Five Steps to Family Literacy for English Learner Families

The advantages of parent involvement in their child’s school life are well documented. Students’ academic achievement is positively impacted when their parents are involved in their education, no matter how academic achievement is defined. A meta-analysis of studies found that the relationship between parent involvement and student achievement was strongest if parental involvement was defined as parents’ expectations for the academic achievement of their children. One could argue that parents, especially those of English learners, need to know what the expectations of school are for their children in order to support them in meeting academic expectations. 

There are myriad ways to create family-school partnerships with English learner families. A unique family-school program at a middle school in Texas created a path for parent literacy called, English for All. It went beyond the typical adult ESL programs offered to communities as an outreach method. One goal of the program was to create a student-centered school, one in which families become an integral part. Further, classes were geared to the needs of the parents rather than simply being an English language class. Finally, the program offered an avenue for speaking to parents about their student’s performance in the classroom. 

In order to recruit participants for the program, a letter was sent home to the families of all EL students at the school describing the benefits of the program and the nature of the classes. The letter was written in both English and Spanish. Parents were asked to return a form indicating their interest. Once the number of parent participants was known, then the following 5-step process was initiated.

English for All: Five Steps 

1. Identify a team. One team member was an administrator so that the team had someone with authority to open the building, be a liaison to the superintendent and/or site principal, acquire funds as needed and so forth. The superintendent approved funds for teacher pay and for necessary supplies. Teachers on the team volunteered to participate and were paid for their time. In other programs similar to this one, teachers might give their time as a service to the community since finds aren’t always available to support teachers after regular hours. 

2. Assess the needs of the adult students. There were two aspects to the assessment. At the initial meeting, each parent was given a questionnaire asking about their perception of the school, what they expected to learn in the course, and specific needs they may have. The assessment revealed that, for example, some parents wanted GED preparation while others wanted to learn and practice interview skills. In addition, parents were given an entry quiz to determine their home language and their level of English proficiency. 

3. Devise a plan based on assessment results. All parents were Spanish speakers so the only consideration for planning for class groups was level of English proficiency.  Admittedly, the program couldn’t accommodate each of the requests that parents wrote on the questionnaire, but the course content was centered on what the majority wanted and set out to make it “a great place to learn” for all. 

Teachers were assigned to classes based on their strengths. One teacher had an affinity for newcomer students, so she was assigned to beginning speakers while an English teacher was assigned to the advanced group. Knowing teachers’ strengths and using them appropriately was important for the program’s success. 

It was decided that sessions would take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 – 7:30. 

The team elected to include students in the program to serve as a support to their parents in the adult classes. They could also receive tutoring in math, history and science if they needed extra support in those subjects.

 4. Implement the plan. When parents arrived, they went to their assigned classroom where there was a sign-in sheet and light snacks were provided. Many parents came straight from work, so refreshments were appreciated. 

5. Conduct follow-up and feedback. Using feedback to inform the program was a priority and was one of the most important aspects of the five steps. For example, the original 5:30 meeting time didn’t work for some parents, so the time was changed to 6:00. This adjustment based on feedback illustrated its value. If not for the feedback, some parents may have quit coming without the teacher ever knowing why. 

Teachers also were provided feedback by the administrator who observed classes. For instance, he suggested ways to make content and language objectives more student-centered and made suggestions for changing some content. Teachers also shared with their school colleagues about what they did in their evening classes and colleagues provided feedback. Follow up and feedback were done in a spirit of collaboration. Parents appreciated the responsiveness of the team and teachers felt supported by the administrator and fellow teachers. 

Structure of English For All Classes

Classes were designed to give parents a window into their child’s school day, so each class was set up to resemble the usual classroom. Since Aldine ISD uses the SIOP Model for lesson planning and teaching, evening lessons also reflected SIOP’s components. Parents were able to experience teaching and learning that was similar to that of their students. 

Teachers posted content and language objectives for the lessons each evening. The team thought it was important for parents to see that lessons were well thought out and were not pulled together on the spur of the moment. Each lesson provided opportunities for parents to speak, listen, read and write. 

The most important components of SIOP for adult learners in Aldine’s program were Lesson Preparation, Building Background, Comprehensible Input, Strategies, Interaction, and Practice & Application. (Lesson Delivery and Review & Assessment weren’t as critical in this context). Some of the specific SIOP features that teachers utilized included:

• Define clear content and language objectives.
• Plan meaningful activities that incorporate language.
• Provide opportunities to engage in academic conversations. 
• Teach specific academic vocabulary. For example, vocabulary terms were taught before practicing interview skills.
• Plan with all proficiency levels in mind. 
• Use wait time appropriately.
• Clarify concepts as needed.
• Ask higher order questions.
• Provide hands-on activities such as vocabulary cards for beginners and computer programs for the advanced group. 
• Differentiate instruction based on parents’ needs and strengths.
• Use a variety of grouping configurations, allowing parents to move around.

Parents were involved in a variety of activities such as role playing, mock interviews, matching pictures with English words and saying words aloud, and friendly competitions where each table of parents tried to be the first to complete an activity and win a door prize. Also, homework was given, and completed homework assignments were presented in class. 

The teachers created a safe classroom environment where parents felt free to actively participate. Parents were grouped in ways that ensured that each would be successful. They clapped for one another and were very supportive. Parents were from various regions of Latin America and through the activities they learned about other cultures and shared their differences. For example, during the holidays, classes made snow globes to represent their cultures. Each parent, usually along with their child, did a presentation of their snow globe in English. 

There were numerous benefits of the program. The primary purpose of this program was to increase parents' English proficiency. In the process, it created a bridge between the school and families. Relationships that developed through the program carried over to the school environment. For example, a girl was having difficulty getting along with others in her class. The girl and her parent had been participating in the English for All program and during one of the evening classes, the student’s teacher and the administrator had the opportunity to discuss the issue with her. The student confided that there were a group of girls who did not like her because she was different. The next school day her teacher and the administrator met with the students and had a conversation about the issue and about how they were going to find a solution. The students apologized to the girl and they then became friends. Subsequently, the girl began flourishing in the classroom and growing academically. 

One of the most significant outcomes of the English for All program was that student achievement improved for those students whose parents were in the program. Based on practice standardized tests, growth in reading, writing, speaking and listening for participating students exceeded that of students whose parents did not participate in the program. This trend is promising, although the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted standardized testing which made definitive data unavailable. However, the trend is consistent with research on parent involvement and its positive impact on student achievement. 

A special thanks to Dr. Frank Cisneros, Assistant Principal in Aldine ISD, who had the vision to start the English for All program and was the administrator behind its implementation.