Miami, Oct. 19, 2022 – Miami Dade College (MDC) celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Pages for All Ages, a literacy program for migrant children recognized in 2015 as a Bright Spot in Hispanic Education under the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. The program was founded in 2012 by MDC Professor and Endowed Teaching Chair Yanely Webb and facilitated with MDC Professor Jairo Ledesma.
Pages for All Ages encourages MDC students to mentor children ages five to 13 from socially and economically disadvantaged areas in Miami-Dade County. The program has partnered with enFAMILIA, Redland Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) and M-DCPS Title I Program, organizations that provide educational programs to help improve and preserve family life for a large population of migrant farm workers and low-income families living in South Miami-Dade County. The next session begins January 2023.
Over the past 10 years, 500 MDC Homestead Campus students have served as mentors to children of migrant families in the Homestead and South Dade communities. Students meet with their mentees for eight weeks at various migrant camps in the area and collaborate on the creation of their own book. At the end of the program, the students participate in the Pages for All Ages New Authors Ceremony held at MDC Homestead Campus. The children attend with their parents and family members who proudly see them as new authors.
Pages for All Ages helps young children learn and improve literacy skills while exploring the possibility of pursuing higher education and strengthening family connections through social relationships. The program also raises the self-awareness and self-efficacy of the participating students who serve as mentors.
The program began with 11 MDC students and has grown to include more than 500 students and 425 mentees from the community for this enriching experience. MDC students have provided more than 3,500 hours of service while earning academic credit and content knowledge.
Pages for All Ages works with children of mostly Hispanic descent for whom English is not their first language. In order to bridge this gap, Pages for All Ages will be partnering with Cuatrogatos Foundation, a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide children access to quality books and literacy in Spanish. Together, the organizations will teach the mentors and mentees how to develop a story and write it in both Spanish and English. As part of this process, parents will be invited for one session to be a part of their child’s book, which promotes a love of literacy, reading and strengthens the parent and child bond.
For more info, contact Yanely Webb, ywebb@mdc.edu, 305-237-5127; or Jairo Ledesma, jledesma@mdc.edu, 305-237-5005