Smart Start & The North Carolina Partnership for Children

Parents and Early Literacy

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 | Author: Smart Start

By B&K Weaver

Children develop the skills needed to learn to read long before they ever enter a kindergarten classroom. Early Ed Watch interviewed Gabrielle Miller, a national expert on early literacy interventions and national executive director for Raising A Reader about what the research shows about the importance of positive family involvement for a child’s later reading success. Several Smart Start local partnerships support the Raising a Reader program in their communities.

Download the podcast.

Learn more about Raising a Reader.

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Read for the Record

Thursday, October 07th, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

Today is Jumpstart’s Read for the Record©–a world record breaking campaign that brings children and adults together to read the same book, on the same day, in homes and communities all over the world. The campaign also kicks off Jumpstart’s yearlong program, preparing preschool children in low-income neighborhoods for success in school and life.

This year’s book is The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats! If you don’t own the book, you may read it online. All you need to do is read the book with a child in your life, then fill out the online form to be counted in the official world record.

New York City Mayor Bloomberg discusses the effort on The Today Show.

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Category: Supporting Families | Tags: early childhood, literacy | Comments off

Video on Importance of Early Literacy

Monday, August 23rd, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

Excellent video from The ZERO TO THREE Policy Center. It illustrates how early language and literacy development contributes to a child’s success throughout life.

Window to the World: Promoting Early Language and Literacy Development

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Category: Supporting Families | Tags: literacy | Comments off

Ready by Grade Three

Friday, August 20th, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

The American Prospect recently published a 22-page special report on early childhood literacy entitled “Reading by Grade Three.” It is an in-depth examination of the challenges policymakers, advocates, parents, and teachers face in ensuring that every young child in the U.S. has access to the essential resources for achieving literacy. The report focuses on the following goals:

developing results-oriented and innovative solutions;
targeted support for underserved, poor and minority students; and
building systems that engage parents and teachers.

Read the report.

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Category: Supporting Families | Tags: literacy | Comments off

Early Literacy Development Critical to Future Reading Success

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

Research confirms that supporting children’s early literacy development is a critical to their future reading success. A new resource challenges state and local policymakers to use such research findings to promote an early literacy agenda that can help everyone learn to read proficiently.

Early Literacy: Leading the Way to Success – A Resource for Policymakers is intended to help policymakers make informed decisions about early literacy policies and practices that will give young children a good start in reading. It was produced by the National Institute for Literacy. The Institute, a federal agency, was established by the National Literacy Act of 1991 and reauthorized in 1998 by the Workforce Investment Act.Download the resource.

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Category: Supporting Families | Tags: literacy | Comments off

Vocabulary Instruction in Early Childhood

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

Some children come to school knowing far fewer words than others. Researchers have found that even by age three, the gap is evident. Children from families with low incomes had 600 fewer words than their peers from families with higher income. By second grade, the gap in vocabulary had jumped to 4,000 words. That’s why vocabulary is a critical part of early childhood programs.

A new article in the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s magazine, Young Children, looks at what the research tells us about vocabulary instruction in early childhood.

Read the article.

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Category: Raising Quality of Care & Education | Tags: literacy | Comments off

Ashe Partnership Received Dollar General Literacy Grant

Friday, July 23rd, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

Ashe County Partnership for Children is a 2010 recipient of a $20,000 Family Literacy grant through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Its program “Ashe Family Literacy” provides adult education, early childhood education for the children of the adult students, parenting education, and parent and child together (PACT) time.

Classes for the new school year will begin on Monday, August 2nd.

The adult education component includes classes for GED, Adult High School Diploma, and Adult Basic Education, for any Ashe County resident 16 and over. It also includes English as a Second Language (ESL) for residents who need to improve their English skills. All classes, including those for the children, are completely free of charge. The program even offers a monthly home visit to provide further support to both the adult student and child.

“We offer support for parents in a comfortable setting with a developmentally appropriate curriculum and environment for children,” explains Ann Canon, Family Support Director. “We approach parenting information in a fun, interactive way, using activities and projects that our adult students and their children can enjoy together.”

Ashe Family Literacy holds classes Monday through Thursday from 8:00am to 2:30pm at Family Central. The program can also help transport parents and their children to and from class if they do not have transportation.

For more information, contact the Ashe County Partnership for Children.

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Category: News Items, Smart Start News | Tags: literacy, local partnership news | Comments off

The Origins of Literacy

Thursday, July 15th, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

By ohsohappytogether

The Economist has published a fascinating article on the origins of literacy. It discusses research by a a cognitive neuroscientist that suggests because reading is a relatively new skill in human development, the brain has to unlearn older, more developed survival skills before learning to read. It’s the older skill–the ability to recognize mirror images–that might explain why early readers often confuse “b” and “d”, and “p” and “q.”

Read the article.

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Category: Raising Quality of Care & Education | Tags: literacy | Comments off

Are we investing enough in the learning and development of our youngest children?

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

Early Learning Left Out: Building an Early Childhood System to Secure America’s Future, 3rd Edition answers a simple but critically important question: Are we investing enough in the learning and development of our youngest children? The conclusions indicate that the investment in early learning has decreased despite overwhelming evidence that early childhood is the critical time for investment.

Read the report: State Investments in EC Voice for America’s Children June 2010

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Category: Investing In Our Workforce | Tags: literacy | Comments off

The Power of Books

Monday, June 28th, 2010 | Author: Smart Start

By Bethany Actually

“Children raised in homes with many books gained the equivalent of three more years of schooling than children from bookless homes.” That’s one of the key findings of an international study in the June 2010 issue of Research in Social Stratification and Mobility.

The researchers found that having books in the home had just as much impact as having parents with college degrees.