La
Nueva Maria
Maria, a
current participant at our Bachman Lake program, says there’s no comparison between
the Maria before Avance-Dallas and
the Maria after. With a big smile she exclaims, “I really like the Maria after Avance!”
Maria’s favorite
day of the week is Monday. On Mondays she arrives at Avance on time, ready to learn something new to take home
and apply in her life. She knows everything she is learning will benefit her
family.
The
difference is visible because now she is able to assist her son with his
homework, and Maria has even started volunteering at his school. She has also observed
a big improvement in her ability to communicate with her husband and her
children.
Maria is an
example of brave perseverance. Although she has experienced many difficulties
in her life, they have not limited her in her desire to accomplish the
objectives and goals she has set for herself. One such goal is that her son,
Arturo, will one day go to college. This aim seems overwhelming for her at
times, but she says her experience at Avance-Dallas
keeps her fighting for it.
Thanks to the
dedication of the Avance-Dallas Bachman
Lake team, Maria sees a difference in the way she views her own abilities, in
her family’s daily experience, and in her children’s future.
Parents
Dramatize Children’s Stories in Libraries
For one
leadership project this year, Avance-Dallas
parents planned and performed dramatic presentations of children’s books in
seven public libraries throughout Dallas. The performances were a big success,
with 350 parents and 409 children in attendance.
The project
took place from February 26–March 9 at the J. Erik Jonsson Central, Bachman
Lake, Dallas West, Grauwyler Park, Hampton-Illinois, North Oak Cliff, and
Pleasant Grove Libraries. It was a good way to get families into their local
library. The Central Library was surprised to see 120 parents and 145 children
show up to their auditorium!
The
leadership project arises out of our two reading curricula: Read with Me from KERA and Every Child Ready to Read from the
Dallas Public Library. We teach parents these curricula throughout the year, which
cause a sea change in parents’ thinking.
Oftentimes, our
low-income parents say, “My children will learn to read with the teacher in
pre-K or kindergarten—that’s not my job.” But these curricula open their eyes
to the importance of parents reading with their children every day.
The
leadership project both cements the value of dramatic reading and gives parents
an opportunity to work hard at putting a project together. After we teach the
curriculum, the parents choose a book to dramatize in the library, and then they
do all the work of making it happen.
This motivates
them to create new ideas, solve problems, work together, make a plan, and work
out all the logistics and costs. They create their own costumes and decorate the
stage themselves. As Avance-Dallas
Parent-Child Program Coordinator Claudia Arango explains: “This project has had
a great impact on our parents because this was the first time that they had to go
outside of the classroom to practice their newfound leadership skills.”
Some moms
were nervous, but they grasped onto the Avance
belief that they could do anything if they worked hard. Others were thrilled to
participate in the project and put their creative skills to work, making many
of the costumes by hand.
Parents used ideas
from KERA books such as The Kissing Hand
(Audrey Penn), Five Little Monkeys
Jumping on the Bed (Eileen Christelow), and Clifford Visits the Farm. When
they performed dramatic renderings of the books, the children in the libraries
were enthralled. Ms. Arango says, “I liked to see how the children were
enjoying the dramas. When the moms performed Five Little Monkeys, the kids were laughing and screaming!”
The Dallas
Public Library staff were impressed by the performances and by the number of parents
and children who came. The majority of those in attendance were Avance-Dallas parents and children, but
they brought family and neighbors with them. And when library patrons saw what
was going on, they joined the event. Many people got a good chance to hear
about Avance-Dallas through the
experience of our participants themselves.
Partner Spotlight: Two Steady Supporters
Despite the strains on our economy, several partners have continued to
support Avance-Dallas at constant
levels. ExxonMobil and the David M. Crowley Foundation are two such supporters.
They believe the Avance-Dallas
mission is so central to our city’s future that they continue to invest each
year in our life-changing program.
ExxonMobil furthers a diversity of causes, including three special
global initiatives: women’s economic opportunities, math and science, and
malaria. Here in Dallas, we’re privileged to partner with ExxonMobil in
education. ExxonMobil has supported Avance-Dallas
since 1998 and has served as one of our most consistent champions over the
years. Their most recent gift of $20,000 will fund the crucial operating costs
that make our effective programs available to the families who need them most.
The David M. Crowley Foundation supports a variety of efforts, including
education, the arts, and health, but in all their efforts, they have a focus on
children and economically deprived individuals. Their $5,000 gift to Avance-Dallas will specifically advance
low-income children in Dallas in our whole-family Parent-Child Education
Program.