Gary Community School Corporation Strengthens Family Literacy Through Two-Day Family Engagement Training 

The Gary Community School Corporation (GCSC) hosted a two-day Family Engagement Training earlier this month focused on strengthening the foundational partnerships that support family literacy across the district. The training, guided by the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), marked a major step forward in aligning child education with parent literacy, adult literacy, and PACT (Parent and Child Time Together) strategies.

NCFL was engaged through the district’s School Improvement Grant (SIG) efforts to help build a comprehensive, sustainable family literacy framework that supports the entire family unit — not just the student in the classroom. Over the course of two days, school leaders, internal departments, and community partners worked collaboratively to explore how literacy can be reinforced at school, at home, and throughout the community.

Day One brought together a diverse group of community organizations and district teams to examine how existing programs can be aligned and expanded to better serve families. Partners included Center for Workforce Innovations (CWI), The Excel Center, InSource, Khan Academy, Wit & Wisdom, We Are the Village, Chase Bank, For the Love of Arts, and GCSC’s internal teams in Academics, Family and Community Engagement, and school leadership. Together, participants identified opportunities to connect services, reduce barriers, and create a more seamless literacy ecosystem.

“This training reminded us that literacy is a shared responsibility,” said Alyssa Davila, Family and Community Engagement Specialist for the Gary Community School Corporation. “When schools, families, and community partners are aligned, we create a village that allows every child — and every family — to grow.”

Day Two focused on deepening understanding of the NCFL family literacy model and planning how these strategies will be implemented across schools. Participants explored how parent education, adult literacy, and PACT activities can be woven together to strengthen academic outcomes and family stability.

Beginning this spring, GCSC will roll out a robust, district-wide family engagement initiative rooted in the NCFL framework. The initiative will elevate families as partners in learning, strengthen literacy development at every level, and provide families with tools to support student success both in and beyond the classroom.

This training reflects GCSC’s continued commitment to building meaningful partnerships, investing in families, and ensuring that literacy remains a cornerstone of student achievement and community growth.

For more information on this and other family initiatives, please visit the website at garyschools.org.