Putting the Pieces Together - Burnaby Public Library · Putting the Pieces Together 1 Putting the Pieces Together: A Community Literacy Plan for Burnaby Prepared by: Betsy Alkenbrack

Putting the Pieces Together

A Community Literacy Plan for Burnaby


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Putting the Pieces Together:

A Community Literacy Plan for Burnaby

Prepared by:

Betsy Alkenbrack (Capilano College)

and the Burnaby LiteracyNow Planning Task Group Sarah Bjorknas (CUPE) Dawit Bulcha (Burnaby Multicultural Society) Joyce Cameron (Douglas College) Jeanne Fike (Burnaby Family Life) Sheila MacTavish (School District #41) Janey Talbot (School District #41) Edel Toner-Rogala (Burnaby Public Library) Yail Waisman (Burnaby Public Library)

Graphic Charts and Illustrations by Avril Orloff

Photos by Janey Talbot


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary 3

The Literacy Now Planning Process

Participants

Activities

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Community Profile

Introduction

Demographic Scan

Assets and Opportunities

Issues and Challenges

Three Changes we would like to see

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The Literacy Plan

Overview

Priorities, Goals and Actions:

Program sustainability

Support for good programs serving high-needs

groups

Support for multi-service Hubs

Evaluation Plan

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Appendices

Appendix A: Participants in the LiteracyNow

Burnaby Meetings and Interviews

Appendix B: Summary of Community Literacy

Inventory

Appendix C: Interview Questions

Appendix D: Burnaby Community Profile

Appendix E: Gaps and Issues Chart

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Summary

The goal of the Burnaby LiteracyNow Planning Task Group is to

develop a community literacy plan and identify literacy initiatives that

we can support and enhance. Building on the work done in the spring

of 2006, the LiteracyNow Task Group convened a second community

meeting on May 7, 2007 with representatives from community

organizations, the public library, the school district, colleges,

universities, labour, business and government. They identified

following four priority areas:

Program sustainability

Transition programs for immigrant youth and their families who

need help adjusting to Canadian life

Intergenerational literacy

Multi-service Hubs

After the community meeting, the Task Group continued to conduct

action research, meeting with service providers, teachers, adult

learners and parents at programs provided by the school district, the

library, colleges and community groups. In addition to the four priority

areas identified at the Community Meeting, some other important

issues and needs were discussed. These include:

tutoring for high-risk youth and children, especially Aboriginal

students

wrap-around services such as child-care, transportation,

counselling, translation services and community resource

information;

consideration for the mental and physical health issues faced by

refugee families

programs such as computer training, job training and summer

programs

We also examined existing programs that are worth supporting or


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building on. These include the school district’s family literacy

programs, the I-CARE tutoring program at Douglas College,

community ESL programs, the Newcomers group at Eastburn

Community Centre, the “Youth In Transition” program offered in

conjunction with Canucks Family Education Centre at Byrne Creek

Secondary School and the Outreach Resource Centre for homeless

people operated by The Progressive Housing Society and the Burnaby

Taskforce on Homelessness at Southside Community Church

Our conclusion (as a result of these discussions) is that there is

already excellent work being done in Burnaby and our role should be

to support and build on what already works. We have arrived at the

following goals and priorities:

Goals we want to encourage and support that are already

happening, and have funding in place:

To support the School District as it develops a district literacy plan.

To provide support as required for Local 23 CUPE’s workplace

literacy program.

To work with the Burnaby Learning Network to expand computer

training.

To work with Burnaby Public Library and Burnaby Community

Connections to provide better access to information about literacy

programs in our community. New Priorities and Goals:

Sustainability o To build sustainability into Burnaby LiteracyNow so that it can support literacy and learning.

o To contribute to financial sustainability by helping programs to gain access to funds through grant-writing.

Support for good Programs serving high-needs groups

o To support literacy for the homeless by piloting a “learning


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table” at the Outreach Resource Centre operated by Progressive Housing and the Burnaby Taskforce on Homelessness at Southside Community Church.

o To support immigrant families who need assistance making the transition into Canadian life by piloting an adult literacy/ESL component linked to other existing programs. This would also help to address the goal identified at the earlier meeting to support Intergenerational Literacy.

o To work with Aboriginal groups to identify ways Literacy Now Burnaby can support and enhance their services to Aboriginal children and youth.

Support for multi-service Hubs

o To identify existing Hubs and enhance current programs with additional services for adult learners.

The LiteracyNow Planning Process

Participants

Participants in Burnaby LiteracyNow include representatives from

community organizations, the public library, the school district,

colleges, universities, labour, business and government. They gave

input into our community plan at the following stages:

At Community Meeting #1 on February 15, 2006

At Community Meeting #2 on May 7, 2007

Through interviews with services workers, educators, adult

learners, potential learners and parents.

During ongoing meetings of the Planning Task Group

Appendix A shows a list of participants in the Burnaby LiteracyNow

process.


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Activities

Community Meeting #1

The first meeting was held to launch the project in February 2006.

Over thirty people representing a broad range of service providers met

to discuss the literacy assets and needs of Burnaby residents. Brenda

LeClair, Managing Director of 2010 Legacies Now, attended the

meeting and provided an overview of LiteracyNow. At the end of that

meeting, there was unanimous agreement that the group wanted to

proceed with applying for planning funding to develop a community

literacy plan.

Successful application to Literacy Now and hiring a facilitator

The application was submitted successfully and the task group

continued to work together. In April 2007, they hired a facilitator,

who’s responsibilities included facilitating the second community

meeting, conducting research and writing the Literacy Plan.

Community Meeting #2

The second community meeting was held in May 2007. Thirty-five

participants, representing the sectors of education, business,

government and community groups attended (see Appendix A). An

interesting feature of this meeting was that we contracted Avril Orloff,

a graphic recorder, to provide a visual representation of our

community profile and of the decisions we made at the meeting. The

illustrations provided in this report are taken from Avril’s graphic

charts.

Participants at the Community Meeting were asked to help us “put the

pieces together” by:

reviewing our draft community profile

contributing to a community literacy inventory,

creating a joint vision for Literacy and Learning in Burnaby,


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setting goals and

guiding the development of our Literacy action plan

Participants broke into five groups with each focusing on the learners’

age group: Families with Babies and Pre-Schoolers, School-age

children, Youth, Adults and Seniors. They were asked this question:

Groups discussed the needs of different age groups and reported back,

identifying three priority areas for their age group, and then for the

whole initiative. They then worked in groups to develop goal

worksheets for those priority areas. The following priority areas were

identified:

Program Sustainability,

Multi-service Hubs, and

Transition program for traumatized youth and their families

(including Intergenerational Literacy)

Community Literacy Inventory:

A draft community literacy inventory was distributed at the community

meeting, and the corrected version will be made available as a booklet

One for each of: Families

with Babies and Pre-

schoolers/ School-age

children/ Youth/ Seniors


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and a page on the Burnaby Library website. Appendix B shows a

summary of the inventory.

Interviews and Program visits:

The LiteracyNow Facilitator conducted interviews and discussions with

educators, service workers and adult learners and also visited classes,

family literacy groups, parents’ meetings, resource centres and a food

bank. The complete list of groups visited and interviewed is included in

Appendix A and a list of interview questions can be found in Appendix

C.

With this information, the Planning Task Group went on to refine goals

and write a draft community plan. This will be circulated to everyone

who participated in community meetings and interviews, and revised

based on their feedback.

Community Profile Burnaby is the third most populated urban centre in British Columbia

with roughly 200,000 residents, and the community is facing some

unique challenges. It is a maturing, increasingly diverse community

within a rapidly growing metropolitan area.

Burnaby is no longer a suburban community. The Burnaby of the 21st

Century is characterized by high density residential areas, major

commercial town centres, rapid transit, high technology research and

business parks, comprehensive industrial estates and major post-

secondary institutions. It also has its share of “big city” challenges -

today in Burnaby, 27% of families live below the poverty line.

As a community, we are challenged to meet the various needs of our

growing newcomer population as well as learners who fit the more

"traditional" profile of a literacy learner. We are also looking for ways

to collaborate more effectively, and to provide programs and services

which engage the whole family, are affordable and culturally inclusive.


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Demographic Scan At our Community Meeting we presented “graphic chart” of our

Community Profile for participants to review. The entire picture is

attached as Appendix D, but here we break it down into parts so that it

is easier to see.

At the centre of the picture is a graphic representation of key

demographic information about Burnaby: population, geographic size,

age distribution and position in relation to surrounding communities.

An important point here is that Burnaby is the third largest urban

centre in BC.


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Newcomers:

Visible minorites make up 50% of the population and 44% of residents

speak languages other than English at home.

Refugees:

33% of Government Assisted Refugees entering BC have settled in

Burnaby1. The top five groups of refugees by country of origin are:

Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Indonesia and Liberia. Over half of these

refugees were 18 years or younger when they arrived in Burnaby.2

Once they arrive in Canada, they become permanent residents, but

they still face significant challenges.

Poverty:

Burnaby has the highest level of residents living below the poverty line

in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. There is also a relatively

high percentage of families living solely on income assistance (11.5 in

2000). Lone parents head 16% of Burnaby’s families and 6.4% of the

population is at risk of homelessness.

1 According to the June 2007 Immigrant Services Society report dealing with settlement patterns in the GVRD between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2006, 33% of Government Assisted Refugees settled in Burnaby. For the period January 1, 2007 - July 31, 2007 that figure was 12%. 2 Burnaby Early Childhood Development Community Table Neighbourhood Hub Proposal, March 2007


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Education:

Finally, Burnaby has a relatively high

number of adults with less than

Grade 12, and of children under six

who are considered to be vulnerable

in at least one area of development3

Burnaby’s Assets

A High Level of Cooperation

Burnaby as a community has a reputation for working together in a collaborative manner and of working together to support the

learner. - Sheila Rooney, Superintendent of Schools, School District 41

This comment by Superintendent of Burnaby’s school district is echoed

by many people we talked to, and this success with cooperation is a

major asset. For example, there is a growing interest in delivering

services through multi-serviced “hubs” such as the one at Edmonds

Community School and Resource Centre. As one of our participants

said,

The hub would be a good resource for clients and an opportunity

for volunteers – combining language development with settlement work. It would also encourage more partnership/

collaboration between agencies. Hubs must involve collaboration. Be clear who is doing what. (Gululai Habib, Immigrant Service Society)

3 Mapping Early Child Development: Burnaby School District #41 Community Summary UBC Early Child Development Mapping Project.


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There are many examples of collaborations, task groups and coalitions

working in Burnaby (including the LiteracyNow task group!). Here are

four examples:

The Burnaby Inter-Agency Council is a coalition of about 60 non-profit

groups in the city. There are also inter-agency coalitions in three

regions within Burnaby.

Vibrant Burnaby is a committee of representatives from community

service organizations, non-profit groups and government organizations

who are committed to exploring Community Economic Development

(CED) options to fight and reduce poverty in the community.

The Burnaby Early Childhood Development (ECD) Community Table is

a coalition of service providers and parents that was established in

2003 to address the critical needs of young children and families. The

ECD Community Table is committed to enhancing and developing an

integrated system of effective services and supports for young children

and their families.

The Burnaby Task Force on Homelessness is a coalition of

representatives from government, the health authority, community

organizations, faith communities and concerned citizens who have

come together to identify and address issues of homelessness in the

City of Burnaby. Their work includes networking, monitoring the

homelessness situation, fundraising, raising awareness and

coordinating a community response.

A range of educational programs

Another asset that Burnaby LiteracyNow can benefit from is the variety

of educational programs available to the people of Burnaby. Here are


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some examples4.

Adult and Continuing Education and Adult Literacy programs are

offered by the public library, the school district’s Adult and Continuing

Education department and Douglas College (Developmental Studies

and the I CARE tutoring Programme).

For School- Age Children and Youth, School District #41 operates 39

elementary schools, 6 secondary schools and an alternative secondary

school. Programs for children are also offered at Burnaby Public

Library, and South Burnaby Neighbourhood House has Homework

Clubs at three south Burnaby elementary schools. African homework

clubs are provided jointly by Multicultural Family Centre and Burnaby

Family Life. Also, the Youth-In-Transition program at Byrne Creek

Secondary School is provided in cooperation with Canucks Family

Education Centre.

Seven of the elementary schools are community schools, which

promote community involvement and participation by students, staff,

families, residents, agencies and local businesses. They offer

educational, recreational and social programs that meet the specific

needs of the surrounding community. We met with the executive of

Stride Avenue Community School Council and heard about how

Maywood Community School promotes home languages with parent-

child writing groups and encouraging children to read messages in

their home language over the PA system. Community Schools are of

special interest to LiteracyNow because they can form the base for

neighbourhood hubs.

4 The lists are not exhaustive. We have tried to be as representative as possible of the wide variety of

organizations serving Burnaby citizens, but due to limited time and resources, we might have left someone

out. We apologize for this omission, and welcome suggestions and corrections for future reports.


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The School District also offers a variety of Industry Training programs

with ACE-IT and Industry Certification for students in secondary

school. These are district programs and students from all schools can

apply. Programs include Auto Collision, Carpentry, Cook Training,

Construction Electrician, Hairdressing, Fitness Leadership,

Graphics/Media Arts and Hospitality/Management. Students receive

graduation credits, Level 1 Technical Training Apprenticeship

certification if they meet the minimum industry standard, industry

certification, or they can develop a portfolio.

A number of organizations offer programs in English as an Additional

Language. These include: Burnaby Family Life, Burnaby Multicultural

Society, Burnaby Public Library, Burnaby School District #41 Adult and

Continuing Education, Pacific Immigrant Resources Society, Vancouver

and Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services Society and

Vancouver Community College. An ESL class (with child care) for

African women is provided by Greater Vancouver Family Services at

Olivet Church.

Settlement Services are provided by Burnaby Multicultural Society,

Pacific Immigrant Resources Society, Immigrant Service Society, and

Vancouver and Lower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services

Society

Family Literacy programs are offered by School District #41 at eight

elementary schools and by organizations such as Burnaby Public

Library, Pacific Immigrant Resources Society and South Burnaby

Neighbourhood House

Family Services are provided by Burnaby Family Life, Burnaby School

District Community Services and South Burnaby Neighbourhood

House. There is also a parents’ group for newcomers and their young

children at Eastburn Community Centre, sustained by multiple

partners.


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For Seniors there are community centres such as the Confederation

Community Centre as well as the Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services

Society, the Community College of the Retired, Capilano College’s

“Elder College”, services offered by Burnaby Public Library such as the

ESL Conversation Circle, the Hall Towers Reading Group and the home

library services.

Burnaby has a growing number of Aboriginal learners and there are

some programs catering to their interests and needs. The North Fraser

Metis Association offers practical training such as “Foodsafe” courses

and gardening, cultural activities, a Metis museum and a resource

centre. The Spirit of the Children Society offers a youth group program

including a drop-in, cultural activities and lifeskills training, and the

Nicola Valley Institute of Technology has recently opened a campus in

Burnaby. School District 41 is in the process of developing an

Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement between school and community

members, and reaches out to Aboriginal students through community

workers and their Aboriginal Education Program Consultant.

Employment Services include AWAR, the CAVE Employment Resource

Centre and the Afghan Women’s Sewing and Crafts Cooperative

coordinated by ISS.


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Issues and Challenges Here we describe the some of the issues that face learners.

Families with babies and pre-schoolers need:

programs that support parents and grandparents with less than

grade 7 education

programs that build relationships/trust and sense of belonging

quality childcare that is more than just babysitting

access to quality early literacy and multi-lingual materials (rotating

– possibly book delivery service)

workshops and information for vulnerable families/women on issues

such as family violence (highly confidential and culturally sensitive)

Accessible information that accommodates different languages and

education levels.

Confidential support for parents who might be nervous to come

forward with sensitive issues because everyone knows them.


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School-age Children

Parents estimate that 40-50% of Grade 8 students in Byrne Creek

feeder schools are not meeting expectations. The Stride Avenue

parents attribute this to promoting students before they are ready and

lack of student support (“This is a problem of resources in the system,

not a problem with teachers”). The aboriginal advisory group said

more tutoring can give confidence to Aboriginal kids who are

struggling.

Youth

One issue that was identified by many

people was the need for more transition

programs, especially for refugee youth and

their families. Many youth who were

refugees come into the school system at

16-19, often without prior experience in

schools. They do not have a long time to

gain literacy skills, and often find it difficult

to catch up and prepare themselves for

work and life. How do we provide literacy/

social/work skills for their life, so that people will not take advantage

of them and they won’t be tempted into dead-end occupations?


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Other needs for youth: help with accessing programs, especially if they are not in school system;

choices (materials, different learning styles, etc.)

long-term, relationships with supportive, non-judgemental,

inclusive adult(s).

opportunities to take on meaningful leadership roles

creative approaches to developing literacy through the arts, music,

sports (e.g. basketball), technology

fluid/flexible programs that go to where kids are

More programs needed:

Job readiness/training programs. The “Ace-it” programs are

excellent, but students are responsible for the cost of manuals and

equipment required and there are no subsidies. Also, although ESL

students are welcome to apply, the program is not able to provide

language support - it would have to be provided through the home school.

Multicultural programs

Programs for Aboriginal youth

Programs for young mothers

Increased summer activities for youth (literacy, recreational)

Programs that connect them to the community and value their

contribution.

Adults

Adults whose reading and writing are below a

functional literacy level encounter many

obstacles in Canada, a literate society. Those

who were born in Canada and learned English

as a first language may not have had the

opportunity for schooling, but this is not true

for most people in this group. Most have had

schooling, but did not manage to become

literate for any one, or more than one, of a myriad of reasons:


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learning disabilities, inconsistent schooling, family or home difficulties,

the stresses of poverty, poor health, etc. These adults often see their

literacy needs as a personal failing. As a result, they are hesitant to

be vocal about their needs or to seek out reading and writing

programmes. Once in programmes, they can be uncomfortable if

other students who are learning to speak English are able to bypass

them and learn more quickly. This situation can reinforce low self-

confidence and deter students from attending. Programme

development must be individualized and respect the varying needs and

perceptions of learners.

Programs for adults must take account of poverty issues. For example,

government policies do not allow people on income assistance to

access some programs, and people on limited income often lack the

resources, time and energy to access programs. Programs should be

tuition-free or have accessible loans and bursaries.

Other gaps and issues:

More programs needed in the workplace – a location where the

person feels most comfortable

More flexible programs that accommodate working adults, and

provide classes during evenings and weekends.

More Community Economic Development programs to help people

succeed through small businesses. Many refugee women have skills

and business experience. They need the opportunity to get going.

Computer training for parents and other adults


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Seniors

Seniors can play a vital role in intergenerational literacy by going to

family literacy programs and promoting the value of the first language

with their grandchildren. While there are excellent programs for

seniors, the following gaps were identified:

Outreach to people who are isolated (by language or mobility)

Help with forms

“Now I have Time” circles

More programs for ESL Seniors

connections between learning and health

internet and other technology help/training for seniors

expansion of “college” for the retired

incentives for seniors and their families to support learning

“Financial literacy” for widows who suddenly have to deal with

bills, mortgages, etc.


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Five Special Issues:

Support Services

Support services make it possible for learners to find out about

classes, get to them, and focus on learning while they are there. The

support services most often mentioned were child care, transportation,

information, translation and counselling.

Child care was by far the issue most often mentioned at meetings and

interviews. Without it, parents of small children are unable to take

advantage of learning opportunities. This should not just be child-

minding, but learning opportunities for children as well as parents.

Immigrants who need ESL programs often have to wait for up to a

year because child-care is not attached to the program -- and financial

support for refugees only lasts one year, after which they are expected

to look for work. Some programs have the funding and staff, but lack

space and/or equipment for childcare. Government-sponsored

refugees should have priority status, but if there are no openings for

people with children, they just sit and wait. The long waiting list means

that parents do not get sufficient ESL training before the one-year

support period is over. Some have been in country 3 years with no

English classes, and are forced into low-paying cleaning jobs and shift

work. A related issue is that the Professional Development days in the

K-12 school system fall on different days from PD days in adult

education system. If they were on the same days, childcare issues for

parent ESL and ABE students would be less of a problem.

Transportation is also difficult to access. The most successful programs

include bus passes or are within walking distance of people’s homes

(less than a 20-minute walk). Nancy Walker at I-CARE approached

Translink to provide bus passes for students attending classes, but so

far has not been successful.


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Information on programs and resources: Many parents and other

adults who might be interested in adult learning said they did not

know what programs were available and how to access them. Also,

Literacy needs overlap many other needs – learning disabilities,

mental health problems, addictions, homelessness, and physical

disabilities. Many people with these needs also lack access to basic

information.

We need to find ways of getting the message across that do not rely

on text, such as personal visits, telephone, or through a translator.

Communication between secondary school and homes is very difficult

(teenagers + language + literacy). In the Afghan Women’s

Cooperative, all communication is verbal and/or presented with colour

and visuals.

Translation is very important, but quite complicated (and expensive)

because many different languages are often involved.

Mental health support/counselling

Counselling should be included in programs serving learners who have

experienced trauma. For the homeless population, problems are

compounded by mental health and addiction issues. Refugees often

have huge physical and mental health needs. More counsellors from

different cultures are needed.

Newcomers

The need for better transition programs was discussed under “Youth”,

but it is an issue for immigrants of all ages. Most of the newcomers,


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service workers and educators we talked to felt that the current 2-

week orientation provided to refugees at Welcome House (operated by

Immigrant Service Society of BC) is too short. Also, children are

usually placed in schools according to age but have not achieved an

equivalent educational level. Other transition issues that should be

addressed are: an introduction to school system for parents, how to

parent without corporal punishment, how to deal with kids “getting

ahead” of parents. Women in the African Women’s ESL program talked

about children taking advantage of parents who can’t read. ESL

students should have access to high school completion and school-to-

work programs. Also, instructors and tutors are not always equipped

to meet the needs of traumatized refugees, so a transition program

should involve training for teachers and volunteers. Current

programs, such as the “Youth in Transition” program at Byrne Creek

Secondary School and the proposed new School District Welcome

Centre should be encouraged and supported.

Other gaps:

More programs needed for newcomers with basic literacy needs

Long waiting lists (up to 12 months) for new immigrants to get into

ESL programs, especially mothers with small children

Translators and interpreters are needed at programs

More outreach workers needed to help bridge newcomers to

programs

More adult Literacy and ESL programs linked to Health and Housing

Culturally relevant programming:

This was mentioned in both the context of First Nations programs and

programs for immigrants and refugees. In the Afghan women’s Co-op,

a culturally specific approach has been important for learning:

explaining things, being sensitive to the Afghan situation, building the

business, etc. A multi-cultural approach would be good for

socialization, but more complicated and expensive with more

languages involved. In this case, getting the information across and


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teaching skills in the first language was the priority. Another issue is

that working with refugees is complicated by inter-tribal conflict back

in their home countries. Public awareness programs:

Develop greater awareness of assets in the community and of the

issue itself

Develop greater awareness of early childhood development.

De-stigmatize illiteracy

Provide a clearer definition of literacy and its various levels

Promote literacy as an inter-generational issue in ways that engage

the whole family

Develop greater awareness of seniors’ literacy needs

Three Changes we would like to see At the second community meeting, participants were asked to identify

the three most important priorities for literacy and learning. The

graphic chart created to reflect their ideas is shown below


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The Literacy Plan

Overview:

Our approach in producing this plan is to recognize the excellent

educational work that is already happening in Burnaby and to support

and enhance what is already working well. The Priorities and Goals we

describe here will fit in with this work and provide additional resources

or address additional needs identified at Community Meetings and

interviews.

First, the task group identified four goals related to projects that are

already happening, have funding in place and deserve our

encouragement and support:

To support the School District as it develops a district literacy plan.

To provide support as required for Workers’ Education in Burnaby

(WEB), a project of CUPE Local 23.

To work with the Burnaby Learning Network to expand computer

training.

To work with Burnaby Public Library and Burnaby Community

Connections to provide better access to information about literacy

programs in our community.

The Task Group also identified three priority areas that the

LiteracyNow Burnaby should address. These are:

Program Sustainability

Support for and enhancement of programs that provide effective

services and intergenerational literacy to high-needs groups (the

homeless, immigrant families and Aboriginal children and youth)

Support for community-based multi-service Hubs


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This plan deals with each of these Priority Areas, by describing the

Goals, Actions and Success Statements for each Priority. Finally an

Evaluation plan, based on the Success Statements, is provided.

These priorities and goals represent what we can do in the short term.

In the long term, we need to keep an eye on other needs and goals

that emerge. For example, we may want to find ways to support

programs that promote literacy and story-telling in the home

languages of newcomers. One role that the LiteracyNow team can

play is to continue collecting information on emerging goals and needs.

Priority: Sustainability

Rational:

A universal problem that faces literacy providers is lack of multiple

year funding, and the shifts in funding that make it difficult to achieve

stability and do long-term planning. At our community meeting, the

group looking at Adult Learning identified this as a problem, and other

participants verified it. They said that adult literacy work suffers from

fragmentation (in terms time, groups, region, organization), and that

programs are often forced to compete with each other and duplicate

services. Members of the Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement advisory

group commented that good programs just get going and then they

close down, often due to lack of continuity in funding.

Under-funding is not an issue for Douglas College, which has been

providing adult learning in Burnaby for almost 30 years. However,

money is a problem for many adult learners, whose lack of financial

support means that literacy and ESL classes may be inaccessible to

them.


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Opportunities:

Burnaby has a strong history of partnerships and collaboration

There is fundraising expertise in Burnaby, and LiteracyNow Burnaby

can help to make it accessible to the broader community.

Goal: To build sustainability into Burnaby LiteracyNow so that it can support literacy and learning. Action Who? Resources? Time

Agree on work plan and task group membership.

LiteracyNow (LN) Task Group

Current Task Group members + new members as required.

Fall 2007

Hire Facilitator LN Task Group

Implementation funds.

Fall 2007

Hold regular meetings to review plans and oversee activities.

LN Facilitator and Task Group

Staff and volunteer hours.

ongoing

Success Statement: A strong group with broad-based representation

is created that builds partnerships and promotes literacy and learning

for all in Burnaby.

Goal: To contribute to financial sustainability by helping programs to gain access to funds through grant-writing. Action Who? Resources? Timing

Identify resource-people with grant-writing expertise to act as consultants.

LN Facilitator/ Task Group

staff hours computer/phone/ office space

Fall 2007

Develop directory of grant-writing resource-people and resources.

as above as above + resources for layout and printing OR website design and space.

Spring 2008

Provide workshops or seminars for non-profit organizations to help them develop grant-writing expertise.

Consultants contract hours + admin support workshop space workshop resources

Fall 2008


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When capacity cannot be developed within the group, make funds available for programs to hire contract grant-writers.

LN Facilitator /Task Group

Directory of grant-writers. Implementation funds.

ongoing

Success Statements:

Practitioners in Non-profit organizations produce successful multi-

year grants and feel confident about their grant-writing capabilities.

Programs build financial sustainability and are able to make long-

term plans.

Priority:

Support and enhance programs that provide effective

services and intergenerational literacy to groups with

high needs (the homeless, immigrant families and

Aboriginal children and youth).

Rational: This priority area addresses two issues we have identified.

First, although good programs exist, learners do not always find their

way to these programs. Reasons for this include lack of transportation,

lack of child care, not knowing about the programs or not feeling

comfortable. One way to help them is to build links and entry points to

programs they are already using, or other members of their families

are using, such as drop-ins, resource centres, their children’s schools,

homework clubs and family literacy programs. The second problem is

that children and youth in some “at risk” groups are not successful at


30

school or able to graduate with the skills required for the labour

demands of the current economy, and parents do not always know

how to support them. LiteracyNow Burnaby can support and enhance

existing programs by providing additional learning opportunities,

assistance with every-day literacy needs (such as filling in forms or

searching the internet) and/or referrals to other appropriate services.

In the process we would also be supporting intergenerational literacy,

one of the priorities identified at our community meeting. The three

high-need groups we have identified for this work are: Homeless

people, Immigrant families who need extra help with their transition to

Canadian life and Aboriginal children and youth who need extra

tutoring.

Opportunities:

The task group has identified the following potential partners and

resources:

The Outreach Resource Centre for Homeless People operated by

the Progressive Housing Society and the Burnaby Taskforce on

Homelessness at Southside Community Church

The I-CARE tutoring program at Douglas College

Staff at Burnaby Public Library with special interest and

expertise in literacy and services to at-risk groups.

The School District Family Literacy Programs

The ISS Host Program

The Youth-In-Transition program offered jointly by Byrne Creek

Secondary School and Canucks Family Education Centre,

Homework Clubs sponsored by South Burnaby Neighbourhood

House in three south Burnaby elementary schools

African homework clubs provided jointly by Multicultural Family

Centre and Burnaby Family Life

The School District’s Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement’s

parent advisory committee.


31

Goal: To support literacy for the homeless by piloting a “learning table” at the Outreach Resource Centre at Southside Community Church. Action Who? Resources? Timing Secure agreement from Progressive Housing, I-CARE and Burnaby Public Library

LN Facilitator Table at Resource Centre

Fall 2007

Recruit resource-people and/or tutors to staff the learning table.

Douglas College I-Care and Burnaby Library

Willing I-CARE volunteers and Library staff.

Fall 2007

Conduct orientation/ training as required for new tutors or library staff who will work at the resource centre.

I-CARE, Progressive Housing, LN.

Staff time Fall 2007

Approach sources for donations of books, newspaper subscriptions, learning materials, writing materials.

Resource-people/tutors with support from Literacy Now.

in-kind support ongoing

Staff learning table every week.

Resource-people/tutors

staff and volunteer hours

ongoing

Success Statements:

A strong partnership is created and sustained.

Volunteers and staff feel confident and supported in their work with

homeless people and demonstrate awareness of resources and

services.

A variety of appropriate, interesting resources are available at the

Resource Centre on a regular basis.

Homeless people make use of resources and are more aware of

learning opportunities.


32

Goal: To support immigrant families who need help with making the transition into Canadian life by piloting an adult literacy/ESL component linked to other existing programs. (for example: School District Family Literacy Programs, the ISS Host Program, the Youth-In-Transition program at Byrne Creek Secondary School, Homework Clubs sponsored by South Burnaby Neighbourhood House in three south Burnaby elementary schools, or the African homework clubs provided jointly by Multicultural Family Centre and Burnaby Family Life

How? Who? Resources? Timing Identify areas in Burnaby where parents have a low level of education.

LN in consultation with School District

School District statistics

Fall 2007

Identify potential partners and programs to link with.

LiteracyNow Facilitator and Task Group

staff hours Fall 2007

Plan and provide program.

LN and partner implementation funds

Fall 2008

Success Statements:

A strong partnership is created and sustained.

Immigrant families are more aware of learning opportunities and

how to gain access to them.

Immigrant parents demonstrate improved communication and

literacy skills allowing them to negotiate tasks at home, school and

in the workplace more confidently and effectively.

Immigrant youth report more comfort, confidence and success at

school.


33

Goal: To work with Aboriginal groups to identify ways LiteracyNow Burnaby can support and enhance their services to Aboriginal children and youth. Actions Who? Resources? Timing

Identify potential partners that work with Aboriginal children and youth. LISTEN to what they have to say.

LiteracyNow Facilitator and Task Group

staff hours Fall 2007

Identify programs that we can support.

LN and partner staff hours Spring 2008

Plan and implement program

LN and partner implementation funds

Fall 2008

Success Statements:

A strong partnership is created or continued.

Aboriginal youth and children are more aware of learning

opportunities and how to gain access to them.

Aboriginal youth and children and their families report improved

achievement in school

Schools report an increase in graduation rates of Aboriginal

students.


34

Priority:

Support for community-based multi-service Hubs

Rational:

Some characteristics of a Hub are:

a continuum of services in one location (such as a community

school) or in a cluster of nearby locations (such as a school near a

community centre).

services could include childcare, family literacy programs, ESL or

adult literacy classes, tutoring for adults, children or youth, youth

groups, community kitchens, public health related services (e.g.,

pre and post-natal programs, developmental screening and

immunization and dental fluoride clinics) and counselling and

referral.

easily accessible -- within walking distance for most users

strong collaboration and partnerships between the different service

providers.

Obviously such a big enterprise is beyond the reach of LiteracyNow

resources5, but we can help to develop and sustain a Hub by

supporting “wrap-around” services that will allow adults to participate

more effectively in learning opportunities. The desperately-needed

services identified during the LiteracyNow research were child care,

transportation, translation, and access to information and referral.

5 A recent grant proposal for an ECD Hub estimated that the capital cost of a modular unit alone would be $99,000 (Burnaby Early Childhood Development Community

Table Neighbourhood Hub Proposal, March 2007)


35

Opportunities:

Participants in community meetings and follow-up interviews

indicated a strong commitment to and interest in the development

of multi-service hubs.

Research by the ECD Community Table has identified existing or

emerging Hubs at elementary and community schools in the

Edmonds, Maywood, Stride Avenue, Second Street, Cascade

Heights, Forest Grove, Morley and Stoney Creek neighbourhoods.

Goal: To identify existing Hubs and enhance current programs with additional services for adult learners. How? Who? Resources? By When?

Identify an existing Hub that is working well, but needs extra resources.

LN facilitator and Task Group.

staff time access to existing research

Fall 2007

Identify additional support services required.

LN and Hub partners staff hours Fall 2008

Set up structures to provide support services: space, staff, resources, etc.

LN and Hub partners implementation funds

Spring 2008

Success Statement

More adults are able to participate and be

successful in educational programs offered at

Hubs.


36

Evaluation Plan Success Statements Source of information

A strong group is created that builds partnerships and promotes literacy and learning for all in Burnaby.

Minutes from meetings Interviews or surveys with Task Group members and partners.

Strong partnerships are created and sustained.

Interviews with partners

Practitioners in Non-profit organizations produce successful grants and feel confident about their grant-writing capabilities.

Seminar evaluations Analysis of grants submitted by seminar attendees

Programs build financial

sustainability and are able to

make long-term plans.

Program reports

Volunteers and staff feel confident and comfortable working with users of the Outreach Resource Centre and know about resources and services.

Orientation evaluations Ongoing discussions with staff, volunteers and people who use Outreach Resource Centre.

A variety of appropriate,

interesting resources are available

at the Resource Centre on a

regular basis.

Number of resources used each week. Feedback from users.

Homeless people make use of

resources and are more aware of

learning opportunities.

Sign-in sheets showing number of users each week. Feedback from users.

Immigrant families are more

aware of learning opportunities

and how to gain access to them.

Feedback from immigrant families.

Immigrant parents demonstrate

improved communication and

literacy skills allowing them to

negotiate tasks at home, school

and in the workplace more

Interviews or surveys with parents.


37

Success Statements Source of information

confidently and effectively.

Immigrant youth report more

comfort, confidence and success

at school.

Interviews or surveys with youth.

Aboriginal youth and children

demonstrate improved

achievement in school

Interviews or surveys with Aboriginal children, youth and/or parents. School statistics.

Schools report that fewer

Aboriginal students drop out of

school.

School statistics

More adults are able to participate

and be successful in educational

programs offered at Hubs.

Interviews or surveys with Hub users. Hub statistics.


38

List of Appendices

Appendix A: Participants in the LiteracyNow Burnaby Meetings and

Interviews

Appendix B: Summary of Community Literacy Inventory

Appendix C: Interview Questions




39

Appendix A: Participants in the LiteracyNow Burnaby Meetings

and Interviews

Planning Task Group Members:

Sarah Bjorknas (CUPE)

Dawit Bulcha (Burnaby Multicultural Society)

Joyce Cameron (Douglas College)

Jeanne Fike (Burnaby Family Life)

Sheila MacTavish (School District #41)

Janey Talbot (School District #41)

Edel Toner-Rogala (Burnaby Public Library)

Yail Waisman (Burnaby Public Library)

February 15, 2006 Meeting Participants:

Edel Toner Rogala, Burnaby Public Library

Brenda LeClair, LiteracyNow

Liz Dill, School District #41

Marianne Neill, Burnaby Teachers

Sarah Bjorknas, CUPE Local 23

Wendy Borelli, School District #41

Joyce Cameron, Douglas College

Sheila MacTavish, School District #41

Sharon Freeman, School District #41 and Library Board Chair

Percilla Groves, SFU

Kimberley Barwich, South Burnaby Neighbourhood House

Jennifer Hall, Marleen Morris and Associates

Ayesha Haider, Bill Siskay’s Office

Darlene Gering, Burnaby Board of Trade

Susan Reimer, Burnaby Family Life

Doreen George, School District #41

Janey Talbot, School District #41

Heather Campbell, Douglas College

Margaret Manifold, City of Burnaby

Patricia Finlay, School District #41


40

Dawit Bulcha, BMS

Santino Kuac, ISS

Gabriella Maio, MCFD

Jean Maloney, PIRS

Hilda Henry,

Wazi Dlamini-Kapeida, Literacy BC

Louis Wong, SUCCESS

Sue McIntyre, City of Burnaby

Jonah Guevarra,

Caroline Christie, Burnaby Public Library

Barbara Jo May, Burnaby Public Library

Joyce Pinsker, Burnaby Public Library

Yail Waisman, Burnaby Public Library

May 7, 2007 Meeting Participants:

Councillor Gary Begin, Burnaby City Council

Sarah Bjorknas, CUPE Local 23

Joyce Cameron, Douglas College

Sheila MacTavish, SD#41

Doreen George, SD#41

Taryn Briscoe, SD#41

Jean Maloney, Pacific Immigrant Resources

Anne Foschi, Vancouver and Lower Mainland Multicultural Family

Support Services

Kimberley Barwich, South Burnaby Neighbourhood House

Gillan Chan, Bill Siskay’s Office

Darlene Gering, Burnaby Board of Trade

Jeanne Fike, Burnaby Family Life

Janey Talbot, School District #41

Dawit Bulcha, BMS

Leona Gadsby, LiteracyNow

Charles Perrin, Literacy BC

Louis Wong, SUCCESS

Deb Thomas, Burnaby Public Library


41

Barbara Jo May, Burnaby Public Library

Joyce Pinsker, Burnaby Public Library

Linton Harrison, Burnaby Public Library

Yail Waisman, Burnaby Public Library

Betsy Alkenbrack, CAP College

Avril Orloff, Graphic Recorder

Dr. Suzanne Smythe, SFU SILICLE Project

Jennifer Bach, Literacy Coordinator, SD#41

Franca Zumpano, Continuing Education SD#41

Merilynn Seeton, Continuing Education SD#41

Adele Wilson, Marguerite Dixon House

Nancy Walker, I-CARE Douglas College

Lyn Daniels, SD#41 Interviews:

Lyn Daniels, Aboriginal Education specialist, SD#41 Parents Advisory Group,

School District Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement

Margie Manifold, former social planner with City of Burnaby

Gululai Habib, community settlement counsellor and community economic

development worker at Immigrant Service Society and Afghan Women’s

Sewing Cooperative

Nancy Walker, coordinator of I-Care tutoring program, Douglas College

Vicki Kreutzer, Outreach worker, South Burnaby Neighbourhood House

Anita Stalker, Progressive Housing Society

Elizabeth Grad and Wanda Mulholland, Burnaby Taskforce on Homelessness

Participants at the The Outreach Resource Centre at Southside Community

Church

Dawit Bulcha and Debby Taniguchi, Burnaby Multicultural Society

Students in ESL conversation class at Burnaby Multicultural Society

Jacquie Harrison, Vancouver Community College ESL Outreach

Sheila Rankin and Joanne Nansoo, Kingsway ESL Outreach Learning Centre

(VCC)

Lubna Abdelrahman, Helen Cuthbert, and students at African Women’s ESL

program, Olivet Church Family, Family Services of Greater Vancouver

People using the Food Bank at Southside Community Church


42

Parents group at Stride Avenue Community School

Patricia Murevesi, Morley School Family Literacy Centres

Lynn Archer and Lorraine Hodgson, Byrne Creek Secondary School

Jean Rasmussen, Canucks Family Education Centre and Youth In Transition

program (email) Donna Scott, Administrator, School-to-work Transition Program, School District 41 (email)


43

Appendix B: Summary of Burnaby LiteracyNow Community Directory

Adult and Continuing

Education

Adult Literacy

School-age children

Youth

Employment

Services

English as an

Additional Language

Family Literacy

Family Services

Family Services

Settlement and

Outreach

Library

Aboriginal People

Seniors

Burnaby Family Life √ √ √ Burnaby Multicultural Society √ √ √ Burnaby Public Library - Adult Services

√

√

√ √ √

Burnaby Public Library - Children’s Services

√

√ √

Burnaby School District #41 - Adult and Continuing Education

√

√

√

Burnaby School District - Community Services

√

√ √

Burnaby School District #41 - Maywood Community School

√

√

Burnaby School District #41 - 2nd

Street Community School

√

√

Burn Creek Secondary School √ √ Canucks Family Education Centre

√

√ √

√ √

The CAVE Employment Resource Centre (Douglas College)

√


44

Adult and Continuing

Education

Adult Literacy

School-age children

Youth

Employment

Services

English as an

Additional Language

Family Literacy

Family Services

Family Services

Settlement and

Outreach

Library

Aboriginal People

Seniors

City of Burnaby Douglas College – Developmental Studies

√

√

Douglas College – I CARE Programme

√

√

Greater Vancouver Family Services

√

Malalay Afghan Women’s Sewing and Crafts Cooperative

√

√

√

Office of Bill Siksay, M.P. Pacific Immigrant Resources Society

√

√

√

Simon Fraser University Library √ √ South Burnaby Neighbourhood House

√ √

Vancouver andLower Mainland Multicultural Family Support Services Society

√ √


45

Appendix C: Interview Questions for Burnaby LiteracyNow

For program workers:

1. What kind of services (related to learning) does your organization provide? Who

does it serve?

2. What gets in the way of people taking advantage of these services?

3. What is missing in Burnaby and what additional learning programs should be

developed?

4. What could local agencies do differently so more people can use these services?

For current or potential participants in courses:

* 1. Have you ever taken a course or as a adult?

a) If yes, please describe the course and tell me what you think about it.

b) If no, have you ever wanted to? What has stopped you?

c) Are there any courses that you would like to take? (Why?)

3. What do you think would make it easier for you to participate in educational

programs?

4. What could local agencies do differently so more people can participate in

educational programs?

* Substitute for adults in classes: Why did you come to this class? What do you like

about it? What other courses, resources of information do you need or would you be

interested in?

For parents attending family literacy programs:

1. What do you like about this program?

2. How could it be improved?

3. What kinds of programs and resources would help you as a parent? (or help other

parents you know).


46



47


Group/ Person

Gaps, issues and needs

H

ub

Transit

ion P

rogram

$ S

usta

inability

Inte

r-g

enerati

onal

Literacy

not performing at grade

level

Community Economic

Dev.

Childcare

Computer training

Financial literacy

Beginning ESL

Support for tuition

Job

readiness/

Employment training

Culturally relevant

services

and programs

Transportation/program

s nearby

Support for

mental

health and/or detox

Summer programs

–

children,

youth and

adults

Information

on

available programs and

resources

Translation

Community Meeting (May 07)

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

√

Aboriginal Advisory Group

√ √ √ √ √

Margie Manifold

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Gululai Habib

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Nancy Walker

√ √ √ √ √ √

Vicky Kreuzer

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Anita Stalker

√ √ √ √

Homeless Drop-in

√ √ √ √


48

Hub

Transit

ion P

rogram

$ S

usta

inability

Inte

r-g

enerati

onal

Literacy

not performing at grade

level

Community Economic

Dev.

Childcare

Computer training

Financial literacy

Beginning ESL

Support for tuition

Job

readiness/

Employment training

Culturally relevant

services

and programs

Transportation/program

s nearby

Support for

mental

health and/or detox

Summer programs

–

children,

youth and

adults

Information

on

available programs and

resources

Translation

BMS ESL students

√ √ √

VCC ESL Learning Centre

√ √ √

ISS Host program

√ √ √

African Women’s ESL

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √√ √ √

Food Bank √ √ √ √ √ √ Stride Avenue Parent’s group

√ √ √ √

Family Literacy programs

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

Byrne Creek Secondary

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

# of times mentioned

7 9 9 10 3 3 11 5 1 7 5 4 4 7 6 2 7 6


49

Documents

Putting the Pieces Together - Burnaby Public Library · Putting the Pieces Together 1 Putting the Pieces Together: A Community Literacy Plan for Burnaby Prepared by: Betsy Alkenbrack