Homework Relief Boot Camp at Emmaus House

This summer, parents of students in our summer Freedom Schools® program identified their need for increased ability to help children with homework. To this end, in partnership with Literacy Action, Inc., Emmaus House has launched a new program called Homework Relief Boot Camp for Parents. The overall goal of the program is to increase the literacy skills of both children and parents so that they can achieve greater success in school and in the workplace.

Emmaus House is located in Peoplestown, a neighborhood challenged by low educational outcomes. For instance, 33% of residents do not have a high school diploma. Only 65.9% of third graders at D. H. Stanton Elementary School in Peoplestown read at or above grade level, down from 85% in 2009.

Each week in Homework Relief Boot Camp, parents will access the elementary school parent portal on computers to determine assigned homework and upcoming tests. They will also spend time at the end of each session reading with their children. As they support their children, parents will learn about and use tools to increase their own literacy skills in a setting free from the stigma often associated with literacy challenges.

This two-generation approach will help families break the cycle of poverty by addressing literacy barriers that affect both children’s success in school and parents’ economic opportunity. According to Literacy Action, research shows that regardless of family income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, graduate, and go on to postsecondary education.

Homework Relief Boot Camp meets at Emmaus House for eight weeks on Thursdays, beginning this week. Volunteers from the Cathedral of St. Philip will provide supper for children and adults prior to each session. While parents attend the Homework Relief Boot Camp program, their children will read or work on homework with volunteers from The Road Episcopal Service Corp.

If you would like to purchase a children’s book for the Homework Relief Boot Camp, please go to the Emmaus House Books wish list on Amazon.com. For more information about Homework Relief Boot Camp contact Ann Fowler, director of education services at Emmaus House, at 404-808-1864 or annfowler@emmaushouse.org.

We are very grateful to the SMP Community Fund for their financial support of this new initiative.