FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, September 14, 2024
Photos and video available on request.
Ohio Federation of Teachers’ Members Train Parents on Literacy Strategies
Union members in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, and Greenon school districts led the trainings.
CINCINNATI, CLEVELAND, TOLEDO, AND ENON, OHIO — Today, members of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, Cleveland Teachers Union, Toledo Federation of Teachers, and Greenon Federation of Teachers conducted literacy instruction for select groups of parents in their respective school districts. These trainings, developed by AFT) members and adapted by Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) members, were the start of a new phase in the OFT’s ongoing work to support literacy education.
“As a teacher for over 30 years in both special education, elementary, and English, I’ve seen how frustrated students become when they struggle with all aspects of literacy,” said Jean Hribar, OFT’s Director of Professional Development. “Parents want to read with their kids and support literacy education, but they can be put off by jargon like ‘science of reading’ or ‘phonemic awareness.’ This is why we are launching a series of workshops for parents and caregivers across the state of Ohio. We want to give them strategies and tools to help support their children at home and reinforce what they are learning in the classroom. This connection between home and school is an important key in building strong readers and successful students.”
“We can best support our students by making sure we’re all pulling in the same direction,” Melissa Cropper, President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. “By sharing skills, resources, and tips with parents, we know that they’ll be able to be more active and more confident in helping their children develop a lifelong love of reading.”
For decades, the AFT has worked to integrate the most up-to-date research and effective teaching practices to help all children read to the best of their abilities. The AFT also has partnered with First Book, not only to distribute more than 10 million books (including 250,000 in Ohio), but also to support professional development combined with access to high-quality, diverse books for educators, students and families who need them the most, so we can spread the joy of reading and help build classroom collections and home libraries.
“As my students used to tell me, you have to walk the walk and that is exactly what OFT is doing this weekend,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Literacy is the foundation of opportunity, so this connection between home and school is essential to helping students become stronger readers. Moreover, parents and caregivers are educators’ biggest allies in helping students develop a love of books. When families read together, not only do kids’ literacy skills improve, but they create lasting bonds with the adults who read to them.
“That is why the AFT has developed ‘the hows’: research-based training sessions that help parents expand and reinforce classroom reading instruction at home. These trainings are a crucial part of our union’s commitment to tackling learning loss and helping raise the next generation of joyful and confident readers. And the work the OFT and our locals are doing to make it a reality is exactly what the promise of America is all about. I am so proud of them for doing this work.”
Each local training was held in conjunction with community partners who provided programming for students, allowing parents to attend the training without having to arrange childcare. Families also received free books for students’ home libraries, provided by AFT’s Reading Opens the World and First Book, a book distribution nonprofit.
In Cincinnati, the community partner was the Stan Kimbrough Basketball Training Program, which provided basketball instruction to kids while parents attended the training at Pleasant Hill Academy Elementary School.
“Reading and education are so important for the kids in our communities – these are skills that can take them anywhere they want to go,” said Stan Kimbrough, a retired NBA and Xavier University Hall of Fame basketball player. “We’re participating in this event because books and basketball are the perfect combination. Books will open up the world to these kids, and through basketball we can make it fun for them and keep kids engaged in learning.”
“We are hoping that parents come out of our training wanting to read with their kids. We also want them to understand that as parents they’re already doing things everyday, like playing games with their kids, that can help support literacy education,” said Milbeth Allen, an intervention specialist at the John P. Parker School, a preK-6 Cincinnati Public School. “Our union is taking this initiative because a parent is their kid’s first teacher. By getting the parents on board, we all can all work together to support our students and set them up for success.”
The Cleveland Public Library was also a community partner. “The goal of Side-by-Side is to bring families and teachers together to bridge the literacy achievement gap that exists between home and school,” said Jacqueline Lamb, Senior Director of Youth Services and Family Engagement at Cleveland Public Library. “Families will work with teachers on the Science of Reading - Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension - while scholars work with our staff on fun literacy activities.”
It is through innovative training programs that team up educators and parents like the afterschool family reading program developed by the United Teachers of Wichita and the parent literacy workshops created by the AFT St. Louis that are providing real solutions to help students succeed in school, connect parents and educators in deep and meaningful ways and demonstrate union members’ deep commitment to their professions and their communities.
“We designed a morning that allowed teachers to connect with parents and equip them with the tools and understanding needed to foster their child's reading development at home,” said Lisa Storm, an Intervention Specialist at Greenon Local Schools. “Our goal is for every parent to leave feeling confident and well-prepared to support their child’s literacy journey."
The Ohio Federation of Teachers, is a state federation of 60 local unions representing approximately 20,000 active and retired public school teachers and staff, charter school teachers and staff, higher education faculty and staff, social workers, library workers, and public employees. The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.