Help families make the dream of college come true

Enrolling in college, weighing financial options and tackling course work is a daunting undertaking, even impossible. But the idea of going to college doesn’t have to be this overwhelming — potential students just need some help getting started on the path to realizing their education dreams.

In fact, the recent MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Preparing Students for College and Careers reveals that many parents and students feel a pressing need for more information about how to access and pay for college.

NCFL has created free online resources to inspire Hispanic families to start talking about college as a reality, not a faraway dream. These materials will help families begin the conversations about going to college, preparing for academic success and planting the seed for their children that they should go to college.

These resources have been designed for Spanish-speaking families to use together — for parents and other adult family members to think about furthering their own education and for children to begin charting the steps for making the dream of a college education come true. As families begin talking about the importance of college, all family members can start sharing the vision of attending college. As multiple generations understand that a college education is valuable and attainable, going to college and earning a degree becomes a goal families work to achieve together.

This extensive resource includes:

• En Camino: Educational Toolkit for Families offers five online modules with activities for Spanish-speaking families to help increase their investment in and pursuit of educational opportunities. These modules are available in both English and Spanish.
• On Our Way: Program Instructional Guide includes instructional activities that intergenerational literacy programs can implement with families and adults in their programs.
• Turning Points: A Case Study of Family Literacy – Community College Partnerships offers descriptions of exemplary postsecondary educational transition partnerships between family literacy programs and community colleges, including successful programs in Lake City, Fla., Louisville, Ky., and Providence, R.I.
• Promoting Postsecondary Educational Success for Adults and Families — A Practical Partnership Guide is an examination of what makes a literacy program – community college transition partnership work.
• Family Literacy: A Valuable Gateway to Postsecondary Education examines the impediments to attaining a postsecondary education and how literacy programs can help with the transition and increase college graduation rates for nontraditional students.

This project is supported by MetLife Foundation. To learn more about this initiative, check out the recent joint press release.