National Evaluation of The Even Start Family Literacy Program - 1998

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The Even Start Family Literacy Program

The Even Start Family Literacy Program addresses the basic educational needs of parents and children up to age eight from low-income families by providing a unified program of (1) adult basic or secondary education and literacy programs for parents, (2) assistance for parents to effectively promote their children's educational development, and (3) early childhood education for children. Projects provide some services directly, and build on existing community resources by collaborating with other service providers.

Legislative and Program Background

The Even Start Family Literacy Program was first authorized in 1989 as Part B of Chapter 1 of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The Even Start legislation was amended in July 1991, when Congress passed the National Literacy Act (P.L. 102-73), lowering the age of children served from age one to birth and allowing community based organizations to receive grants. In 1994, Even Start was reauthorized as Part B of Title I of the ESEA as amended by the Improving America's Schools Act.(1) According to this legislation, the Even Start program is intended to:

"...help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of the Nation's low-income families by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy or adult basic education, and parenting education into a unified family literacy program...The program shall (1) be implemented through cooperative projects that build on existing community resources to create a new range of services; (2) promote achievement of the National Education Goals; and (3) assist children and adults from low-income families to achieve to challenging State content standards and challenging State student performance standards." (P.L. 103-382, Sec. 1201).

The 1994 legislation made the following substantive changes in Even Start: (1) targeting on those most in need was strengthened and services were extended to teen parents when they were among those most in need; (2) continuity and retention were strengthened by requiring projects to serve at least a three year age range and provide services over the summer months; (3) the focus on family services was strengthened by allowing projects to involve ineligible family members in appropriate family literacy activities; and (4) linkages between schools and communities were improved by requiring stronger collaboration (partnerships) in the application and implementation process. Most recently, in 1996, Congress sought to further strengthen Even Start by passing an amendment requiring instructional services to be intensive.

When Even Start began as a federally administered program in school year 1989-90, grants totaling $14.8 million were awarded to 76 projects. According to the Even Start statute, if funding reached $50 million, the program was to be administered by state agencies. This level was exceeded in 1992 when the federal appropriation was $70 million. Most Even Start projects now are state administered, and the FY 1998 appropriation of $124 million supports 732 Even Start projects in all states. In addition, family literacy programs specifically for migrant families, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and outlying areas are supported through special set-aside funds (5 percent of the total Even Start allocation) and remain under federal administration. The statute also authorizes discretionary grants for statewide family literacy initiatives, and a family literacy project in a prison that houses women and their preschool-aged children to be administered directly by the U.S. Department of Education (hereafter, "the Department").

Design of Even Start Projects

Even Start's premise is that combining adult literacy or adult basic education, parenting education, and early childhood education into a unified family literacy program offers promise for helping to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy in the nation. The Even Start program has three related goals:

The Basic Model. The Even Start legislation requires that all local projects serve families most in need of Even Start services,(2) provide three core services (adult, parenting, and early childhood education) and support services, provide some services to parents and children together and provide some home-based services, integrate educational activities across the three core areas, coordinate service delivery with other local programs, conduct local evaluations, and participate in the national evaluation. Even Start families are required to participate in each of the three core services:

Even Start projects also offer support services designed to facilitate the provision of core services. Examples of support services are transportation, child care, nutrition assistance, health care, meals, special care for a disabled family member, and referrals for mental health and counseling, services to battered women, child protective services, employment, and screening or treatment for chemical dependency. If possible, support services are to be obtained from existing providers, to avoid duplication of services.

Even Start is intended to benefit families in several ways. While not every Even Start project will try to affect all of these, potential outcomes for parents include improved literacy behaviors (e.g., shared literacy events with children and increased reading and writing activities in the home), parenting behavior and skills (e.g., positive parent-child relationships and expectations for child), and educational and employment skills (e.g., improved reading and English language ability and higher education attainment). Goals for Even Start parents also may include growth in personal skills and community involvement. The potential impacts of Even Start on children include improved school readiness and achievement (e.g., language development and emergent literacy). Once children enter school, outcomes might include satisfactory school performance, improved school attendance, and a lower incidence of special education and retention in grade.

Variations on the Basic Model. The legislation provides Even Start projects with a set of requirements that are more demanding than those of many federal programs, although the requirements stop short of specifying curriculum given the diversity of the populations served. Decisions regarding how to implement each requirement are left up to individual projects. For example, the legislation requires high-quality, intensive instructional programs; services for parents and children together; and services in the home. But, projects decide on the frequency and duration of program activities, whether the activities are primarily center-based or home-based, and whether to invent educational curricula from scratch or use a hybrid of existing approaches. Projects decide, based on the availability and quality of local services, which program activities will be supported by Even Start funds and which components will be supported by collaborating agencies.

Most Even Start projects provide, either directly or by working with existing early childhood programs such as Head Start, a center-based early childhood program (Tao, Gamse & Tarr, 1998, p.84). Center-based programs usually incorporate elements of existing curricula designed for young children. Generally, school-age children through age seven receive Even Start services provided in conjunction with required school activities. Such services may take the form of homework or tutoring assistance given in before- and after-school child care programs and summer school activities. The extent to which Even Start provides early childhood services directly as opposed to delegating this responsibility to a collaborating agency is related to the age of the children served. Almost 90 percent of Even Start projects provide some or all early childhood services for children age four and under, 66 percent of the projects provide some or all early childhood services for five year olds, and 50 percent of the projects provide some or all early childhood services for six and seven year olds (Tao, Gamse & Tarr, 1998, p.69). Conversely, collaborating agencies are much more likely to provide Even Start services to five to seven year olds, who are of school age, than to younger children.

Adult education services are provided in a variety of formats by different levels of trained personnel, ranging from volunteers to certified adult education teachers. Some projects offer adult education classes geared toward completing a GED, others provide general instruction in the basic skills of reading, writing, and math, and still others focus chiefly on ESL. Projects working with adults who have very low-level basic skills may arrange individual tutoring through organizations such as the Literacy Volunteers of America or provide other types of one-on-one adult education instruction during home visits. About 60 percent of Even Start projects provide some or all of their adult education services directly (Tao, Gamse & Tarr, 1998, p.69), while 40 percent of the projects delegate provision of all adult education services.

Parenting education is less often available through existing agencies than are adult and early childhood education programs. Thus, 96 percent of the projects rely solely or in part on Even Start resources to deliver parenting education (Tao, Gamse & Tarr, 1998, p.69). These services may take the form of group discussions, hands-on activities, home visits, and presentations by invited speakers. Topics addressed may include helping families to use learning resources, increasing parents' understanding of normal child development patterns and of their role in their children's education, and training parents on reading to young children.

Educational activities often are offered in institutional settings, e.g., adult education classes in high schools and community colleges, and preschool programs associated with community-based organizations or local education agencies. In about 17 percent of the projects, particularly those in sparsely populated rural areas, Even Start services are primarily home-based, with instruction tailored to each family's needs (Tao, Gamse & Tarr, 1998, p.85).

Brief Description of Even Start Projects. To illustrate Even Start's diversity and to help the reader understand what happens in Even Start projects, the next pages summarize the ways in which three different Even Start projects served their families during the 1997-98 project year.(4)

Storm Landing Even Start

This project is administered by a school district in collaboration with a regional university, a local private mental health agency, and six other school districts. It operates in seven sites in a large geographic area including both rural and urban settings. In 1997-98, the project was in its sixth year of operation and served 149 families. Most sites operated adult education and early childhood education services three days a week for approximately six hours per day; staff reserved the remaining two days for collaborator meetings and home visits. Participants living in outlying areas were often able to attend only on days when transportation was provided.

  • Early Childhood Education. Early childhood education services were provided for children from birth to age three, in rooms adjacent to adult education classrooms. Preschool children at five sites attended a variety of programs including Head Start and state-funded preschools. The consortium provided preschool services at two sites in areas with no alternative providers. Early childhood services for infants and toddlers were staffed by paraprofessionals, and children's schedules included group activities, choice time, story time, and nap time.
  • Adult Education. In all service delivery sites, the primary goal for adult participants was to obtain a GED. Specific elements of curriculum and instruction varied somewhat across sites. In one study site, adult education included small group, whole group, and one-on-one instruction. In another, the adult education classroom was individualized, with participants working at their own pace through workbooks.
  • Parenting Education. A Family Services Coordinator conducted weekly, hour-long parenting presentations and discussions at each site. Topics included sessions on discipline and domestic violence, as well as nutrition, budgeting, and other issues related to household management and family needs. In addition, faculty from the regional university conducted full-day parenting seminars and parent activities twice a year at each site, and the project sponsored two annual all-site parenting seminars. The project also provided Parent and Child Together (PACT) time at all sites. These activities were child-centered and staff worked to fit them into the daily schedule.
  • Other Activities and Services. The Family Services Coordinator provided case management and referral services to participants, visiting each of the seven sites for a full day every week or two. While on site, she met with families, conducted home visits, and transported families to appointments to apply for services. Adult education teachers also conducted home visits, often soon after a participant enrolled in the program and sometimes to follow up on participants who had been absent.

Lone Star Even Start

In its fifth year of operation in 1997-98, this project was in a rural area with a population of 13,000, collaborated with the local school district and a state college, and served 50 families. Most families were Hispanic; two-thirds spoke Spanish as their primary language. The project offered day and evening services. Fathers and dual-parent families generally attended during the evening, as did parents who worked in the day.

  • Early Childhood Education. The project has its own child development center with a staff of seven paraprofessionals and one certified early childhood specialist. Two- and three-year-olds engaged in theme-based activities through the use of learning centers. Four-year-olds received early childhood instruction off-site in the local Head Start program or the state-funded public school pre-kindergarten program. School-age children and their siblings could participate in a literacy tutorial offered on site one evening a week.
  • Adult Education. Adult goals included learning English and attaining a GED. Day courses, offered in the adult education center, were open only to Even Start adults. An adult educator, assisted by two paraprofessionals, worked with students in whole and small group settings, as well individually. The ESL curriculum included materials such as Crossroads Café videos, photo stories, and workbooks; Laubach Way to Reading skill books and audio tapes; and computer software. GED classes used standard adult education curriculum materials. Evening classes, offered by collaborating agencies, were open to the community and were taught by bilingual paraprofessionals. Teen parents received adult education at the high school. Several computers were linked to the Internet; software included learning packages and games.
  • Parenting Education. This was offered two hours a week by the project director as well as adult and early childhood staff. Topics were developed in response to parents' interests, and sessions centered around a weekly theme, incorporating activities, videos, and discussions drawn from parenting curricula and resources. Parents gave feedback on behavior management issues in a "Suggestion Circle," and made theme-related products to use with their child during "Make-and-Take" sessions. Parents received Even Start Bucks for a variety of parenting activities and used these tokens to purchase toys that were available in the adult education classroom. Parents joined their children for PACT time in the child center twice a week for 30 minutes. PACT activities involved parents in an instructional role with their children.
  • Other Activities and Services. Home-based instruction included an average of nine home visits to each family per year and focused on parenting skills related to child development and early literacy development. The project also provided child care and transportation for all classes.

Millersville Even Start

In 1997-98, this project was in its fifth year of operation in a rural area with a population of 45,000. The project served 43 families and offered services from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Adult and early childhood education were offered daily, and PACT and parenting two days a week. On Fridays, project staff participated in team meetings, planned lessons for the upcoming week, and conducted home visits.

  • Early Childhood Education. The project served children through three early childhood classes that were co-located in an "Even Start pod." A Title I preschool class served three- and four-year-olds, a Head Start class served four-year-olds, and an Exceptional Children's class served three- and four-year-olds. All teachers used the state early childhood curriculum framework to guide instruction. In the spring of 1998, all three programs were working toward NAEYC accreditation. In addition to the center-based instruction, the project served school-age children through home visits.
  • Adult Education. The project's adult education component focused on increasing parents' literacy skills in reading, writing, and math, and assisting adults to reach their own academic goals. In most cases, adults' goals were to attain a GED. Daily adult education time included both independent study time (approximately two to two and a half hours) and small group instruction in math, reading, or writing (approximately one hour). Staff used the CASAS Life Skills Curriculum as their primary resource for small group lessons.
  • Parenting Education. The project offered parenting education two days per week for an hour and a half. Staff drew on curriculum models such as Survival Skills for Women and 1,2,3,4 Parents, as well as the Department of Education's Ready*Set*Read activity guides. Important contributions were made by guest speakers including a counselor from a local domestic violence agency, primary school teachers, a storyteller from the local library, personnel directors from local industries, and staff from local health, mental health, and cooperative extension agencies. PACT sessions were offered in preschool and kindergarten classes twice a week for 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of "PACT Reflection Time."
  • Other Activities and Services. Monthly home visits centered on an in-home, parent-child activity packet. Early childhood teachers usually led the home visits; the family specialist conducted additional visits on an as-needed basis. Transportation was provided for families who lived outside school boundaries and child care was provided for parents with children under age three.

Footnotes:

(1) This description of Even Start refers to the 1994 authorized law. Projects were not required to implement changes made by that law until program year 1995-96.

(2) To be eligible for Even Start as of 1995-96, a family needed (a) a parent who was eligible for adult education services under the Adult Education Act or who was within the state s compulsory school attendance age range and (b) a child under 8 years of age. The definition of "most-in-need" is community-specific and is based on locally established criteria which must include, at least, family income and parent's education level.

(3) In April 1996, the Even Start statute was amended to require high-quality, intensive instructional programs. This requirement became effective for projects in program year 1996-97.

(4) These descriptions are summarized from information provided by Haslam & Stief (1998) in their Observational Study of Even Start projects. The project names used in the descriptions are pseudonyms.


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