The Family Literacy Program at Hope Street Family Center offers early childhood education, adult education, parent education, and parent-child interaction for children ages 0-7 and their parents. This story of Maribel and her daughter Ashley is just one of the many stories that happen here at Hope Street Family Center each and every day.

Maribel together with her 3 year old daughter Ashley are learning the importance of family literacy.  At the time Maribel learned of our program, she was working the evening shift at McDonald's.  It was there that she learned of Hope Street Family Center.  Forty of our families were participating in the Family Literacy Nights at McDonald's sponsored by the National Center for Family Literacy.  Maribel explains how sad it made her feel that her daughter wasn't having this experience with her, like the other parents and children there. "Seeing so many families participating together, focused on their child's school readiness skills, raised awareness for me about how much my daughter was lacking in educational experiences."  Now Maribel is learning English while her daughter is learning and gaining in her language skills. Her manager at McDonald's has been both supportive and flexible, allowing Maribel to work toward her personal and family literacy goals.