Consider these two facts:
* Children’s reading scores improve dramatically when their parents are involved in helping them learn to read.
* Low family income and a mother’s lack of education are the two biggest risk factors that hamper a child’s early learning and development.
Since reading is a key to learning, does not it make sense to focus on literacy as a family endeavor, helping those families where the adults, particularly the mothers, lack literacy, gain literacy as a means of helping their childen and themselves?
In 1989, Sharon Darling thought so and founded the National Center for Family Literacy, which is celebrating 20 years of partnership with Toyota. On Tuesday April 19 I had the opportunity to talk with MS Darling, to explore the work NCFL has been doing and their relationship with Toyota. As a professional educator who has taught students with parents illiterate in any language, I know how important this work is, and wanted to bring it to the attention of more people.
Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, who was chairman in 1991 when the relationship between NCFL and Toyota began, came to the United States for the 20th Anniversary, as you can see in the picture in this press release, issued jointly by NCLF and Toyota.
In my conversation with MS Darling, she said that Toyota had sought them out, but let's back up.
Sharon Darling in now based in Louisville. In 1985 she had founded PACE - Parents and Children Education, working in Appalachia. The New York office of Toyota was interested in doing something in philanthropy in the US that was different. Their staff explored, did some research, and decided that early childhood education was something that would be useful and would be embraced in the United States. In the process they encountered PACE, and decided to invest from both New York and Japan. I asked whether the fact Toyota has a plant in Kentucky had any influence on that decision, and Darling said no.
With the commitment from Toyota, the program was somewhat redesigned, and also renamed.
Since 1991 Toyota has given #36 million to the efforts of NCFL. But Toyota did more than give money. Darling explained to me that Toyota loaned executives to put in place good business practices, and exposed to the sameworld-wide problem solving process the company has used to build its international success. This helped to build the necessary infrastructure and work through the thinking process even before expanding the program significantly.
Perhaps a sense of how significant NCFL has become with the assistance of Toyota can be seen in a few statistics
Toyota's involvement began in 1991 with the Toyota Families for Learning (TFFL) initiative, serving families with preschool children, that was implemented in 20 cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Lexington KY, Little Rock, Long Beach CA, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, Ontario CA, Pittsburgh, Richmond VA, Rochester NY, Seattle St. Louis, Tucson, and Washington DC.
In 1998, the Toyota Families in Schools (TFS) program was launched to promote academic achievement through family literacy in underperforming elementary schools. Over five years, the program was implemented in 45 elementary schools in 15 communities: Aurora, CO; Charleston, WV; Evansville, IN; Fremont, CA; Ft. Lauderdale, F; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Nashville, TN; New Orleans, LA; Richmond, VA; Rochester, NY; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; and Tucson, AZ.
In 2003, the Toyota Family Literacy Program (TFLP) was established to help adults improve their English language skills and increase their involvement in their children’s education. The program now serves families in 90 schools. Toyota has funded 256 family literacy sites in 50 cities and 30 states that have impacted the lives of more than 1 million families.
According to Darling, NCFL operates programs on 44 Native American Reservations since 1991 (the work on the reservations is through Family and Child Education — The FACE program serves American Indian families with children from birth to grade three and is supported by the Bureau of Indian Education. It operates in American Indian schools, providing culturally responsive education, resources and support to American Indian parents and children). To date, the FACE program has reached more than 25,000 families..
NCFL has received $230 million in local, state and federal government contributions. Their latest initiative is working with immigrant families, especially Hispanic families - not only learning literacy but learning how to connect with the larger community.
I was curious why I had been invited to the conference call, on which it turned out I was the only person besides those representing NCFL - the others invited could not make it that day and were being scheduled for another time. MS Darling said they had just hired someone to help them with social media outreach - they want to build relationships especially with bloggers on education and family issues like those they have developed over the years with the traditional media. NCFL would like to spread the word about the good things they are doing and the success they are having, and to reach a somewhat younger audience they felt they needed to take advantage of social media. here I might note that I am not sure I qualify as a younger audience, given my forthcoming 65th birthday, but I understand the intent.
For some recent coverage of what NCFL does, let me offer a few links.
First, an article from the Arkansas School Board Association discussing the program in Springdale, AR - this will download a PDF file
Next, an article from Education Week (also a PDF) discussing a program in Southeast Washington DC (the poorest part of the National Capital City)
And also, two op eds on the NFCL-Toyota partnership, written by Sharon Darlin:
from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
from the Sacramento Bee
There are many ways to help with these programs. I do encourage you to go to the NCFL website and explore. If you are inclined to make a financial contribution, of course you can (using the Donate button. Perhaps you might volunteer in other ways, or contact them to see about having them in your community.
This is a respected effort. There is a reason it has and Foundation Partners like these. The last three first ladies have recognized the efforts of NCFL.
Thank you for reading this diary, and learning about the work of NCFL. Let me end with a video which will give you a sense of the impact of this work
The real-life effects of family literacy: Celebrating 20 years of the Toyota-NCFL partnership from NCFL on Vimeo.
Peace.