The Effect of the Parenting Circles Program on Home Language Retention and Parental Engagement: The Case of a Spanish-Speaking Parent Group in Toronto

The  Spanish-speaking  community  has  recently  been  getting  much  attention  in  Canada  due  to  the  prevalent  low  academic  achievement  of  children  of  Latin  American  immigrants.  The  focus  of  this  study  is  on  empowering  Latin  American  parents  to  become  active  participants  in  their  children’s  education  and  take  control  of  their  children’s’  educational  path.  This  study  documents  a  Spanish-speaking parent group that combined the “empowerment” approach to family literacy, drawing from elements  of  the  Early  Authors  Program  and  the  creation  of  a  support  network,  which  was  named  “Parenting  Circles”.The  study  found  that  theParenting  Circles  Program  is  a  useful  tool  inhelping   Spanish-speaking   parents   maintain   their   home   language,   and   in   promoting   overallengagement in their children’s academic development.