Immigrant parents who join West Liberty Adult and Family Tutoring (WLAFT) improve their English literacy and learn more about their children’s school life. West Liberty is home to a large meat packing plant, which offered employment opportunities that attracted a large immigrant population, initially including many Mexicans, followed by Vietnamese and Laotians. As immigrants came to West Liberty for employment, Ganas, a community based group, came together to support them transition to their new home town. Ganas member discussions early on often focused on a perception that Mexican immigrant parents were not participating in school activities. Carolyn Colvin, a professor at University of Iowa, started WLAFT, as she and several others came to realize that Mexican parents attendance at school events often went unnoticed, due in part to language barriers. WLAFT intended to counter the myth of uncaring, uninvolved immigrant parents by supporting them in their efforts to learn English and gain their own voice. During twenty-plus years of tutoring by undergraduate and graduate University of Iowa students, WLAFT continues to evolve and innovate in order to make the program better serve participants. WLAFT seeks feedback from participants in order to help build a better curriculum, based on families’ needs. For example, WLAFT tutors initially downplayed formal grammar study, telling adult students that it was not important to learn grammar right away.  One participant said “teach grammar to me first and then I will decide whether it is important,” sparking a novel way to view curriculum development as a collaborative project. Colvin came to understand that the only way to effectively tutor someone was to ask them what they wanted to learn. Doing so builds a better bond between the volunteers and the participants, and helped create a program that is successful after two decades. Another example of collaboration explains WLAFT’s expansion into youth tutoring. In order to encourage more women to participate, WLAFT opened its doors to children. During the first five years of the program, the children’s program operated as a child-care center, but it later transformed into a tutoring area for kids.  By welcoming children, WLAFT better meets the needs of parents who work long hours.     Colvin remains driven to combat stereotypes about immigrant parents’ alleged lack of interest in their children’s academic life. Even after 20 years, she continues to meet people who do not understand her vision. Some educators push back on the program, and some participants ask her “why are you here?” She advises that running a program like this requires one to constantly question one’s own motives. She insists that one needs to resist taking on the role of “helper” or missionary, and instead ask questions about what people want and need through ongoing evaluation and assessment. WLAFT now finds children of original youth students coming into the program. The program’s impact depends on relationships built over years.