Family Support Center Family Support Center

Family Support Center
Manuela LaRagione
Florencia Girman
Bellmawr Borough School District
Overview
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Why build a Family Support Center?
What is the Family Support Center?
Progression of the Program
The Family Support Center today
Who is involved in the Family Support Center
How to build your own Family Support Center
http://www.njea.org/ccusearch/?vid=1404 NJEA Video
Why build a Family
amily Support Center?
• We found that parents had a lot of questions and concerns about their children’s
education?
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The language barrier
Lack of knowledge on the American Educational System
Comfort
Lack of Education
Necessities (Village Shop)
• We realized that parents weren’t involved in their children's education and
community.
• We wanted to highlight the diversity of our community and reach out to support
them.
What is the Family Support Center
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A safe place to ask questions
A way to access the village shop
Learn new information about our schools
Hear from speakers in our community about services (immigration, healthy
eating, domestic violence)
• A chance to check out books to read with family
Goals and Objectives
• To teach the English Language to adults in the Bellmawr Learning
Community
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To build a community of parents and teachers working together
To show parents some tools to help the children at home
To demonstrate how to use services provided by the school district
Provide students with extended learning opportunities in English
How did we begin?
• Our Superintendent was extremely supportive in our efforts to reach out to
this marginalized community that was up to now, just ignored
• When we began we had people of all different levels and languages coming
• The Hispanic ladies are the ones that continuously come every week
• Ms. Castiglione Superintendent of Schools
What staff is involved with the family support
center?
• ELL Teachers
• Spanish Teacher
• School Social worker
• Mrs. Yezzo District Learning Consultant
The Family Support Center Today
• Meet 3 Thursdays a month (usually one is a speaker)
• Schedule:
3:30-4:00
4:00 Home School Connection/Student-parent
Connection/Student
activity/ refreshments
4:00-4:30
4:30 General questions/concerns about school/village shop
4:30-5:00
5:00 English lessons/library check out
Parent Testimonials
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Parent Testimonial 1
Parent Testimonial 2
Parent Testimonial 3
Parent Testimonial 4
Parent Testimonial 5
Parent Testimonial 6
The “Old” Schedule
• This schedule worked for us in the beginning but as the demands of the attendees
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changed, so did our schedule.
3:30-3:45 Warmup
3:45-4:00- Home-school connection
4:00- Miss LaRagione takes the children to work on computers, games, homework
assistance
4:00-4:15- School Information/technology
4:15-4:30 Cultural Lesson
4:30-5:00- Grammar/ Reading Lesson
What do you need to build a Family Support
Center?
• Funding- We receive our funding from a combination of Title III Grant Money and
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our local budget for whatever we go over and above the grant.
Teachers/volunteers- who will work the program? Who will be in charge of
children?
Snacks!
Materials? We use Side by Side books for the most part. In the beginning we
provided them. Now they provide them.
What to cover? Survey the parents and the teachers to see which topics matter in
your particular district.
Questions
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact us if you would like to come in to observe our family
support program.
Florencia Girman
fgirman@bellmawrschools.org
Manuela LaRagione
mlaragione@bellmawrschools.org