In the age of technology, it is hard to believe that literacy is something that still needs to be advocated. It seems like an issue that is a distant issue that history solved. However, language literacy is something that is still a big issue in today’s society, even in Bainbridge.

There is now a group of people committed to fighting for education, and fighting for language literacy. CAFE, or Circles of Adults Focused on Education, is a group of adults around Bainbridge that is focused on early educational development and improving the graduation rate.

“We really want to do work outside of what we already do in the school system,” said Catherine Gossett, a member of CAFE. “We’re focusing on improving grad rate and we’re also trying to reach out to families with children under the age of six.”

The reason Gossett and CAFE want to focus on children under six years old is because that’s where they feel the greatest good can be done. If they can get parents to better understand the importance of language development prior to starting school, the children will be in a better position to learn and be more successful, according to Gossett.

The group, which is in its second year, is planning on having more of an impact this year. They plan on having a training workshop with many of the daycare providers within the community this month to work on ways to improve their centers. The groups of children Gossett hopes to impact are the ones whose homes are disadvantaged financially.

“We have daycares in our community who keep kids from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. because families work multiple jobs,” said Gossett. “So we’re training them, that’s one of the things we’re doing.”

Although the group is planning on making an impact, it is hard to measure the success of their tactics. While they may start this project with kids before they begin school, they can’t measure the levels the students are performing at until later in their schooling.

CAFE has also started providing early learning workshops at the elementary schools that work with students while parents are in the room, according to Gossett.

If you wish to get involved with CAFE, the group’s next workshop is at Jones-Wheat Elementary School on Feb. 13 at 5:40 p.m.