Even Start/Title I Family Literacy Programs

I. INTRODUCTION

The Even Start Family Literacy program was first enacted in 1988 as Part B of Chapter 1 of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). It has been amended several times since as part of various reauthorizations.

The purpose of the Even Start Family Literacy Program is to break the self-perpetuating cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of the Nation’s low-income families. Through the integration of early childhood education, adult literacy, and parenting education a unified family literacy program is provided. The program is to be implemented through cooperative projects that build on existing community resources to create a new range of services.

Even Start is an intergenerational integrated education program with a focus on the entire family. The program provides services meant to improve

1. the skills and educational level of undereducated parents or caregivers;

2.  the developmental levels of young children and their chances of being
    successful in school

3.  the parenting skills of adults in support of their children’s learning; and

4.  the quality of parent-child interactions.

Title I early childhood programs intervene at a critical point in a child’s educational development. Research has shown that in order to achieve lasting effects, a holistic, family-focused educational program must be provided. On this premise, schools implementing a Title I preschool are encouraged to implement the following Even Start/Title I Family Literacy Program.

Four components are required for an Even Start/Title I Family Literacy Program. They are Adult Literacy, Early Childhood Education, Parenting Education, and PACT (Parents and Children Together) Time.

A. Adult Literacy -- Adult Basic Education (ABE) is organized on a regional basis in Missouri and is available in every part of the state. Each Family Literacy program, as part of the planning process, establishes a collaboration with the ABE program in the area to be served. Because ABE is funded according to the number of hours (contact hours) each student spends in class, it may be necessary to supplement the ABE component for a short period during the start-up of the program. It may also be helpful to pay the ABE teacher a small amount from Title I funds so that (s)he has some time to spend as a part of the Family Literacy team. This can be especially helpful as the staff works to integrate services and curriculums for families. The Adult Literacy component may include life skills, job readiness skills, and basic literacy skills (often provided by volunteer literacy organizations in the area) as well as preparation for the General Educational Development (GED) Certificate.

B. Early Childhood Education -- The Early Childhood Education component will be provided through a Title I preschool program or a Head Start program and may include Early Childhood Special Education. It must be developmentally appropriate for the children served. It should be offered at the same time as the Adult Literacy component in order to eliminate the need for child care, a possible barrier to the participation of the parents.

C. Parenting Education -- In Missouri we are fortunate to have two programs that can provide a basic parenting education component. The first is Parents As Teachers (PAT) for families with preschool age children which is available in most districts. The second is Practical Parenting Partnerships (PPP) which provides parenting education for parents who have children in grades K-12. PAT and PPP should be included in the initial planning of a Family Literacy program. Title I may fund home visits, parent meetings, and support groups for participating parents in addition to those that PAT and PPP provide.

D. Parent and Children Together (PACT) Time -- A time must be built into the Family Literacy program schedule to allow parents and children to work together on educational activities. These activities should often be the choice of the children with parents supporting that choice. This provides time for the Family Literacy staff to observe the progress being made in parent/child interaction. Some programs have PACT time scheduled each day. Although not required daily. PACT Time must occur on a regularly scheduled basis.

III. HOME BASED ACTIVITY

A minimum of four to five home visits are recommended each year for participating families. The PAT family educator may provide the home visits if they are integrated with the other activities of the Family Literacy program. Title I will pay for the required visits if not provided by PAT. Additional visits are encouraged. Practical Parenting Partnership is also a valuable resource for those families with children of school age.

All components should be located in the same or adjacent facilities in order to coordinate and integrate the activities required by each component. Transportation should be provided to the entire family to attend activities and may be funded by Title I.

The only eligibility requirement for a Title I Family Literacy program is a parent who qualifies for adult education . Children may be any age as long as they are still in school. Even if the children do not qualify for Title I they may participate in Family Literacy activities.

Teen parents may participate in a Title I Family Literacy program if one child is enrolled in a Title I preschool or a regular school program and the teen parent(s) is enrolled in school or the Adult Literacy component of the Family Literacy program. The parents of the teen may also participate in the program.

• Builds upon strengths

• Empowers families

• Incorporates assessment into instruction

• Incorporates goal setting into the curriculum

• Facilitates active learning

• Integrates components

• Includes some home-based services/activities

• Celebrates diversity

• Collaborates with community service providers

• Utilizes a team approach

• Secures qualified staff

• Provides systematic and ongoing staff development

• Attends to non-educational and education needs

• Utilizes activities initiated by parents as well as teachers

• Balances group and individual instruction

• Includes interdisciplinary curriculum

• Utilizes cooperative learning strategies

• Encourages critical and creative thinking modes

• Includes prevocational training

• Includes content driven by self-identified parent needs

• Disseminates information for child development and family growth

• Encourages mutual peer support

• Provides advocacy and referral services

• Teaches coping and problem solving strategies

• Builds community collaboration efforts

• Attends to non-educational and educational needs

• Is based on specific and developmentally appropriate curriculum

• Includes developmentally appropriate assessment

• Utilizes appropriate teacher/child ratio

• Includes parental involvement

• Includes child-initiated activity

• Provides regularly scheduled opportunity for positive parent/child interaction

• Provides children and parents with opportunity to practice newly acquired skills

• Utilizes staff in supportive role

• Includes activities to support the transfer of newly acquired skills to the home environment (home visit)

        

A Typical Day at a Model Site (Text Version Only) 

1)  Arrival of parents and children together
2)  Enjoy breakfast together with parents and children
3)  Breakout into two different sessions in the morning
     a)  Adult Education, English Language Instruction, and Employment Skills, and
     b)  Preschool class for children
4)  Enjoy lunch together with parents and children
5)  Breakout into two different sessions in the afternoon
     a)  Parenting Education Group Meeting, and 
     b)  Rest time for children
6)  Parents and Children Come Together (PACT) to work together on educational activities
7)  Departure of Parents and Children