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By ASHLIE OSBURN
Staff Writer

Members of The Literacy Council of Tyler, Tyler Junior College and Tyler Independent School District attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning at Douglas Elementary for The Family Learning Center’s grand opening.

The partnership of the three education entities, as well as Region VII Education Service Center of Kilgore, strives to educate low-income, limited-English-proficient families as well as individual students, through programs at the center.

“That’s the way you raise literacy in a community, you do it through the family, not just through the children,” said Nancy Crawford, executive director of the Literacy Council.

The Learning Center began in a portable building on the Douglas Elementary campus. Now relocated to an annex building adjacent to the school, more classrooms and staff positions are available.

“Going from the portable to here, we have increased by four classrooms. We have one more adult education classroom and two more children’s classrooms,” said Jeanine Wilburn, director of The Family Learning Center.

The new location also allows for the addition of five teachers, she said.

The Family Learning center provides child care for children 6 months old through preschool, an Early Head Start preschool program and adult ESL and GED prep classes, according to a press release.

“Our main goal is to improve the example of quality care for young children and to educate parents for learning English as their second language and preparing for their GED,” said Lynn Sitton, TJC department chair of child development services.

Early childhood instructor Nancy Shaw said Spanish-speaking children have vast barriers to overcome before attending schools.

“The program is really great for Spanish-speaking children. Their moms used to be concerned about them going to an all-English school, but now they are happy about them learning English,” Shaw said.

Angela Hernandez, an adult ESL student, said she can better assist her children and adequately communicate with community professionals since she learned English.

“I need to speak when they are sick, to speak to the doctor and go to the hospital,” Ms. Hernandez said.

This bond between children and their parents can build stronger relationships, TJC President Dr. Mike Metke said.

“This is an example of the American Dream, where education is the vehicle for the American Dream,” Metke said.

Furthering this dream of education is the availability for TJC students majoring in early childhood education to obtain classroom observation hours at the center.

“We’re a model for TJC students pursuing degrees in child development,” Ms. Sitton said.

Staff at the center includes Ms. Wilburn, Ms. Sitton, five associate-degreed teachers, three ESL instructors and one teacher assistant, according to the Center.

“The whole idea is to create opportunities for people who most need those opportunities and helping them achieve a brighter future,” Metke said. “We pride ourselves for being a college of opportunity, so it’s a great fit for our mission as well as for the mission of the other partners.”