News Release
April 26, 2006
Media Advisory: Toyota Family Literacy Program News Conference Friday, April 28
WHAT: Toyota, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Denver Public Schools and the National Center for Family Literacy to announce details of a unique program aimed at boosting the literacy skills of Hispanic and other immigrant children and their parents. Called the Toyota Family Literacy Program, one of its key components is that parents and their children attend the same school, sometimes spending time in the classroom together. The program has a dual mission: to ensure that both parent and child succeed in the classroom, as well as improve the overall quality of the parent-child relationship.
WHEN: Friday, April 28 at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Valdez Elementary School, 2525 W. 29th Street
WHAT: Current program participants will be available for interviews, including both parent and child, in the classroom setting.
BACK-GROUND: The Toyota Family Literacy Program is the first of its kind to focus on the needs of Hispanic and other immigrant families with low English and literacy skills on a national level. TFLP is aimed at U.S. cities with high, or fast-growing, Hispanic populations. Denver is one of five cities to receive funding for the expansion of the program by way of a nearly $3 million Toyota grant. The other communities are Detroit, Chelsea (Boston), Mass., Shelby County (Birmingham) Ala., and Santa Paula, Calif.
GUESTS: Sharon Darling, president/founder, National Center for Family Literacy; Patricia Pineda, group vice president, Toyota Motor North America; Dr. Stephen Jordan, president, Metropolitan State College of Denver; Michael Bennet, superintendent, Denver Public Schools; Diana DeGette, U.S. Representative; Frances Owens, First Lady of Colorado; Federico Peņa, former Mayor of Denver and Clinton Cabinet member; Carmen Gurrola, Toyota Family Literacy Program participant.
For more information, contact the DPS Office of Communications, 720-423-3414 or Andy Eggers, Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations, 502-649-6558 or 502-584-0371.