Star-News (Pasadena, CA)

October 14, 2002
Section: News

Mothers' Club has won a second state grant for promoting family literacy. The Proposition 10 award of $445,000 over three years will fund reading classes for kids and parents, high school equivalency diplomas and English as a second language classes for adults, and new libraries at Mothers' Club sites in Pasadena and Altadena.

Mothers' Club's primary goal is to send children to kindergarten "ready to succeed," officials say, teaching skills such as reading and writing in English, learning to take turns and how to make new friends. It also focuses on improving parenting skills of mothers in the program.

For many years, the center has collaborated with Pasadena City College to offer weekly parenting education classes in English and Spanish. They also offer ESL classes three times a week in Pasadena and twice per week in Altadena. They also encourage parents to take more classes at PCC, but many can't afford the necessary child care, transportation and tuition. A few mothers aren't even literate in their native languages, said Stephenie Frederick, Mothers' Club development director. "We want to make sure they receive some basic coaching so they can take advantage of our other classes," she said.

The circulating libraries will offer books for adults and children. New computers and supplies are also on the list. Children whose parents read to them and take interest in their school work are more likely to succeed in school, Frederick said. The programs also make parents more likely to join school groups. "Our moms are the ones who are far more likely than their peers to serve on the PTA or join special school committees, and that of course helps the child immensely," Frederick said.

Mothers' Club has been in Pasadena for 40 years and in Altadena for nearly four years. Combined, it serves about 120 women and 145 children each year, 90 percent of whom are Latino. It hopes to expand to 460 women and children by 2005. The center's earlier Proposition 10 grant helped finance a home visiting program where volunteers reach out to isolated families.

For more information about Mothers' Club, call (626) 792-2687.

-- Becky Oskin can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4451, or by e-mail at becky.oskin@sgvn.com.

(c) 2002 Star-News. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.