CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Families First has been nurturing bilingual kids for more than ten years.
Aurora Swain, founder and the 2017 National Parent Educator of the Year says Families First offers at-risk children and families around Cabarrus County and Greater Charlotte individualized lessons for kids ahead of Kindergarten both in-class and at home.
“We have two locations for bilingual pre-schools and we also have a program called PC+," Swain said. “We go to their homes and we teach them basic parenting skills, from kids 18 months to three years old, and then they go to pre-schools so it's kind of like a system where they are always under our wing so they can be successful when they grow up," Swain said.
Swain said a 2021 grant from the city of Kannapolis has been allowing them to reach more Hispanic families and help bridge a language gap.
The organization also helps Hispanic moms struggling to read and write in Spanish and English.
“So we were able to help some of the families learn how to write how to write in Spanish, we had a lot of families never finish high school so we prepare them for the GED.”
Families First has many tools under its belt to help bilingual students and families.
From providing at-home libraries for kids to be able to learn two languages to helping more Hispanic moms become citizens, the organization is on a mission to impact its community.
To learn more about families first and or donate to the organization so more kids can have access to its resources visit https://familiesfirstcc.org/.
Contact Ruby Durham at rdurham@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.