Queen Mary Family Literacy Program
Partners: St. John the Evangelist Anglican
Church, Queen Mary Elementary School, North Vancouver
City Library, North Shore Multicultural Society, and North Shore Neighbourhood
House
Funders:
Lower Lonsdale Legacies Fund, City of North Vancouver/Raise a Reader Fund
This intergenerational program in the Lower
Lonsdale area delivers learner-centered adult literacy and family literacy
programming to the parents, grandparents and care givers of Queen Mary
Elementary School students. Its goal is to provide opportunities for
participants to be more involved in their community, to support their
children’s learning, and to improve their ability to access services. The
program helps the caregivers improve their literacy skills. Eight trained
volunteer tutors work with close to
20 participants (adults and pre-school age children) on a one-to-one basis or
in small group settings. Partners actively participate in the development of
programming for participants. The program runs from October to June.
Lower Lonsdale Literacy Outreach Program
Partners:
North Shore Neighbourhood House & John Braithwaite Community Centre
Funders: Ministry of
Advanced Education (AVED) through Community Adult Literacy Program (CALP)
The Lower
Lonsdale Literacy Outreach Program is a community-based program that uses a
learner−centred approach to creating accessible literacy opportunities for low
income adults living in the Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood of North Vancouver.
This program runs from September to June during which time learners work with
trained volunteer tutors once a week on a one-to-one basis or in small group
settings. Outcomes include 15
trained active tutors contributing to their community by providing weekly
literacy support to close to 40 literacy learners. Outreach activities include computer classes
for low income housing residents, health literacy and help for WorkBC clients.
Literacy Now North Shore
Partners: School Districts 44 & 45, North Shore Neighbourhood
House, John Braithwaite Community Centre, North Shore Multicultural Society,
West Vancouver Memorial Library. North Vancouver City Library. North Vancouver
District Library, Ts’leil-Waututh Nation, Squamish Nation Eslha7an
Education and Training Centre
Funders: Decoda Literacy Solutions
As the steward of this
funding, Capilano University hires a Literacy Outreach Coordinator (LOC) to
partner and work with community stakeholders to meet a vision of a fully
literate North Shore with accessible learning opportunities for all. A
Community Literacy Plan is developed and updated annually to guide the
activities of the LOC and community partners and collaborators. Since 2007,
this committee has been involved in helping develop literacy programs including
the Queen Mary Family Literacy Program and the Eslha7an Literacy Programs (see
descriptions), has allocated Raise A Reader funds provided through Decoda
Literacy Solutions for a range of family literacy programs throughout the North
Shore, has undertaken initiatives in aboriginal health literacy curriculum
development, and has been active in public events to raise awareness around
literacy issues, to mention some of the work of the committee.
Esla7an Learning Centre
Partner: Squamish Nation
The
Eslha7an Centre offers education and training to members of the Squamish Nation
and other Aboriginal people living on the North Shore. Capilano has partnered
with Eslha7an to develop an ABE program with a First Nations focus that
provides literacy, math and computer skills. Unlike other programs at Eslha7an,
it is open to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners in need of a literacy
program equivalent to Grade 9 or less. This will help to address the gap in
basic education which has opened since Capilano’s Fundamental ABE and school
board programs for adults were shut down on the North Shore. Successful
learners can move into high school programs, workplace training courses and
employment opportunities in the community. Launched in September 2015, the
program runs from September to June.