A pilot program at the Reading Success Center at the University of Central Arkansas is helping non-English speakers and their parents improve their literacy skills.
“Sed De Saber,” (Thirst for Learning), provides struggling readers with literacy instruction once a week at the Reading Success Center. While the children receive reading/literacy lessons from graduate students, their parents are given lessons in improving their English language skills.
“The parents want to improve their communication with public school personnel and learn strategies for assisting their children with reading and literacy learning,” said Dr. Mary Mosley, associate professor of reading/literacy at UCA and director of the Reading Success Center. The center provides reading and literacy interventions and support for area children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The pilot program is a partnership between UCA, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Faulkner County Literacy Council and the Conway School District.
Manny Sepulveda, the LULAC Director, provides the instruction for families. Mosley and the graduate students also are involved in planning, assisting and supporting these efforts to help parents feel more comfortable and capable of being involved in their children’s learning.
Mosley, a board member of the Faulkner County Literacy Council, helped the council obtain the grant for the Sed De Saber program. The program is a Leap Pad program that provides electronic equipment that allows parents to hear English and Spanish conversations and information about schooling and learning. The parents take the Leap Pads home to use with their children and practice language skills.
Four English Language Learner families attended sessions on Monday evenings this spring. Parent conferences were held recently so the UCA graduate students could inform the parents of their child’s progress this semester. The program will continue this summer.
Plans are to continue to expand the program after this pilot year is completed.
The program has benefited graduate students as well as English Language Learners because of the increased emphasis in the diversity of children’s needs, backgrounds, and language proficiency, Mosley said.
“Increasing knowledge and strategies for working with English language learners and their families is crucial for the UCA graduate students’ future responsibilities as reading specialists,” she said. “This will help graduate candidates learn how diverse backgrounds affect language and literacy development as they plan instruction based on students’ diverse backgrounds and assessed needs.”
