A new chapter: Cuyahoga Falls Library expands services for immigrant, refugee families

The Children's Department of the Cuyahoga Falls Library is expanding its ability to serve English learners from immigrant and refugee families and kids with sensory needs.

The Cuyahoga Falls Library is one of 36 organizations receiving a total of $61,000 in grants this year through the Millennium Fund for Children, a partnership of the Akron Beacon Journal and the Akron Community Foundation. Since the Millennium Fund launched in 1999, it has distributed more than $1 million in grants to local groups that benefit children in the region.

The library will use the $1,250 grant money to purchase materials such as magnetic letter boards, interactive puzzles, low-vision books, coding robots, weighted stuffed animals and story time kits designed for English language learners.

"These funds will support several current initiatives we’re working on to help make our library a more inclusive place for our international newcomer population, as well as our young patrons with diverse sensory and learning needs," said Danielle Welling-Harris, the marketing and public relations manager for the library.

The Cuyahoga Falls Library anticipates spending just under $2,500 for these resources. Expenses not covered by the grant will be paid for through the library's general fund.

The services are expected to help more than 100 children per year.

"Through community surveys and focus groups of our local patrons and leaders, the Cuyahoga Falls Library developed a strategic plan that values providing free and equitable opportunities and resources for everyone in our community," Welling-Harris said. "These values are reflected in how we allocate our funds. We plan to have funds set aside for these initiatives to help eliminate barriers for ELL students and students with diverse sensory and learning needs."

'A fun way to learn'

Some books lend themselves well to those whose families may not speak English as a first language, Welling-Harris said.

"While all children are learning important early literacy skills during story time, English-learner families are also gaining exposure to a language with which they may not be completely fluent," she said. "We like to highlight books like Eric Carle’s 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?' that support color recognition and introduce new vocabulary. The repetition of the text encourages adults and children to read along, and the bright, engaging pictures are a fun way to learn new colors."

To help children with sensory needs feel more comfortable during library programs, adaptive seating options are available, Welling-Harris said.

"Children with sensory needs may benefit from experiencing storytelling in different ways," she said. "For example, we might again read Carle’s 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?' but then reinforce engagement with the story by retelling it with flannel pieces that look like the animals in the book. The flannel pieces give children something tangible to hold. This helps children understand that the pictures in a book represent real-life objects."

Sensory kits, created with guidance from Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board (Summit DD), have already been purchased, Welling-Harris said. These kits include items such as noise-canceling headphones and fidget toys to help patrons with sensory needs feel more comfortable at the library.

"We also have started our Community Languages Collection and plan to add to this collection using the grant," she said. "The Community Languages Collection includes books in seven of Cuyahoga Falls’ most spoken languages, including Nepali, Burmese, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Pashto and Sanskrit."

After-school programs provide services to refugee and immigrant students

The library also is partnering with Asian Services in Action Inc. (ASIA) to offer after-school English Language Learner programs, and with Project Learn of Summit County to offer story time programming for children who are learning English.

Emily Grad, the children, youth and family program specialist with ASIA Inc., said about 25 students from refugee and immigrant families are participating in the after-school program at Price Elementary School.

"The students have enjoyed listening to Librarian Patty read them a themed story and then getting to do a supplemental craft," Grad said. "During the spring semester, we hope to take a field trip to the library."

Staff at the library also is working with Summit DD to research which items and programs would be most beneficial for patrons with developmental disabilities.

"We are very grateful that the Millennium Fund is available to help us accomplish our mission," Welling-Harris said. "We aspire to provide free and equitable services and resources for everyone in the community."

Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cuyahoga Falls Library expands services for English learners