Abstract
Elementary schools (grades K–3) continue to follow family literacy models that position parents through the lens of a deficit model. This article presents the author's research study for implementing a series of parent workshops that follow an asset-based lens. FLAIR––Family Literacy with Adult Interactive Roles––is introduced as a promising theoretical framework for program design that positions parents as active participants while integrating each family's home literacy environment (HLE), structure, language, and culture. This article shares simple action steps for implementing FLAIR using mentor texts as a model for parents to create personalized storybooks that honor their family's funds of knowledge. Next, the article shares setting-based actions for parent-child interactive reading as physical and language-based moves that promote literacy-rich experiences in the HLE. Finally, the article provides recommendations for educators (grades K–5) interested in enacting change in their approach to family literacy in their educational settings. Parent Workshops with FLAIR: A Framework for Reconceptualizing the Home Literacy Environment I hosted a parent workshop each year that resulted in a large turnout where parents learned strategies for improving their children's reading fluency at home. Each parent received three new books and a colorful bookmark listing the fluency strategies for at-home application. Parents left the workshop excited to try the strategies with their children. However, because I failed to include responsive and ongoing methods for tracking evidence of parent learning: I was left wondering if parents transferred the use of the fluency strategies at home with their children. Whether a parent workshop setting is urban, suburban, or rural, this lack of evidence of parent learning is an all too familiar outcome of parent workshop learning. My past experiences with parent literacy workshops ended with parents who were appreciative of my effort and time, but the workshops were mostly one-directional, with no systematic way to receive and incorporate feedback from the participants themselves.