News and Events
Literacy For All
by Brenna Schneider '06
Using the Spanish she perfected while studying in Spain and conducting thesis research in El Salvador, Kaitlin Thomas '07 is reaching into the homes of migrant families who are making new lives on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Kaitlin Thomas '07 works in Chestertown's backyard, but her clients are far from home. As the parent liaison and bilingual home visitor for Queen Anne's County's Even Start Program, Thomas is part of a national effort to serve the most needy members of our communities. While the federally funded program has not been widely publicized, its successes are real.
Even Start targets high-risk low-income families by enabling parents to prepare their pre-kindergarten age children to start school with an equal opportunity to succeed. The program not only enhances children's educational resources, it also provides parents the chance to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy, thereby strengthening the diverse community that calls the Eastern Shore home. During the April to September growing season, approximately 600 families migrate to the Eastern Shore to work on local farms. A small proportion of migrant families have settled on the Eastern Shore; some to pursue year-round work opportunities, some to provide their children with a high-quality education.
This year, 18 of 20 Even Start families are Hispanic. Thomas works in Spanish to teach, listen and connect families with the vital resources they need. Her connection to the Eastern Shore's Hispanic community began with an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) internship at Kent County High School. After graduating from Washington College with a degree in Spanish, she was offered a position with Even Start.
Thomas spends her days inside homes where she leads activities that teach parents how to support their children's early education and development. She discusses concerns and challenges, monitors the children's progress and reiterates lessons learned in Even Start's early childhood education and in adult education classes. Her visits are structured around the Parent as Teachers (PAT) curriculum; however, Thomas has found some of her greatest opportunities to serve families are unscripted.
When Thomas asked a mother of five what she hoped to learn through Even Start, the mother admitted that she could not sign her own name. In addition to the program curriculum, Thomas taught this mother to hold a pencil and to recognize the letters in her name. At the beginning of an evening adult education class, this mother approached Thomas with tears in her eyes. She walked Thomas to the sign-in sheet and pointed out her name. "We both understood the significance of that signature." Empowerment may start with one signature but the implications of that signature resonate throughout the community.
Thomas is witnessing this kind of empowerment throughout Queen Anne's County. Now, eight years since the program's inception, parents are talking about Even Start's impact on their families and the community is listening. Interest in the program is growing. Friends of Even Start parents are enrolling in adult education classes. Still, the program's future is in jeopardy. The grant that funds Even Start expires at the end of this year.
Thomas is confident that this program works; she is now searching for alternate funding that will allow this important work to continue. "I cannot imagine what will happen if we cannot find funding. Now that all the pieces are in place, it cannot simply disappear."