Learning together in Behchoko
Family Fun Night promotes literacy and family time
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Friday, April 21, 2017
BEHCHOKO/RAE EDZO
A new learning program is bringing families together in Behchoko, says participant Bessie Gargan.
Bessie Gargan and daughter Hailey are regulars at Family Fun Night, a new after-school homework program, in Behchoko. - photo courtesy of Kai-Ann Gregory
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For the past month, Gargan has been attending Family Fun Night with her son, age 8 and her daughter, 6, at the Khon Go Cho Complex. The evening is held every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
"I take my kids there so I can help them at home their their reading and writing," Gargan said.
The program is being sponsored by the Tlicho Government and aims to create a "community of learners," said organizer Kai-Ann Gregory, a teacher at Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School (EMES).
The program provides help with language and literacy, as well as encouraging families to spend time together.
Any child attending the program must be accompanied by a parent or another adult and participants are free to pop in to grab materials or stay at the centre for the duration of the evening.
"Whether they come for 30 seconds or 30 minutes, it's up to them," Gregory said. "We want them to come in and be actively involved in their children's educations."
According to the most recent literacy strategy framework report published by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), more than 48 per cent of all NWT youth between 16 and 25 are performing below the international standard for functional literacy.
Only 39 per cent of students between Grades 1 and 9 in small communities outside Yellowknife and regional centres are performing at their appropriate grade level in English Language Arts.
Gregory said she hopes Family Fun Night is a step toward improving those numbers.
"I know there is a need across the North to get students speaking and reading at grade level," she said.
While the program is geared toward elementary school students, Gregory hopes to expand it to include high school students and eventually provide ongoing support to both parents and students when they move on to post secondary school.
Another long-term goal is to establish a parents' committee to help with fundraising and planning literacy-themed events, as well as volunteering in classrooms.
Gargan and a group of Behchoko parents recently attended a First Nations Parents Club meeting in Vancouver, B.C.
The club was created to encourage and support parents getting involved with their children's educations.
Gargan said one of the workshops she attended focused on the importance of parental support and interaction with children, whether it's helping them to read or simply spending time together.
Behchoko's Family Fun Night is an ideal way to do both, she said.
"It's building spelling skills and reading comprehension and phonics, but also they do craft activities and play board games," she said. "Just being with your kids and doing something with them makes learning fun and makes them more engaged in what you're doing."
The Smart Communities Society donated computers through the Computers for Schools program, which will be outfitted with online e-reading programs, Gregory said.
Gregory said she is also aiming to create information sessions for parents that could include speech therapists and other professionals.
She hopes the program could expand to other communities in the Tlicho region.
For now, Gargan said she encourages more families in Behchoko to attend Family Fun Night.
"I hope there is going to be more people that are interested," she said. "It shows your kids that they are important, that we are willing to spend time with them and do things with them."
