SHELBY COUNTY, Ala., Feb. 24, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Toyota today announced that three Shelby County schools will be the newest sites for its successful Toyota Family Literacy Program (TFLP). TFLP -- the first nationwide program of its kind to focus on the needs of Hispanic and other immigrant families -- is coordinated by the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), the country's leading advocate for family literacy. Shelby County Schools will receive a total contribution of nearly $600,000 from Toyota, including a $350,000 grant to launch programs at Valley Elementary School, Creek View Elementary School and Meadow View Elementary School. Toyota will also provide funding for three years of comprehensive support from NCFL including training, educational materials and assistance in launching the programs.
In addition to Shelby County, Toyota and NCFL announced the expansion of the Toyota Family Literacy Program into four other communities with high, or fast-growing, Hispanic populations, including Detroit; Chelsea (Boston), Mass.; Santa Paula, Calif.; and Denver. Contributions by Toyota for the five new programs total nearly $3 million.
Initially developed in 2003 and introduced in Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago and Providence, R.I., the Toyota Family Literacy Program aims to increase basic language and literacy skills among Hispanic and other immigrant families, and provide parents with the skills they need to help their children succeed in school. The program specifically serves children in K -- 3rd grade and their parents. TFLP is unique in that it incorporates NCFL's multicultural family literacy model which combines key components including: ESL courses, early childhood education, parenting education, Parent and Child Together (PACT) activities, and computer-literacy instruction.
"This program will allow us to more effectively meet the needs of our immigrant and minority families in our schools and provides us with a strong model for parental involvement," said Evan Major, superintendent, Shelby County Schools. "Parents are the most important teachers children have, and the Toyota Family Literacy Program allows us to equip parents with valuable tools to enhance their children's education at home and at school."
The first five communities that initiated the Toyota Family Literacy Program in 2003 have proven the success of NCFL's model by achieving impressive results, including:
-- Significant literacy gains by adults, the majority of which
improved their literacy scores by one or more levels;
-- Ratings for children in the program that exceeded peers in areas
including academic performance, motivation to learn, attendance,
classroom behavior, involvement in classroom activities, and other
areas;
-- Demand for the program has produced waiting lists at the majority
of program sites;
-- By the end of the first program year, 70% of participating
families held a library card.
"We're very proud that Toyota has expanded our partnership following the success of the Toyota Family Literacy Program over the past several years," said Sharon Darling, NCFL founder and president. "Our goal is to continue to meet the pressing needs of Hispanic and other immigrant families both in Shelby County and across the country."
"Toyota's operations in Alabama have made a major contribution to our success in the United States," said Dennis Cuneo, senior vice president, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. "By expanding the Toyota Family Literacy Program to Shelby County, our goal is to help families not only increase their literacy skills, but also become fully involved in their children's education and the local community. We've seen hundreds of success stories across the country during our 15-year partnership with NCFL and I'm excited about the possibilities here in Alabama."
ABOUT NCFL
The National Center for Family Literacy was established by Sharon Darling in 1989 with a grant from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. For the past 17 years, NCFL has pioneered educational initiatives that open pathways to continuous life improvement for the nation's most at-risk children and families. The organization has supported more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers, leading to positive gains for more than one million families. To learn more, call 1-877-FAMLIT or visit www.famlit.org.
ABOUT TOYOTA
Since 1991, Toyota and the National Center for Family Literacy have forged successful programs to promote family literacy in the United States. Toyota has contributed more than $23 million to help NCFL establish family literacy model programs throughout the country. Today, the Toyota/NCFL partnership accounts for over 196 family literacy sites in 33 cities and 24 states. As part of this partnership, the Toyota Family Literacy Teacher of the Year award has been presented annually since 1997 and recognizes individual teachers' contributions to improving literacy among youth and adults. Additional information on Toyota's commitment to improving education nationwide is available at www.toyota.com/about/community/education/.