1. Supporting Parents in Early Literacy
through Libraries
A dialogue on engaging parents in early literacy
December 13, 2012
10:00am - 11:00am (MST)
http://spellproject.weebly.com
2. Webinar Team
Beth Crist Mary Stansbury, PhD
Project Director, SPELL Project Consultant, SPELL Project
Youth & Family Services Consultant Department of School & Counseling
Colorado State Library Psychology, Research Methods, and
303-866-6908 Information Science
crist_b@cde.state.co.us Associate Professor, Library and
Information Science Program
Sharon Morris University of Denver
Advisor, SPELL Project Mary.Stansbury@du.edu
Director, Library Development
Colorado State Library Vivienne Houghton, MLIS
303-866-6730 Research Fellow, SPELL Project
morris_s@cde.state.co.us vivienne.houghton@gmail.com
3. Community Agency Partners
Aurora Public Library History Colorado Reach Out and Read
Colorado
Bright Beginnings High Plains Library
District Rocky Mountain PBS
Colorado State Library StoryBlocks
Invest in Kids
Colorado Libraries for Temple Hoyne Buell
Early Literacy (CLEL) Lake County Public Foundation
Library
Colorado Humanities' University of Denver
Motheread/Fatheread Pikes Peak Library Early Childhood
and Teacheread District Librarianship
Learn more about our Partners on the SPELL Project website
4. Panelists
1. Pamela Martin-Díaz, Manager, Shawnee Branch
Library, Allen County Public Library
1. Tomás Mejía, Principal Consultant, Colorado Migrant
Education Program
1. Dragana Saas, Ready to Read Program Leader,
Columbus Metropolitan Library
1. Megan Wilson, Executive Director, Reach Out and Read
Colorado
5. 1) ACPL at WIC
Pamela Martin-Díaz
Allen County Public Library
Shawnee Branch
pmartin@acpl.info
6. ACPL at WIC
The only way we can have
an impact on outcomes for children
is to change the behavior
of the adults in their lives.
7. ACPL at WIC
Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Brains
Allen County Public Library’s
Partnership with WIC
8. ACPL at WIC
What is WIC?
• Federally funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants, and Children
• Provides nutritious foods, nutrition counseling, and
referrals to health care and social services
• Serves low-income pregnant, post-partum and
breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to the age
of 5 who are at nutritional risk.
9. ACPL at WIC
Feeding Bodies
Poor nutrition during life in utero and a child’s early years
causes a variety of significant problems including:
• Delays in physical growth and motor development
• General effects on cognitive development cause lower IQs
(by 15 points or more in severely malnourished children)
• More behavioral problems and poor social skills upon
entering school
• Decreased ability to pay attention, deficient learning, and
lower educational achievement.
(Information about WIC is based on content found at http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/)
10. ACPL at WIC
Feeding Brains
Research shows us that children:
• Who start out behind usually don’t catch up. There is a
90% chance that a child who is a poor reader at the end of
1st grade will be a poor reader at the end of 4th grade.
• Who enter school without the requisite skills for success
are at risk for being poor readers, which has a deleterious
impact on their outcomes as adult learners and wage-
earners.
• Need contact with caring adults to thrive.
11. ACPL at WIC
Why WIC?
• All of the above plus:
• Access to 10,000 families throughout the county
• Mandatory classes to get coupons for WIC-approved
items
• Happy to partner with us
• Willing to let us know when they had at least 10 families
signed up
• Audience of people whom the library has historically had a
hard time reaching
12. ACPL at WIC
The skills that children need to be successful in
later life are those that are taught by adults who
interact with them when they
talk, read, write, sing and play together.
Together we can help adults feed children’s
brains – literally and figuratively!
(Content is based on PLA and ALCS’s Every Child Ready to Read@your library, Early Literacy Storytimes@your library:
Partnering with Care-givers for Success. Ghoting and Martin-Díaz (ALA Editions, 2005) and the forthcoming Storytimes for
Everyone: Developing Young Children’s Language and Literacy. Ghoting and Martin-Díaz, ALA Editions, 2013)
13. ACPL at WIC
Our Model
Based on family strengths:
• Do more of what they are already doing
• Do what they are already doing in a slightly different way
• Encourage adults to talk, read, write, sing and play with
their children in ways that help children develop early
literacy skills
• Tie the activity to later reading (decoding or
comprehension)
14. ACPL at WIC
Key Messages
• You are your child’s first and most important teacher.
• What you do with your child throughout the day makes a
difference.
• We adults set the stage for our children’s future success.
• National Academy of Pediatrics recommends NO screen
time for children age birth to two and limited time
thereafter.
• The library has materials and programs for you.
15. ACPL at WIC
Roll die
On each side is one of
the following:
• Talk
• Read
• Write
• Sing
• Play
• Memory
16. ACPL at WIC
Handouts
• Hand-outs Rockin’ Rhymes (ACPL produced spiral
bound book of nursery rhymes in English and Spanish)
• List of storytimes in all agencies, map of system,
READY magnet
• Board book or paperback
• Optional material, based on discussion
17. ACPL at WIC
Who can do it?
Program is reproducible elsewhere as long as there are staff
from the local WIC and library who are willing.
Evaluation
• Would like to know if the information we share changes
the way they interact with their children or if they use the
information in another way (go to the library, etc.)
• Problem of confidentiality in getting back in touch with
WIC clients.
18. ACPL at WIC
Next Step
• Determine viable evaluation plan
• Train more librarians to hold sessions
• Institutionalize the program in both agencies
Questions:
Pamela Martin-Díaz
Allen County Public Library
Shawnee Branch
pmartin@acpl.info
19. 2) Migrant Education Program
Migrant Education Program in
Colorado
Tomas Mejia
Principal Consultant
Colorado Department of Education
20. Language Culture and Equity
Mission
Our mission is to support all English language
learners, and migrant students, linguistically,
socially and academically, by providing
educational leadership for teachers,
parents/guardians, students and Colorado
communities.
21. Goals of the Migrant Education
Program (MEP)
• Support high-quality and comprehensive educational programs for
migratory children in order to reduce the educational disruption and
other problems that result from repeated moves;
• Ensure that migratory children are provided with appropriate
educational services (including supportive services) that address their
special needs in a coordinated and efficient manner;
• Design programs to help migratory children overcome educational
disruption, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, various
health-related problems, and other factors that inhibit their ability to do
well in school, and to prepare them to make a successful transition to
postsecondary education or employment
22. Measurable Program Outcomes
1/28/12
School Readiness
MPO 1a: After participating in MEP-sponsored activities to
strengthen parent involvement around school readiness, 80%
of migrant parents whose 3-5 year old children are enrolled
in the MEP will report positive growth in their ability to help
with their children’s school readiness.
MPO 1b: Migrant children ages 3-5 (not in kindergarten), who
are receiving MEP services, will increase their school
readiness.
25. Bins Program
Purpose- Provide resources and instruction to parents on how
to work with their children, 0-5, in Mathematics, Reading and
Writing.
One bin is brought to the migrant families every three – four
weeks
All services are provided in a language that the parent
understands
Translators are used if necessary (Kareni, Somali)
MEP Service providers are trained to provide school
readiness services
26. Evaluation of the Bin Program
School Readiness Checklist
Administered prior to any MEP services provided
Administered at end of year, after services are provided
Bin Surveys
Administered to the parents/guardians after each bin has been
used by the parent for three to four weeks
Annual survey administered to MEP parents with children 0-5
who have received MEP services
27. Contact Information
Tomás Mejía
Principal Consultant
Colorado Department of Education
201 E. Colfax Ave. Rm 401,
Denver, CO 80203
tel 303.866.6592
www.cde.state.co.us
28. 3) Ready to Read Corps
Dragana Saas
Ready to Read Program Leader
Columbus Metropolitan Library
DSAAS@columbuslibrary.org
37. Using Kits and Changing Behavior
Are participants simply using the kits or changing their behavior?
38. Preliminary Longitudinal Study
Caregivers Who Continued to Take Part in Literacy
Activities
Literacy Activity Percent
Point out letters and numbers in signs, books, billboards 96.6
Explain the meaning of new words to their child 98.2
Sound out letters with their child 94.1
Make up or tell stories with their child 92.7
Sing and rhyme with their child 96.5
39. KRA-L
Kindergarten Readiness Assessment-Literacy:
Ohio Department of Education’s tool to help
teachers identify early reading skills and
kindergarten readiness
Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Goal:
90% kindergarten readiness by 2020
40. Groveport Madison Schools
2010 - 2011
KRA-L 23%
40%
Enriched Band 1: 0 -
Instruction Intense
13
Columbus City Schools Instruction
2010 - 2011 Band 2: 14 -
37% 23
Targeted
Instruction
25%
34%
Enriched Band 1: 0 -
Intense
Instruction 13
Instruction
Band 2: 14 - 15% Whitehall City Schools
23 Enriched 2010 - 2011
41% Instruction
Targeted
Instruction
45%
Band 1: 0 -
Intense
Instruction 13
40% Band 2: 14 -
Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Goal Targeted 23
Instruction
90% kindergarten readiness by 2020
41. KRA-L Results
Corps Participant Sample Fall 2011 KRA-L Scores
KRA-L Band Number Percent
Band 1: score 0 – 13 77 37.0
Band 2: score 14 – 22 92 44.2
Band 3: score 23 – 29 39 18.8
Total 208 100
Aggregated KRA-L Data
From Target Areas: 61% Scored in Band 2 or 3
Corps Participants: 63% Scored in Band 2 or 3
43. National Center for Family Literacy Grant
Ready to Read Corps Awarded Grant
Better World Books and the National Center for Family Literacy
Individualized lessons on Reading, Writing, Singing, Talking and Playing
for 200 families through a series of personalized in-home visits. Following
each lesson, the parent or caregiver will receive a mini Ready to Read
toolkit of supporting materials and activities.
50. Reach Out and Read program model
• Literacy rich waiting rooms
• New, quality, age and language appropriate
books given to children age 6 months- 5 years
as part of well-child exam
• Primary care provider gives the book and
provides parental anticipatory guidance
51. Reach Out and Read:
The Research
• Parents served are up to four times more likely to
read aloud to their children.
• Reach Out and Read reaches the child through
effectively teaching the parent to start lifelong
learning in the home.
• Families read together more often. Children served
gain three to six months on vocabulary tests,
reducing the gap for low-income children at school
entry by 25 percent to 50 percent.
52. Program Impact
Nationally Colorado
• 3.9 million children • 84,000 children
• All 50 states • 48 of 64 counties
• Over 5,000 providers • Over 1,000 providers
• 6.5 million books and • 145,000 books and parent
parent messages messages
53. Reach Out and Read & Libraries
• Library brochures in clinics
• Libraries supply literacy rich waiting rooms
• Weekly story-time in clinic waiting room
54. The Keys to Success
• Repetitive message
• Trusted messenger
• Meet families where they are
• Give families the tool with while to follow
advice
56. 5) Cavity Free at Three
Pregnancy is the ideal time to reach and
educate mothers with early childhood
messages
Expectant moms have the intrinsic motivation
to do what is best for their unborn child
Self-Management Goal Sheets available
in both English and Spanish
More information available at:
http://spellproject.weebly.com/webinars.html
60. Thank you!
Please complete a short evaluation about this
webinar at www.research.net/s/SPELLWebinar.
A recording of this webinar will be posted at:
spellproject.weebly.com
Questions, contact Beth Crist
Youth & Family Services Consultant
Colorado State Library
Crist_B@cde.state.co.us
303-866-6908
