goals. We asked ourselves questions about what we, as facilitators, could do differently to become more accessible and responsive.
Generalized, our questions are:
- How might we provide access to books and literacy, literacy supports and literacy services to families of young children (who have difficulty accessing these services)?
- How might we help parents access and use government sanctioned information and services regarding the education and development of their young children?
- How might we help families and communities in a way that empowers and does the least amount of harm to families and communities?
