Current OLC Family Literacy Initiatives
OLC's current Family Literacy initiative Partnership Framework for Integrated Family Literacy Planning is investigating how a consistent funding and policy framework can support Ontario families in increasing their literacy skills. Research completed in December 2010 has given OLC some information on the current situation, the next step is to collaborate with Government and family literacy programming stakeholders toward a more streamlined and effective system that will support families in Ontario to increase their literacy.
This initiative builds on OLC's previous Family Literacy initiative Developing Models of Best Practices for Integrated Family Literacy Programming, completed in December 2008.
The goal of this initiative was to explore good models of intergenerational Family Literacy programming that addresses the literacy needs of parents, grandparents and caregivers, and provide them with the necessary guidance and knowledge that enables them to better support their own children’s literacy development.
Working in partnership with three major Family Literacy centres - Kingston’s Centre for Expertise in Family Literacy, the Toronto District School Board’s Parenting Programs, and Early Years programs in Hamilton - and AFLO, the OLC:
- Identified potential barriers to building Adult Literacy programming into Family Literacy programs,
- Identified solutions and new practices,
- Formulated new partnership opportunities with organizations (such as school boards, Early Year Centres),
- Documented the findings of these pilots, and
- Convened a Family Literacy stakeholder meeting which brought together various provincial ministries who are impacted by Family Literacy
This initiative was a practical way to explore how to build better intergenerational literacy programming and identify models of good practice that could be shared and replicated throughout Ontario and across Canada.
The final Recommendations Report can be purchased by contacting olc@on.literacy.ca.
