Toyota Family Learning Results 2015

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NCFL has been busy building a stronger America one family at a time through Toyota Family Learning, our latest family literacy model . We’ve now awarded ten $175,000 three-year grants to three schools districts, two library systems, and five community-based organizations spanning the U.S. The next round of grantees will be announced in early 2016). These organizations were chosen based on their two-generation approach to providing educational services to low-income families.

IMG_9082Each Toyota Family Learning site incorporates two 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 provides program directors and facilitators with professional training and technical support.

In 2014-15, 296 predominately low-income families (including 860 children) participated in Toyota Family Learning programs, producing the following results (based on the independent evaluation conducted by Goodling Institute for Family Literacy at Penn State University):

  • 17,487 hours spent learning together (1,573 of which were community service)
  • 90% increase in family engagement in education
  • 20% increase in family literacy activities in the home and community
  • 13% of families used technology use for educational purposes every day
  • Families practiced 29 out of 42 important employability skills
  • Parents increased their self-efficacy, leadership skills, and social capital
  • In terms of parent goal attainment:
    • 96% became a better parent for their child
    • 75% improved English skills
    • 47% upgraded skills to keep current job
    • 46% earned more money
    • 34% got a better job
    • 25% obtained the knowledge necessary to pass the U.S. citizenship test
    • 21% earned a GED certificate or high school equivalency

One parent participant explained,

“Toyota Family Learning has given me the opportunity to learn more about government resources and supports, the places I can go in case of an emergency, projects that help my community, get better at and learn more English, enrich my knowledge by participating in growing vegetables, enrolling in TV delivered classes, and achieve my personal goals.”

Program teachers reported that they, “did not expect what significance [service learning] played as a learning experience for the children…Families want to do more of this [service learning] so their children can learn this value and grow from it.”

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NCFL leverages the power of the family, the opportunity to learn in context, and the motivation to build a stronger community through service learning to produce powerful two generation outcomes.

Toyota Family Learning, a six-year nationwide initiative led by NCFL, was created to address educational needs and provide opportunities for low-income and ethnically-diverse families to roll up their sleeves and build stronger communities. NCFL knows that when children and families solve community issues together, they are simultaneously learning and applying 21st century college and career readiness skills.