Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id g07FS5011554; Mon, 7 Jan 2002 10:28:05 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 10:28:05 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <MAEBLPCCEIIMGAKFAAAHIEHGEDAA.nsledd@famlit.org> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Nancy Sledd" <nsledd@famlit.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:564] Opening remarks for this week's discussion X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2911.0) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 4506 Lines: 84 (Questions to start this week's discussion are at the end of this introduction.) Although family literacy programs (Even Start included) could always serve school-age children, the majority of family literacy programs nationwide provide services for families with children birth to five years old. Unless there are younger siblings, many programs cease to serve families when the children enter kindergarten with the numbers even more bleak for those entering first to third grader. However, recent federal legislation has demonstrated that the US Department of Education sees the need for Even Start programs to provide comprehensive services for families with school-age children. While it is recognized that Even Start is not the only source for family literacy, it carries a tremendous amount of influence in the field. The 1998 amended Even Start legislation in the Reading Excellence Act (REA) has states developing a set of performance indicators for participating families. The three child indicators that states were mandated to address focused on reading readiness and reading on grade level, school attendance and grade promotion. All three indicating the government's assumption that Even Start programs were serving school-age children through the four service components. Title I has always had a very strong emphasis on parent involvement. Even Start, has always been a part of Title I and since it was reauthorized in 2000, with the passage of the Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Act, it can serve students beyond age 8 if Title I funds are used to provide the services. Secretary of Education Dr. Rod Paige, has been a supporter of family literacy and Director of Compensatory Education, Dr. Joseph F. Johnson, Jr. has echoed that support. He sent out a letter to all state Title I directors during the summer of 2001 stating, "Family Literacy programs help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy in the nation and provide another method for helping children, especially our most-in-need children, achieve high standards." This along with the strong reference to family literacy in the new Reauthorization of ESEA (to be passed in Jan. 2002) clearly opens the door for more emphasis on family literacy services for school age children, and their parents. Whether services are provided after school as the siblings of Even Start pre-school participants, in 21st Century programs, Title I extended day programs or during the day as fully operational family literacy services within an elementary school, the four activities outlined in the federal definition can and must be provided to all of "our most-in-need children", preschool and in school alike. This can be done. It is being done. There may be modifications to meet the needs of the age group served but the concepts and principals of all components of comprehensive family literacy services remain the same. The goal remains the same: improved literacy development for all members of the family. Starting on January 7th and running through January 11th, the listserve discussion will explore how programs can start-up or expand to serve families with school-age children. Your questions will be posted and answered and as the week progresses possible solutions to the problems posed during the week will be shared. Here are a few questions to get the dialogue started. 1. If your program is not currently serving school-aged* children and their parents, why was this decision made? What barriers did your program encounter or did you just decide not to try? 2. If your program is currently comprehensively** serving school-aged children and their parents, what challenges have you encountered and with whom? 3. In what venue do you serve school aged children and their parents? (E.g., during the school day, after school program, in the evenings, on weekends) 4. Are the school-aged children siblings of younger children your program is serving or have you targeted school-aged children to work with? 5. How have the four components of comprehensive family literacy services been modified to meet the needs of your school-aged children? * For this discussion, please be specific when talking about the school-aged children you serve. Identify the grade levels you mean. For example, K only or K-5. ** Comprehensively means providing all four service components (adult education, child education, parenting education and PACT) Laura Bercovitz, Shani Yero, and Brenda Logan
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Jan 17 2003 - 14:40:51 EST