Glades Family Education

The Glades Family Education program serves adults and children from the Belle Glade, Pahokee, and South Bay areas. Parents and preschool children commit to attending classes year-round, Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The four main components of the program include adult literacy, children’s literacy, weekly Parent and Child Together (PACT) activities and monthly parenting skills workshops. Adults learn English while improving their reading and writing skills. A preschool class operates for the young children of our adult students, preparing them to succeed in kindergarten. Parents and their preschool children attend PACT time once a week. PACT is a component that allows parents and children to interact and learn together as a family. Staff members help parents learn how to support their child’s learning by interacting together through meaningful activities. Once a month, the program brings in outside presenters to offer parenting skills workshops for our adult students to learn how they can best support their children.

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The Glades Family Education program operates classes year-round, Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. For more information or to register for English (ESOL) classes, please call 561-992-8068 or email agarzon@literacypbc.org.


Community Impact

  • The program served a total of 83 adult students and 13 children.

  • 85% of adult students who were pre- and post-tested, made significant gains in one or more tested skills (reading, listening and speaking).

  • 100% of the preschool-aged children from the program demonstrated improvement in their language, cognitive and early reading skills, including print and phonological awareness in a multicultural environment.

  • 457 books were distributed.

 

Thanks to The Honda Classic Cares for support of the Belle Glade community, especially our Glades Family Literacy program where parents and children learn side by side. Thanks to CBS 12 News and Anna Logan for capturing our program in this terrific story. We are proud to be a Honda Classic Cares grant recipient. Click here to watch the clip.

Testimonials

PACT time allows Claudia and her son Alexander to grow and learn together.

Claudia moved with her husband in 2017 to the U.S. She spoke very little English and relied heavily on others as translators. She wanted to study to be a beautician and open her own salon, but due to the language barrier, she was unable to pursue that dream. When her son, Alexander, turned three, a family member recommended Glades Family Education as a program in which Claudia could improve her English language skills at the same time that Alexander could attend preschool and prepare for kindergarten. Claudia and Alexander started attending the Glades Family Education program
in March 2021.

As Claudia attended classes, her English started to improve and her confidence soared, enabling her to begin studying for her beautician license. Her improved language skills also gave her an opportunity to work at a beauty parlor to gain experience. Claudia expresses feeling happy and fulfilled with her own accomplishments, and with Alexander’s, too. Alexander started the program not knowing any English, and he has learned so much. He is now talkative with his friends and neighbors, he can identify the letters of the alphabet, colors, shapes and numbers, and he is starting to read and spell simple words. Claudia has noticed a marked improvement in his ability to focus and stay on task, and she is thrilled with his newfound love of reading. Weekly PACT activities have shown both of them how much fun it can be to read and learn together, and Claudia plans to continue the tradition with her new baby, Keily. Just a month after giving birth, Claudia is back at school with Alexander, feeling confident that Alexander will start kindergarten well-prepared, that Keily will grow up fully bilingual, and that she, herself, will be able to fulfill her dream of opening her own beauty salon.