Welcome to Our Learning Neighborhood: Reflecting on four years of multigenerational family experiences with Even Start Beloit
January 30, 2025 Leave a Comment
PBS Wisconsin Education and Even Start Family Literacy in Beloit have partnered to empower parents and caregivers as their child’s first and most important teacher for more than four years. Even Start has implemented 17 high-quality PBS KIDS programs with several more in the works for this year. Beloit was chosen as our Learning Neighborhood for the 2020-2025 Ready to Learn grant cycle, dedicated to educational engagement strategies that bring together public media with local organizations and people who work with young children. Major goals for this work are to advance early childhood education and improve school readiness in collaboration with local partners like Even Start.
PBS Wisconsin Education staff got together with Cindy Laube, coordinator of Even Start Family Literacy, to reminisce about this long-standing partnership and the incredible work Even Start does with their families.
PBS Wisconsin Education: Tell us a bit about your role with Even Start and the kinds of family engagement you do.
Cindy Laube: I’ve been with Even Start since 1994-95. I started as a teacher in regular kindergarten … I stayed and did preschool, and then I also became the coordinator of that program as well. I do love the whole concept of family literacy. We do family time every day. The children go to their classrooms, the adults go to their classrooms. The adults are taught by Blackhawk Technical College instructors and are actually enrolled through Blackhawk Tech, and the children are then in their own classroom with the School District of Beloit staff. We do family engagement every single day where we encourage reading, games, arts and crafts to reinforce the fact that the parents are the child’s first and best teacher. And, we try to do activities to go home that they can replicate.
PBS Wisconsin Education: You have been a Ready to Learn Learning Neighborhood partner with PBS Wisconsin Education for four years! How have the materials, training or support from PBS influenced or impacted the engagement you see with families?
Laube: The support we’ve gotten from Mouna and Jennica [PBS Wisconsin Education team members] has been absolutely outstanding. As far as parents — don’t worry, I talked to Cheryl [Even Start toddler teacher] this morning! We feel that through the PBS program, the parents have been able to engage more with staff, their children and with the other parents. Parents also focus more on their children when we’re doing PBS activities. In the beginning, when cell phones came out, we had such a time. They don’t even get them out now. The activities are very good and exciting, so the parents don’t want to be on their phone.
I would say through PBS KIDS, we also do more use of PBS videos in our regular school, and the book list we get for the PBS activities we incorporate into daily activities.
Mouna Algahaithi (PBS Wisconsin Engagement Specialist): I think it’s really symbolic that Cindy started out that response by saying that she talked to Cheryl – another facilitator. It just shows Cindy’s collaborative nature, and I think that is at the heart of the success of our work together. Cindy is so natural at bringing people together, at unifying skills, at delegating tasks and she has such a good pulse of what the needs are. I’ll never forget teaming up for the first family workshop series together, and I asked her team what time and day they thought would be best. From the go, Cindy jumped on board for one of the whole eight-month-long series. She surveyed parents on what time and day worked best for them, and it was the most natural response. I think that comes from your decades of experience working with families and working in Beloit, you have such a deep sense of knowing, which is what makes these programs so impactful.
PBS Wisconsin Education: You recently hosted a PBS KIDS Family Game Night. How do you plan for an event like this, and how do Even Start and community members support an experience like this?
Laube: We had several discussions with Mouna and Jennica because we were a little confused with how to make the game, play the game and all. Considering our whole family comes – we have some families with babies and toddlers and some with high school kids, so the PBS staff decided how we’re going to make the games ahead of time. Mouna and Jennica had game board and cards all ready to go. When parents walked in, we showed the video and they sat down and started playing the game. I thought it went well having it already made.
Algahaithi: They took into consideration that families came in all sizes. That would have been a difficult activity to do if you have four kids ranging from infant to early elementary schooler to keep their attention, to be able to work together. I think Cindy and her team’s preparation made the process a lot smoother, and it created a really playful and fun environment to walk into. They had the episode of Lyla in the Loop pre-loaded so that when families came in, they could gather together in the circle and start watching the episode, where Lyla’s family was also playing a game! Even just the design of the physical space – dividing it up into three classrooms and having families go into different spaces so you avoid the overstimulation that can come when you have 10-15 families in one space – was beneficial.
Laube: We had a very nice collab with Community Action because they were also there doing cookies and cocoa with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, so by having the game ready to go, it was nice to have families in the gym.
PBS Wisconsin Education: What are some highlights you have as a Learning Neighborhood partner? What value does being a part of the Learning Neighborhood bring to Even Start?
Laube: There has been such wonderful networking with all of the agencies that are all involved. By knowing and networking with the other agencies, we can take their activities, put them in our newsletter and encourage our families to go, which gives them more opportunities to become ingrained in the community.
Algahaithi: I just love the inclusivity of it all and the way that Even Start is such a shining example of multigenerational learning spaces, and I think it’s incredible the way that Cindy continues to invite even previous participants like by offering up catering from them. It’s such a strong way to be community-focused, family-focused – that shows utmost respect and appreciation for families we’re inviting into those spaces.
PBS Wisconsin Education: You’ve implemented so many different PBS programs. Which have been a family favorite and why – what makes it special or stand out?
Laube: The Learn and Grow series, and I think the biggest reason for that is the parents love the parent’s time. A lot of times they would go a little longer than they were supposed to go, but they had all of their questions answered without their children around. They liked the fact that their kids were doing activities with some of the other kids.
PBS Wisconsin Education: We’ve got PBS superfan families at Even Start (and we love them!). Why do you think families keep coming back (and bringing more family members) to participate in these programs?
Laube: A lot of it is the relationship-building we’ve done. They know we love them, they know we care about them, we are always going to do the best we can do with them. They know we’re here – we would never betray confidence. They also like the fact they can come, we have everything explained in English and Spanish – there’s no criticism – it’s a wonderful, fun night for the whole family.
Algahaithi: I agree wholeheartedly. It’s the love Cindy and her team have for the families. It’s the relationships that they’ve built. It’s evident when you walk in the door – there is so much care and admiration in the way that these families are welcomed in: their names are known, the siblings, everyone in the family, they’re welcomed in English, they’re welcomed in Spanish. It feels like a large family gathering. That kind of culture is a product of love and care that Cindy and her team have put in – that’s not anything we can take credit for.
Laube: It’s been a wonderful ride. And, now there’s a super good friendship with Mouna and Jennica.
Algahaithi: The feeling is so mutual.