ORLANDO, FL. - March 1, 2009 - Miami educator Maria Pinon received the national 2009 Toyota Family Literacy Teacher of the Year award today at the National Conference on Family Literacy in Orlando.

As part of the award given by Toyota and the National Center for Family Literacy, Pinon's All-Aboard Family Literacy Program will receive $7,500. Piñón was also featured on an electronic billboard in Times Square earlier this month. (A photo is attached.)

"The parent is the child's first teacher, and the home is the child's first school," Pinon said. "We can spend any amount of money on remediation for children, but we must realize that what children need is prevention. That means working with them at the earliest ages and including their parents."

"Maria is proof of how the passion of one person can lead to the success of so many families," said Sharon Darling, NCFL president and founder.

The All-Aboard Family Literacy Program is a comprehensive parenting skills and literacy program for families with children up to age 7 in the Riverside Elementary School area. The program provides parents with the academic foundation that will lead to self-sufficiency and ensure that their young children acquire the skills needed at their grade level.
Piñón started the program in 2004 with no computers and no phone, except for her cell phone. Within two years, demand was so high that All-Aboard no longer needed to recruit families, and it now has a waiting list of more than 135 families.

She attributes the success to the fact that the program has created a cohesive atmosphere where families feel at home "“ something that often is lacking for immigrants who feel isolated. Pinon also is not afraid to ask the community to be a part of the solution.

The program has built partnerships with more than 10 area organizations, including the public school system, the Miami Children’s Museum, the Connect Familias/Little Havana Community Partnership, an international law firm, the public library, the Junior League and a local university. These partnerships have resulted in free afterschool care and tutoring; materials; museum trips; a lending library and "Family Night," which includes a free meal, story hour, arts and crafts, and books.

Co-workers point to Pinon's passion as one of the reasons for its success. She herself was an immigrant "“ coming from Cuba just before she turned 12 years old. Pinon remembers what her father said to her when they made the journey in 1960 when she told him that they had lost everything.

"You have lost nothing; I have lost nothing," he told her. "We still have our family "“ even if they are now in our hearts rather than here with us. And you still have your education. No one can take that away from you."

At the time, she just had a sixth-grade education, which was the same amount of education her father received. Today, Pinon has a master's degree and works hard to inspire others with that same message.

After Hurricane Wilma, most of Miami was without electricity for over three weeks, and many of the neighborhood families had barricaded themselves in their homes. Pinon took this frightening disaster and turned it into a positive adventure for the families. She conducted a home visit to each to the families, gave them ideas and materials to make this experience a learning and less frightful opportunity for the children.

Here are just some of the results Pinon has helped the program's participants achieve:

All of the parents have increased levels in their English reading proficiency.

Four parents in the program have received GED certificates. Ten of the parents have received the 40-hour certificate required for child care certification and four completed certification as child development associates.

Parents in the program have attained employment with national banks and retailers, nonprofit agencies, child care centers and government service agencies.

All of the school age children were promoted to the next grade level.
All of the third grade students passed the Florida Comprehensive Assessment

Test with the exception of an Exceptional Student Education student.
Test scores showed all of the first grade students reading at grade level.

80 percent of the school age children and the children attending child-care center had perfect or excellent attendance.

Program participants created Riverside Elementary School's PTA, and all the PTA officers for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years were participants of the program. The school had not had a formal PTA until these parents started participating.

Four of the parents have been trained by the ConnectFamilias/Little Havana Community Partnership (to which All-Aboard belongs) as Community Outreach Workers.

The All-Aboard Family Literacy Program is part of The Institute for Child and Family Health Inc., and receives most of its funding from The Children's Trust.

This is the 13th year for the Toyota Family Literacy Teacher of the Year award. Toyota and NCFL also recognized the Teacher of the Year runners-up, who received scholarships to the NCFL conference and a $500 grant for travel expenses:

Susan Seay with the Toyota Family Literacy Program in Shelby County, Ala.;

Arturo Muro with AVANCE in El Paso, Texas; and

Karen Hertzler with the Even Start Multicultural Family Literacy Program in"¨ Washington, D.C.

National Center for Family Literacy

National Center for Family Literacy

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is the worldwide leader in family literacy, an intergenerational approach to help families escape poverty through education. More than 1 million families have made positive educational and economic gains as a result of NCFL’s work, which includes training more than 150,000 teachers and thousands of volunteers. Educators, policymakers and philanthropists rely on NCFL to mobilize family literacy efforts, conduct research and develop new, effective tools to leverage the learning relationship between parents and children. Family literacy, pioneered by NCFL, is a powerful community strategy for raising educational levels, improving workforce skills and breaking the cycle of poverty.

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