Articles

Decades of research and practice show that when parents engage with their children’s learning, outcomes improve and schools perform better, irrespective of family income or student background. When bridges are built between families and schools, parents and teachers learn more about one another’s strengths, experiences and expectations for children and young people. Community organisations can play a pivotal role in facilitating the development of these bridges. 100 Story Building is one such organisation. It provides a range of literacy programs, within schools and at the organisation’s recently opened centre for young writers, located in Footscray, in Melbourne's west. Individual programs vary according to the age or cultural backgrounds of the children they target, or the specific literacies they are enhancing; however, all programs aim to increase engagement in learning and love of literacy. The programs provide an opportunity for children and young people to develop the creative voices they already possess, and to tell their stories in diverse ways, for example by creating short stories, comic zines, narrative films, radio plays, literary magazines and DIY worlds.