The English Language Learners Even Start Program (ELLES) is a literacy initiative focused on non-English-speaking families. Southwest Counseling Solutions runs the program at four elementary schools in southwest Detroit: Academy of Americas, Roberto Clemente, O.W. Holmes and Harms. The English Language Learners Program serves families with children in kindergarten through third grade. It not only teaches parents English, it allows parents to spend time in their children’s classroom to help them with schoolwork. Parents both learn with their children and learn to support their children’s learning. Supportive child care services are provided for siblings of K-3 children centered on pre-literacy and early childhood education.

Southwest Solutions’ English Language Learners Program (ELLP) serves low-income non-English-speaking families with children in kindergarten through third grade. The families we serve typically come to us with little literacy in English.

Parents attend 4 half-day sessions per week. During adult education classes, parents learn English using the same curriculum as their children, so that parents will be prepared to help with their children‘s homework. One hour a day, parents sit in and experience firsthand their child’s classroom or after-school program.

Our ELLP program operates at four schools:

• Academy of the Americas at 5680 Konkel St. Detroit, MI 48210
• Roberto Clemente Learning Academy at 1551 Beard St. Detroit, MI 48209
• O.W. Holmes Elementary at 4833 Ogden St., Detroit MI, 48210
• Harms Elementary at 2400 Central St., Detroit, MI 48209

At Academy of the Americas, Holmes and Harms, we also offer Even Start supportive child care programming for siblings of the children in the ELLP program. Even Start enables young children to become "ready to learn" before entering kindergarten. The mission of the program is to help parents become full partners in the education of their children, and to help children reach their full potential as learners.

To learn more about ELLP, contact Anita Caref at 313.896.2800 or email her.

Our Family Literacy main office is located at 7060 McGraw St., Detroit, MI 48210 (in the former rectory of St. Andrew Church). For more information about any of our programs and how to enroll, please contact us at 313.896.2800 or email us.

   Results

• 100% of children K - 3 in the English Language Learners Even Start Program (ELLES) - 80 children in total - were promoted to the next grade level
• 93% of adults in ELLES and Chase Family Literacy programs demonstrate advancement in learning English as a Second Language
• Significant increase in parental participation among families served
• 202 families were enrolled in our Family Literacy programs (ELLES, Chase Family Literacy Program, Infant Mental Health, and GPGS) in 2010
• 2009 study by the National Council for Family Literacy (NCFL) rated our ELLES program "outstanding" and found that children in the program significantly improved their overall academic performance, self-confidence, classroom behavior, social skills, and family support
• Same NCFL study found that parents participating in ELLP significantly increased the time devoted to reading to their children
• Our Family Literacy program has been rated as the best in the nation in outcomes of parents reading to their children, parents supporting their children’s academic achievement, and parents expecting their children to graduate from high school and then complete college (these outcomes were measured when our program - now called ELLES - was part of the Toyota Family Literacy Program national network)

Our English Language Learners Program initially began as part of the Toyota Family Literacy Program (TFLP), which has has created more than 200 program sites in 26 states. Program sites are developed in partnership with local community agencies. Of all the TFLP sites across the country, Southwest Solutions’ program demonstrated the best results in increasing the literacy levels of parents and children, according to the Toyota Program’s own metrics.