| Best Practices |
 |
|
 |
|
|
Early Literacy - Demonstrated and Model Programs
Early Words
The Early Words program is a language and literacy early childhood training program initially funded in January 2000 by the Multnomah County Commission on Children, Families and Community and the Legacy Health System. The Oregon Center for Career Development (OCCD), in collaboration with Multnomah County Library, Oregon Child Development Coalition, and Mt. Hood Community College, developed a curriculum design to help early childhood care and education practitioners facilitate the development of children´s (ages birth through five) language and literacy development. The curriculum was based on nationally conducted research revealing best practices.
The Commission on Children, Families and Community and the Multhomah County Library are working with their partners, the Oregon Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education at Portland State University, Mt. Hood Community College Early Childhood Education Department and the Portland Community College Early Childhood Education Department to make these training sessions available within Multnomah County.
OCCD is the recipient of a grant from the Oregon! Ready to Learn Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation to deliver the Early Words program statewide. An independent evaluation is being conducted through Oregon Community Foundation utilizing the services of Portland State University Child Welfare Partnership.
The Early Words initiative is designed to:
- Highlight the importance of early language and literacy development
- Promote relationships between adults and children through activities that foster language and literacy development
- Provide parents and caregivers tips on how to incorporate reading and talking with babies and young children into their daily life
Key Contact for Statewide Training:
Oregon Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education
Portland State University
Phone: 800-547-8887, ext. 8544
Email: centerline(at)pdx.edu
www.centerline.pdx.edu
Key Contact for Multnomah County Training:
Renea Arnold
Multnomah County Library
503-988-5458
www.earlywords.net
Vermont Center for the Book Mother Goose Programs
The Mother Goose Programs are programs designed for preschool children. All of the programs feature noted works from children´s literature creating enjoyable and stimulating reading experiences which are extended into hands-on activities.
- Beginning with Mother Goose encourages adults to introduce books, reading and reading-related activities to babies and toddlers, from birth to age three.
- Growing with Mother Goose combines the reading experience with an opportunity to talk about developmental stages of children ages three to five.
- Mother Goose Asks Why? introduces basic science process skills through reading and activities with books, a guide and a science materials kit. This program is appropriate for families with children ages three to seven.
- Mother Goose Meets Mother Nature introduces the concepts of observing, encountering, and caring for the natural world to children ages three to seven.
- You Can Count on Mother Goose is based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics pre-K standards.
Key Contact in Oregon:
MaryKay Dahlgreen
Youth Services Consultant, Oregon State Library
250 Winter Street NE
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: (503) 378-2112, ext. 239
Fax: (503) 378-6439
Email: marykay.dahlgreen(at)state.or.us
Even Start and Comprehensive Family Literacy Services
Comprehensive Family Literacy Services is a term used in several key pieces of federal legislation, including Head Start, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act.
One federal funding source, Even Start, is Title I, Part B, Subsection 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Several foundations also fund family literacy services, including Toyota, United Parcel Services and Knight-Ridder. The purpose of Even Start and other programs offering family literacy services is to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy skills by working with the whole family. Even Start programs provide services to families with children ages birth to 8. Families also must be low-income (as defined by community) and parents must need help in building their literacy or English language skills. In Oregon, Even Start is administered by the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development.
Comprehensive family literacy services include four components: adult education (adult basic skills, English as a Second Language, work skills), parenting education and support, parent and child together time and early childhood education. The four components are integrated into one program, so that what is being learned in one component is supported by activities in the other components. Programs also offer the services by building on what is already offered in the community through strengthening collaborative relationships between agencies, both agencies offering core services and agencies offering support services.
Research has shown that family literacy programs offering higher intensity and longer duration of services get better results when working with families most in need in high need communities.
For more information:
National Center for Family Literacy - www.famlit.org
National Even Start Association - www.evenstart.org
U.S. Department of Education - www.ed.gov (Search for Even Start)
In Oregon - egov.oregon.gov/CCWD/ABE/index.shtml
Key Oregon Contact for Statewide Training:
Cathy Lindsley
Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development
255 Capitol St. NE
Salem, OR 97310
Phone: (503) 378-8648, ext. 371
Email: Cathy.Lindsley(at)state.or.us
Early Literacy
|
|
|
|
