PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE ADULT EDUCATION CENTER
Family Literacy Programs

The Adult Education Center has partnerships with family literacy programs housed at the Harding Family Center in Coeur d'Alene, including Head Start, Early Head Start, Parents as Teachers, and Even Start. The Center and most of these family literacy programs all share NIC as their fiscal agent, easing the process of sharing funds and reducing the required paperwork for each partner.

The partnership with Even Start is a good example of how these relationships work. At the Harding Center, Even Start staff provide participating families with dinner and guide parents and children in a reading activity. A teacher then takes the parents to the Adult Education Center, about a mile from Harding, where they can work with a tutor, attend basic skills classes, or use the computer lab. While the parents are at the Center, the children remain at Harding, participating in structured literacy activities. At the end of the evening, the parents are driven back to the Even Start location.

Even Start also offers parenting classes and homework clubs for participating families. The Adult Education Center coordinates class schedules and times to enable more Even Start clients to take advantage of their classes. Even Start and its clients do not pay for the instruction or tutoring; it is an in-kind contribution from the Center. The Center also shares data on the adults' progress with the Even Start staff. Says Barb Scarth, director of Even Start, "Early childhood education, childcare, and transportation need to be a part of adult education. These are major barriers, and we need to work together."