Palm River

Program offers help in raising grandchild

The county now offers classes and other support to help grandparents who are the primary parents to raise better students.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 31, 2003

PALM RIVER -- Barbara Feliciano has become somewhat of an expert in things she never thought she'd need to know.

For the last five years, she has raised her granddaughter, now 6.

Feliciano has learned about the state's health care programs for children, and about temporary financial help available to low-income grandparents raising grandchildren. She knows about the Head Start program, and that she doesn't qualify for it because she is retired.

Yet she still spends hours in agency waiting rooms, looking for someone who can answer her questions about how best to raise Michelle, a kindergartener at Palm River Elementary.

A new program based at the school is trying to make life easier for area grandparents like Feliciano and other older relatives raising youngsters.

With a two-year, $75,000 grant from the Florida Department of Education, the Hillsborough County School District's adult and community education department is offering weekly classes that cover myriad topics -- from navigating the courts' juvenile custody system, to finding afterschool care on a retiree's limited budget.

The Senior Learners Program, started a few weeks ago, also offers evening English, GED and technology classes. English and GED classes are Mondays and Tuesdays from 5 to 8 p.m.; the parenting classes are 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays.

"The idea is to help grandparents, so that they can help their children be better students," said Tonia Torres, coordinator of Senior Learners.

Palm River went from being an D-rated school in 1999-2000, to getting an A grade from the Florida Department of Education, based on students' performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

But last year, the school's grade dropped back down to a C, after fewer than half of the school's students scored a 3 or higher on the reading and math portions of the test, which is graded on a 6-point scale.

Parental and guardian involvement is a focus of the school's improvement plan, which cites GED, computer, parenting and literacy classes as ways in which school leaders will raise students' academic performance.

"Being in a classroom myself, I see the need for a class like this," said Seffner Elementary teacher Janice Fleming, who leads the parenting class. "It's wonderful that somebody finally recognized how many grandparents need this help."

According to the University of South Florida's Kinship Support Center, a grandparents' support group, approximately 3.5-million children in the United States live with a grandparent or other relative. Of those children, more than 230,000 live in Florida.

Tammy Crawford Morse, regional administrator for adult and community education, said 15 grandparents are enrolled in the English class, and 10 in the GED class. Four sets of grandparents have attended the parenting classes since they began earlier this month.

Palm River is hosting a similar program for parents called Family Literacy.

Tuesday evening, Fleming spent about an hour reviewing the local and state agencies that can help older caregivers with food, medical and child care costs. She also explained the various types of custody and guardianship granted by the courts.

Future classes will cover child behavior and discipline concerns, and how grandparents can develop relationships with their grandchildren.

"I'll be there," Feliciano promised. "I'm trying to learn how to help my child. All you need is one good resource, and it leads to others. But finding that first one can be so hard."

For information about Senior Learners or the Family Literacy program, call Tonia Torres at 744-8066.