A new literacy program aimed at helping Hispanic and other immigrant families improve their skills is up and running at three Louisville elementary schools. The schools are sharing a $600,000 grant from Toyota to establish the national initiative, which allows students in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs study with their parents.The effort is coordinated by the National Center For Family Literacy, founded by Sharon Darling."Here in Jefferson County, only 43 percent of ESL students are proficient in reading, compared to 72 percent of white, non-Hispanic students. And we know from the 30 cities where we're implementing this program, that we can change this dire statistic," she said.The program is being launched at Klondike, Rangeland and Slaughter Elementary schools in Louisville, which have an average Hispanic enrollment of 22 percent.(Photo courtesy of Toyota)
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
