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Putting the Pieces Together
A Community Literacy Plan for Burnaby
Putting the Pieces Together
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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
5
Community Profile
Introduction
Demographic Scan
Assets and Opportunities
Issues and Challenges
Three Changes we would like to see
8
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
25
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
Putting the Pieces Together
29
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Putting the Pieces Together
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)
Putting the Pieces Together
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.
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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.
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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.
Putting the Pieces Together
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
Appendix D: Burnaby Community Profile
Appendix E: Gaps and Issues Chart
Putting the Pieces Together
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
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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
Putting the Pieces Together
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
Putting the Pieces Together
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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)
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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)
√
Putting the Pieces Together
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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
√ √
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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).
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Appendix D: Burnaby Community Profile
Putting the Pieces Together
47
Appendix E: Gaps and Issues Chart
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
√ √ √ √
Putting the Pieces Together
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
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