Friday, November 20, 2009

Program helps Latino families bond over books - Local - SanLuisObispo.com


Program helps Latino families bond over books - Local - SanLuisObispo.com:

"Lorenzo Torres, a 40-year-old Los Osos construction worker, says he loves to read. But that wasn’t always the case.

Now he hopes to inspire his 5-year-old son, Eric, to enjoy books as he learned to do after attending a special program in Los Osos that encourages family literacy.

For the past eight Tuesdays, after long days of work at construction sites countywide, Torres attended the Los Osos Latino Family Literacy Project program with a group of about 30 local parents."

The group last week celebrated its graduation from the free course with the three teachers — Evelyn Frame, Brooke Segler and Rob Banfield.

“I read to my son now about four times per week for about 30 minutes each time,” Torres said. “I really want to prepare him as well as I can for college.”

San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s Adult School, as well as Monarch Grove and Baywood elementary schools, funded the program, which cost about $3,500.

The project, which just completed its second year, encourages Spanish-speaking families to develop reading routines and improve their reading skills.

Each book featured a story printed in English on one page and Spanish on the other to encourage a bilingual experience between parents and children.