By Tom Hausman

For The Diamondback

More than 100 families from 17 Prince George’s County elementary schools came together Saturday at the University of Maryland to celebrate a year of workshops, collaboration and education.

The families were part of Partners in Print, a program that sends 30 university student mentors to set up workshops in local schools and libraries to boost reading skills and help parents become comfortable teaching their children to read.

“It is just a chance to come to campus, to experience it,” said graduate coordinator Nancy Canales. “That is the biggest thing, making this almost imaginative place of the ‘University of Maryland’ a little more concrete, real and attainable.”

The “Family Day” event, held in Stamp Student Union’s Colony Ballroom, sought to familiarize families with the university and make the concept of going to college more tangible. Canales, who is also a graduate student studying education, said many of the families live nearby but never visited campus.

Several of the families have immigrated from countries in Africa, Central America and South America, she said. Many of the families that get involved with Partners in Print are predominately Spanish-speaking as well, she said.

The program has 19 Spanish-speaking student mentors, who communicate in both Spanish and English, to help bridge the language barrier, Canales said.

Shannon Kirby, a junior cell biology and genetics major, has been a Spanish-speaking mentor with the program for three semesters.

Kirby goes to different elementary schools two or three times a week and runs the reading- and writing-based workshops. The most recent one, she said, focused on the writing process, starting at brainstorming and going all the way through to the editing process.

“[We] go through and explain techniques the parents can use to help their students,” she said. “Sometimes it is very hard for them, if they don’t know English … to help their kids through that process.”

Kirby said she has built relationships with some of the families, and many recognize her as they come back month-to-month to use the program. She said she finds it satisfying to watch the families learn together as she gets to know them.

“Seeing it in the kids, because you’re working there with the parents, they can pick up the information quickly,” she said.

Kirby added that the most rewarding part of being involved in the program comes “when you are sitting down with a parent and a kid, and you finally see that light bulb go off,” she said, especially if the students are struggling.

There were five stations set up on Saturday, including one for food, music, cultural games and reading, all focusing on different aspects of global cultures. The read-aloud station featured the book Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley, which discusses multicultural neighborhoods.

The fifth station was for the parents, which featured a forum with university students to discuss college. Parents asked questions about planning for their children’s future and how to afford college.

Ebony Knox-Clinton went to the event with her daughter, Aniyah Wendt, 6. She said she went to her first Partners in Print workshop two months ago, and the mentors came to Chillum Elementary school with advice for parents on homework.

“It was very helpful,” she said. “It was really interesting. They went over a few things that they are learning at her age, and tips and tricks to help them with their homework.”

Knox-Clinton said the “Family Day” event and workshops like these will keep her coming back.