LVA/Verizon Family Learning Centers
LVA/Verizon Family Learning Center Grants - 1998-2000

From 1998 through 2000, several adult literacy organizations throughout the United States received seed money to establish Verizon Family Literacy/Technology Centers. Each developed a model to match the needs of adult learners and their families.

Hawaii Literacy, HI
Thirty-five (35) families, including 23 parents and 97 children, participated in scheduled programming. Twenty-three families (23 parents and 62 children) received services through the traveling Little Red Wagon complete with its Verizon funded laptop and educational software (in addition to the reading aloud and book borrowing which were already a part of the Little Red Wagon). Sixteen (16) families participated in regularly scheduled sessions at the Verizon Technology Center. The organization's first "Family Night" drew 70 families for an evening of literacy-related family activities. An additional 20 families attended Reading with Children and Sunday morning story telling. Staff and volunteers noted gains in concentration, fine motor skills, spatial relation skills, speaking and listening skills, and social skills in children. Parents achieved basic computer knowledge/skills, basic literacy or ESOL skills, and increased involvement in their children's reading and school activities.

LVA John A. Logan
Thirty (30) families, 3l parents and 42 children participated in this Verizon Technology Center. LVA John A Logan scheduled activities after-school and in the evening four days/week. Targeting Pre-K through 4th grade children and their parents, parent/child pairs came to the Center 1-2 hours/week. Most parents attended other adult literacy services in addition to those at the Verizon Technology Center. Families had a wide variety of software available to them. Using a handbook developed by the organization, "Bare bones: Internet Instruction for Adult Learners," instruction on using the Internet was incorporated into all activities.

Laurel County Adult Education and Literacy, KY
Fifteen (15) families actively participated in this new ESOL program. Building on ongoing collaborations with the public school system and a company that employs many non-native English speakers, Laurel County was successful in recruiting families and building public awareness about literacy skills and computer skills for families. Daytime instruction focused on serving the parents in a combination of oral conversational English practice and computer-assisted instruction. Evening and weekend program activities included their children. In addition learning to use multimedia, parents learned to use the Internet to access some ESOL lessons. Cultural activities ranged from a volleyball tournament to carving pumpkins and cooking a traditional Thanksgiving meal visited by the Governor's Task Force on Adult Education.

Winchester/Clark County Literacy Council, Winchester, KY
This Center was located in an elementary school in a rural, low-income community. Twenty-six (26) parents and twenty-four (24) children participated. Winchester/Clark sponsored classes two days and two evenings a week in areas of language, math, parenting, and computer use.

Durham County Literacy Council, NC
Twenty-four (24) families, including 24 parents and 29 children, participated in Verizon Technology Center instruction. Five parent-child pairs attended a 16-session class at a local elementary school, and six families attended sessions at Operation Breakthrough, a local social services agency. Additionally, a 16-week class at Genesis Home targeted the needs of families who are very transient. The Durham Literacy Council's work with families and computer-assisted instruction was recognized by the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce (Top Priority in Education Award) and the Durham Public Schools (Governor's Partnership Appreciation Award). Funded three years ago, the organization leveraged this seed money to establish computer-assisted instruction for hundreds of families.

York County Literacy Council, PA
York County sponsored The Verizon Technology Centers at two sites -- LIFE Program at Crispus Attucks and LIFE Program at the Spanish American Center. Both are community centers in low-income areas of York. Parents learned job-related skills such as keyboarding while children used age-appropriate software such as Mr. Potato Head and Sesame Street. The sites sponsored family activity time/story time in both English and Spanish. Parent/child activities included creating " All About Me Books", family story reading, and family activities involving recipes and cooking.

NashvilleREAD, TN
This Verizon Technology Center served thirty-four (34) families, including 42 parents and 56 children. Families developed family histories using cameras, tape recorders, AlphaSmart keyboards, and computers to write and compose their histories. Students wrote and produced a monthly newsletter, Families for Learning. The Families First program (Tennessee's welfare reform program) used the Verizon Learning Center during evening hours.

East Texas Literacy Council, Longview, TX
One hundred and eighty-five families participated in this traveling laptop Verizon Technology Center, funded for two years. The Council implemented ESL Family Literacy Services at several area churches and local schools. The program design included:

  • PACT Time when parents and children worked with Family Literacy Engagement Packets. They subsequently completed the pre-literacy and literacy skill activities at home
  • Direct Parent Instruction in which parents participated in ESOL classes and used software to learn English for non-native speakers.
  • Direct Child Instruction where children participated in educational activities and also used age appropriate software. The Council expanded to a local Head Start this fall. As a result of their participation, 86% of parents at one church reported they read more at home and 71% stated they spoke English more frequently outside the home

    LVA Chippewa Valley, WI
    Instructional services took place at the Lowes Creek Early Learning Center. Fourteen (14) parents and eight (8) children enrolled. The curriculum included general use of computers, names of computer parts, and basic computer skills. Families progressed to using the computers to make cards for family members, to visiting web sites, and using e-mail. None had worked with computers before this project. Among its unique aspects was use of an AlphaSmart keyboard for parents who are reluctant to sit at a computer, assessing learning preferences through a "Learning Styles Inventory" to asses student learning style preferences, and incorporating "Using the Internet as an Instructional Tool."

    Green Lake Literacy Council, WI
    Located at a Head Start facility, 15 families met twice weekly for ten-week time periods. Families also used the lab between classes a drop-in basis. Following the course for parents, Green Lake held family literacy evenings for parents and children monthly through the school year. Due to the success of this initial program, the local technical college loaned ten lap top computers to the Center.

    LVA Pomona, CA
    A library-based Verizon Technology Center, collaborators include the school district and the Head Start program. Parents attended eight, two-hour sessions on basic computer operations, Internet introductory activities, and educational/literacy software instruction. Children received two, two-hour sessions to familiarize them with age-appropriate software. After completion of these session, parents and children worked together for six weeks to discover educational activities using www sites and software. This project successfully expanded into a much larger program funded by the Gates Foundation.

    Vigo County Public Library, Terre Haute, IN
    A Verizon Technology Center was developed at the main branch of the library. The model was the Verizon Technology Center/Homework Center established in 1998 at the Plaza North Branch Library. The Homework Center targeted children/families of adult literacy students enrolled in any adult literacy/education programs, families without computer access at home, and children without homework assistance at home. One hundred and six (106) families participated including 106 parents and 284 children. Vigo County Library offered a series of computer workshops for parents and children, as well as study skills workshops.

    Operation Read, Lexington, KY
    Family literacy services at this Verizon Technology Center included computer-assisted learning activities, take-home family literacy activities, and monthly Family Literacy Technology Nights. The monthly family nights, each with a theme, attracted families due to a promise of food, computer work, crafts and storytelling. Eighteen (18) families, including 20 parents and 26 children participated. A core of volunteers planned and staffed the evenings. All adults also had one-on-one tutoring through the regular basic literacy or ESOL programs.

    LVA ABLE Columbus, OH
    Located in the North Education Center which houses extensive family literacy and other educational and support services, the Verizon Technology Center targeted undereducated parents and their at-risk children. LVA ABLE integrated the instructional offerings into existing family literacy programs. Forty-three (43) families, 84 parents and 102 children utilized the Verizon Technology Center. The Girl Scouts donated books and software, Reading is Fundamental provided books, and community volunteers, and VISTA volunteers helped. The Ohio Department of Education honored this program as a Demonstration Model in 1999-2000.

    LVA Brazos Valley, Bryan, TX
    In partnership with the Bryan ISD Adult Learning Center Even Start Program, this Verizon Technology Center served 29 parents and 33 children in eleven months. This was the first experience with computers for any of these families. Families learned basic computer skills and computer literacy vocabulary. Parents with extremely limited English enjoyed working with their children on JumpStart programs. Using this software, parents and children acquired basic concepts in English like numbers and colors. Interviews with families revealed that the use of family learning software was fun and nonthreatening. There was no stigma attached to playing a computer game with a young child. Parents used software to read aloud to their children and give simple, direct, step-by-step directions. The project strengthened LVA Brazos's collaboration with Even Start, and it will continue in the future.

    Irving Public Library, Irving, TX
    Located in a branch library, instructional services at this Verizon Technology Center include ESOL, citizenship instruction, story time, computer-assisted instruction for parents, children and parents/children, and take-home family literacy activities. Thirty-seven (37) families, including 37 parents and 83 children participated. Outcomes included increased parental reading to children, learning basic computer skills, enrollment in community college, helping child with homework, development of basic word processing skills, and increased English conversational ability. The library developed a structured 7 -8 week series of computer instruction lessons for parents with no previous computer experience

    LVA Marquette County, Montello, WI
    Collaborating with Head Start, this rural Verizon Technology Center expanded the reach of its services through the use of mobile technology, including laptops and AlphaSmarts. Both scheduled classes and open lab were available. LVA Marquette County also incorporated use of the Internet into sessions. This seed money encouraged the organization to collaborate with others in the community. Additionally, it was able to leverage its experience and successfully apply for Community Reinvestment Funds.

    LVA Hillsborough County, Tampa, FL
    This Verizon Family Literacy Center was a partnership between LVA Hillsborough County and Head Start. Parents attended weekly instructional sessions to learn computer skills and use adult education software. After completion of these sessions, they participated in parent/child sessions in a one-to-one coaching environment. Twenty-one (21) families including 26 parents and 27 children participated. This initial curriculum model was repeated two more times during the year. It will continue in 2001 through a grant from Head Start.

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