Some of CLiF’s most impactful programming occurs at our Family Literacy events, where parents and caregivers get to join in the fun alongside their children. Designed to promote positivity around reading and writing, these interactive gatherings typically include a storytelling session with a professional CLiF presenter, a community meal, and a book giveaway, where families select new titles to enjoy at home. Invariably, there are lots of smiles, as attendees of all ages bond over a shared enjoyment of stories.
For our school partners, these events help boost family engagement and build stronger community ties—two key factors linked to better student outcomes and overall academic success rates. Following the pandemic, CLiF saw demand for family events soar, as schools and other sites sought out ways to reunite their communities and bring people together once more. We continue to see strong interest in these events, as well as increased demand for additional family engagement strategies from our many partners.
At Vermont’s Salisbury Community School, providing family literacy opportunities was a primary goal for their CLiF Year of the Book program during the 2024-2025 academic year. School Librarian Megan Sutton noted that while some classrooms occasionally invited parents and caregivers to visit and observe student learning, school-wide opportunities for families to gather in a celebratory manner were scarce.
The school recently used CLiF funding to host a Family Literacy event with esteemed poet and presenter Ted Scheu, who guided participants through a creative evening of collaborative poetry writing. Willing participants were then invited to join Ted at the mic to share their compositions.
Recalling the event, Ted said the evening felt both meaningful and inspiring.
“As if watching children and their caregivers fully engaged in writing a short list poem of important family memories wasn’t fun enough, when the kids bravely came up to the microphone to share their poems with us it was totally tingling,” he said.
“I think many families went home that night excited to continue the process of recalling important times together. It was an evening that celebrated families and literacy in a comfortable, community way.”
In February, Vermont’s Charleston Elementary School (another 2024-2025 Year of the Book school) used CLiF funds to support a six-day residency with author Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, who has published over 20 children’s books based on her true family stories. During her time at the school, Natalie led the students through the Storykeepers curriculum she created to help children research and discover their own family stories.
The workshop concluded with a Family Literacy dinner event, where students shared the stories their research uncovered with a receptive audience of parents and caregivers.
“Have you ever read an amazing book and wished you could forget what happened and read it all over again? Well, that’s how we feel about Storykeepers,” Charleston Library Media Specialist Teresa Bolton told CLiF. “It was truly a pleasure to have Natalie with us.
“Any opportunity we have to open our doors to others strengthens our school and greater community.”
Family Literacy events are a vital and rewarding part of CLiF’s programming, and we are committed to expanding these opportunities for families to come together and share the joy of books and storytelling.
