Five Head Start Programs Receive Funding from NCFL to Enhance Parent Engagement

Head Start programs awarded $160,000 grants to implement family-driven service learning model with low income, ethnically diverse families

News provided by

National Center for Families Learning

May 18, 2016, 10:30 ET

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 18, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the National Center for Families Learning and National Head Start Association (NHSA) unveiled Head Start programs that have been selected to implement NCFL Family Learning, a novel two-generation and community-centered education model in five U.S. communities.

The following organizations will each receive a $160,000 grant from NCFL, made possible by funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation:

East Side House, Inc., Bronx, New York
Educational Alliance, Inc., New York, New York
Genesee Intermediate School District, Flint, Michigan
Guilford Child Development, Greensboro, North Carolina
Adelante Mujeres, Forest Grove, Oregon

The sites were selected through a national competition and rigorous proposal review process.

"This two-generation project puts families at the forefront of learning together in an innovative and empowering way," said Sharon Darling, NCFL president and founder. "Family Service Learning has already been successful in cities such as Detroit and Houston. With this initiative we will reach even more families and build upon Head Start's already strong legacy of parent engagement."

Each Head Start site will incorporate NCFL's traditional family literacy approaches — Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time® and Parent Time — along with two cutting-edge components—Family Service Learning and Family Mentoring. NCFL will provide program directors and facilitators with professional training and technical support to produce family engagement outcomes outlined in the Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework.

"We are thrilled for Head Start to have this opportunity to connect NCFL's model to the PFCE family engagement and child outcomes," said Yasmina Vinci, NHSA president. "It's a strategic and practical way to drive powerful parent engagement in what their children are learning."

NCFL's whole-family approach to achieving educational outcomes, currently being implemented in 16 partner U.S. communities, has already been proven to improve child and family outcomes for low income, ethnically diverse families.

About the National Center for Families Learning

The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults and children learn together. NCFL creates and deploys innovative programs and strategies that support learning, literacy and family engagement in education. From the classroom to the community to the digital frontier, NCFL collaborates with educators, advocates and policy-makers to help families construct hotspots for learning wherever they go. For more information on NCFL's 27-year track record, visit www.familieslearning.org.

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.

SOURCE National Center for Families Learning