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Educators trained in family literacy
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Posted on Oct 22 1999
Twenty-two educators and social service providers attended a week-long workshop sponsored by the NMC Adult Basic Education Program last week on the design and implementation of a family literacy program in the CNMI.
“Family literacy is a new element in our instructional program,” said ABE Director Fe Calixterio, “and is designed to merge adult and early childhood education with a joint component where parents serve as their children’s teachers.”
“This is now a major element in federal education, manpower development and welfare reform policies,” she said.
The four-day workshop was conducted at the Pacific Gardenia Hotel by Read to Me International Foundation Executive Director Kalen Kitagawa and Sandra Ishikawa of the Even Start Special Programs Management Section of the Hawaii Department of Education. Both are family literacy trainers certified by the National Center for Family Literacy in Louisville, Kentucky.
Workshop participants came from a different institutions: San Vicente, San Antonio, Oleai, and Koblerville Elementary Schools, Saipan International School, Ayuda Network, Office of Women’s Affairs, Parents As Teachers Program, and Adult Basic Education faculty and staff from Rota, Tinian and Saipan.
Calixterio said the workshop was aimed at preparing those interested in establishing family literacy programs as collaborative efforts with her office.
“We are looking forward to developing model programs on which we can build future efforts,” she said.
The director noted that by integrating adult and early childhood education and adding a parents-as-teachers component, family literary offers greater potential benefits than previously achieved by efforts focused on the two separate groups.
NMC President Agnes McPhetres presented certificates of completion Friday to those who finished the workshop, noting that investments in educators continue to pay benefits to the community for years to come.
The workshop was funded by the Division of Adult Education and Literacy of the U.S. Department of Education under the terms of the 1998 U.S. Workforce Investment Act.
