University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 28, April 24


               Family-centered program assists community
     
     Thanks to an innovative, new program, residents of
Brookmont Farms off Route 40, are getting a helping hand and
a variety of educational opportunities, according to Stuart
Sharkey, director of the UD Center for School Services.
     Through the center's Adults and Families Learning
Together (AFLT) program, adults are learning to read or work
toward their GEDs, and children are getting educational
toys, games and books for their homes. Courses on parenting
are being offered. Liaisons between parents and schools are
being established.
     According to Sharkey, AFLT is a magnet program that
attracts, coordinates and works with other area agencies to
improve the quality of life in Brookmont Farms.
     AFLT got its start when Page Bristow, who was on the
professional staff of the College of Education but has since
moved to the West Coast, began a program to help
disadvantaged families in the area.
     Her initial program was informally a part of the Center
for School Services, but now it has become a non-profit
organization based in the center, supported by several
grants and directed by Sharkey.
     Support totals $149,413, including grants of $68,000
from the Delaware Department of Instruction, $44,657 from
the Appoquinimink School District, $15,000 from Christina
School District and $21,756 from the New Castle County
Partnership.
     Brookmont Farms, Sharkey pointed out, is a community of
approximately 2,120 people in 544 townhouses built in the
1970s. Envisioned as a housing development for modest-income
home buyers, the neighborhood encountered several problems
and deteriorated. Efforts, such as AFLT, however, are being
made to reverse that, Sharkey said.
     Brookmont Farms has a diverse population: 75 percent of
the population is under 35 years old, 35 percent of
household heads have less than a high school diploma and
students from the district have more than double the dropout
rate and a 50 percent higher participation in special
education services, compared to Christina School District
averages. "Because there are multiple problems that are
interrelated, AFLT has taken a multilpronged approach to
helping residents improve the quality of life within the
community, and it works cooperatively with other state
agencies," Sharkey said.
     One of AFLT's major projects is a new community center
in Brookmont Farms, being built thanks to the cooperation
and goodwill of several individuals and organizations. AFLT
was deeded land by the neighborhood and received grants from
the Delaware Community Foundation and the state's Community
Redevelopment Fund for the new building. Jim Nelson, head of
The Architects Studio, volunteered to design the center,
which will be a series of modules that can be added to as
needed, and Hodgson Vo-Tech High School is building the
first module next year which will then be moved to the site,
Sharkey said.
     Jenny Stanberry, Delaware '94, '96M, is AFLT site
coordinator, working with two part-time adult education
teachers and a counselor whose area is support and life
skills. Stanberry wears several hats running the many facets
of the program- teaching, visiting homes, helping with
school problems and expanding the program into needed areas.
     "One of our goals is to increase community
participation and to get the word out that we are there to
help. We also want agencies in Delaware to know we are a
presence in the neighborhood, and we want to work
cooperatively with them. For example, the UDs Cooperative
Extension also has received a three-year grant to work in
Brookmont Farms, developing life skills, leadership skills
and teaching residents about preparing healthy foods and
nutrition," Stanberry said.
     Sharkey pointed out that the AFLT staff is innovative
and flexible in answering community needs. Truancy was a
problem until it was discovered that families lacked alarm
clocks. After these were distributed, the situation
improved, he said.
     As a liaison between the school and community,
Stanberry is called upon to do several tasks. It may be as
simple as getting a parent to sign a certain required form
or arranging, and being present, at an appointment between a
concerned parent and the school.
     She makes a lot of home visits as well, taking
educational materials from the Even Start program and
encouraging young parents to use them and interact with
their children.
     Parenting classes by Children and Families First are an
active part of the program, especially since the series of
eight classes is now required for those receiving government
assistance
     Since the program began under Bristow, 11 people have
received their GEDs and many more are enrolled in adult
literacy programs.
     "I admire the dedication of some of our students,"
Stanberry said. "We have a grandmother who attends classes
regularly and is beginning to work on the computer and to
read books for the first time in her life."
     When the new center is opened, Stanberry said she hopes
to set up a  day care center so that others in the
neighborhood can learn how to provide home day care for
children-a major need in the community.
     "Our attitude toward the community is one of
cooperation, working together to achieve mutual goals. And,
education at all levels-from infants to adults-is our top
priority," Stanberry said.
                                         -Sue Swyers Moncure