Programs & Services:

Chicago Reading Framework Project

Family Start Learning Centers

Chicago Center for Early Education

Project FLAME

Parental News: Stepping Into The Future

Americorps Program

Project SOAR

Readable Documents

Family Start Learning Centers (FAST)
(Fast Webpage)

Mission 

• To provide family literacy training for parents to support their children's literacy development

• To provide training that will develop parent skills to prepare for employment or enrollment in post-secondary education/training to support them toward their goal of economic self-sufficiency such as GED, computer literacy, and work experience

• Inform the Head Start Child Care City Wide Parent Policy Council of FAST Services; get Council feedback on FAST services and products

• Provide support services and trainings to the Head Start Child Care City Wide Parent Policy Council to foster family literacy awareness and the role as parent and their child's first and most influential teacher

Why FAST? 

The federal definition of family indicates that a comprehensive family literacy program includes:

• Interactive literacy activities between parents and their children

• Training for parents regarding how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children

• Parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency

• An age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences

The University of Illinois and the Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services Division developed FAST Services which assist families enrolled in age-appropriate early education through Head Start.  Parents receive family literacy, basics and work experience instruction and training. 

Head Start's long tradition of encouraging parental involvement has been validated by research that indicates families derive a substantially greater benefit from participation in a family literacy program as compared to programs that focus primarily on either adults or children.  Typically, families stay involved longer in family literacy than in traditional adult-focused programs resulting in increased literacy skills and confidence in parenting; homes with more literacy materials and more frequent parent-child literacy activity; and children who are better prepared to succeed in kindergarten and beyond (National Center for Family Literacy, 1996; Philliber, Spillman, & King, 1996). 

Partners

• City of Chicago Children and Youth Services Division

• Citywide Head Start and Child Care Parent Policy Council

• Chicago area Head Start and Child Care Delegate Agencies

• Corporation for National and Community Service

• Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service

• Illinois Department of Human Services

• Chicago Housing Authority Transition Project

• Literacy Volunteers of Illinois, First Book and other literacy resource agencies

Service history and outcomes

• FAST has served more than 3,000 Head Start and Child Care parents since 1996

• 150 parents have enrolled in National Service through FAST

• Parents who complete 50 hours of instruction increase literacy and language skills

• More than 1,000 parents receive FLAME family literacy lessons annually (FLAME is a nationally recognized research-based family literacy curriculum); surveys indicate that parents increase their understanding of how to foster a child's literacy development

• FAST services are provided at more than 45 locations citywide

• FAST has distributed approximately 30,000 quality children's books annually to Head Starts, Child Care sites, parents, home and private providers

• FAST supports special family and early literacy projects of the City of Chicago as well as community-based agencies citywide; projects include Heads-up Reading, STEP, Chicago as a Classroom, Virtual Pre-K and others

How parents find out about FAST

• On-site Outreach Presentations at Head Start and Child Care Sites

• Parental News Head Start Parent Newsletter

• Phone/Fax Campaigns

• Recommendation and referral by former students and National Service Members

    Publications:

Guide Oct 25 2005

• Parent Assessment and Case Management   

• GED Test Preparation and tutoring         

• English as a Second Language for Parents    

• Computer Literacy Workshops   

• Career Portfolio Development             

• National Service Screening and Enrollment 

• National Service Program Management         

• Special Projects and Topic Workshops

Family Start Learning Centers (FAST) Locations

FAST West

Garfield Human Service Center

10 S. Kedzie

Chicago, IL 60623

312-746-5416

FAST South

Martin Luther King Community Center

4314 S. Cottage Grove

Chicago, IL 60653

312-747-2354

FAST ESL for Parents

Humboldt Park Vocational Center

1645 N. California

Chicago, IL 60617

773-489-8944

FAST ESL for Parents

Westside Technical Institute

2800 S. Western Ave

Chicago, IL 60608

773-843-4597

FAST Coordinating Office

University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Literacy

1640 West Roosevelt, Room 646, M/C 148

Chicago, IL 60608

Phone: 312-355-4227

Fax: 312-996-9102