Open Doors is a family literacy program that was developed to provide basic literacy training and basic skills remediation for homeless single mothers who have not completed high school and developmental enrichment services for their infants and toddlers. Open Doors was designed to provide interventions to 30 families. The program featured…

The purpose of Even Start, as outlined in federal legislation, is to help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy by providing a unified family literacy program for low-income families. Even Start has three related goals: (1) to help parents improve their literacy or basic education skills; (2) to help parents become full…

A first stage evaluation of the Even Start Program of the Newark (New Jersey) public schools is presented. Even Start is an early childhood parental involvement program in its third year of implementation. Goals are to involve parents as active partners, to help children develop cognitively and affectively, and to improve adult literacy and…

This article describes models of literacy education using the intergenerational approach. This approach attempts to teach both parents and children reading and writing, while also improving the parenting and job readiness skills of the parents. Several ongoing projects are described, such as the Kenan Trust Family Literacy Project in Kentucky and…

As part of a series exploring effective strategies for school improvement and dropout prevention, this monograph focuses on early childhood education and reading/writing programs, and compiles strategies to help families engage in meaningful literacy activities. The monograph describes and defines family literacy, provides a research basis for…

This project designed a family literacy program for parents with mild learning disabilities, including mental retardation. The program, which was conducted annually for 3 years, was intended to upgrade the reading skills of the parent, and at the same time, upgrade the parents' knowledge of children's literature. The class was designed for a group…

This report presents the first annual review of the Even Start/Project Family Program in Seattle (Washington). The program serves qualifying parents and children of families with one or more children ages 1 to 7 years, who live in an elementary school attendance area designated for participation in basic Chapter 1 programs with referrals coming…

The purpose of Even Start, as outlined in federal legislation, is to help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy by providing a unified family literacy program for low-income families. Even Start has three related goals: (1) to help parents improve their literacy or basic education skills; (2) to help parents become full…

This videtape is a guide hosted by Judy Woodruff to starting and enhancing a library-based family literacy project. Librarians and literacy providers learn: how to do a needs assessment, how to build a team within the library; how to develop a community coalition; how business partners contribute to family literacy programs; and how to recruit…

The Even Start program represents an innovative combination of programs for adult basic education, parenting education, and early childhood education. Focusing on parents and children as a unit, Even Start projects have three interrelated goals: (1) to help parents become full partners in the education of their children; (2) to assist children in…

The report presents an evaluation of the Ysleta Independent School District (Texas) state-funded Even Start Project, a comprehensive family literacy program consisting of adult education (basic skills, English as a second language, citizenship, transition to college), intergenerational literacy classes with preschool children, early childhood…

A panel of experts from a variety of disciplines was convened to advise policymakers about what is known about instructional effectiveness in adult and family literacy situations. The panel concluded that, although little research examining instructional effectiveness in family and adult literacy programs is available, a great deal of "best…

The National Center for Family Literacy (FCFL) began the Family Independence Initiative (FII) to address the needs of welfare recipients and their families for literacy services. During the FII's development phase in 1997-1998, NCFL funded five family literacy program grantees to develop models of work-focused family literacy services. To satisfy…

This guide is designed to lead program planners through the course of building and implementing a family literacy program. It provides planning teams with an orientation to a four-component model of family literacy, community resources, planning strategies, examples of programs in Missouri, recent research findings, case study vignettes, and…

Discusses four principles involved in teaching beginning reading most effectively, related to: (1) the literacy environment at home, child care, and school; (2) experiences to develop concepts and related vocabulary; (3) developing understanding of purposes of print; and (4) enjoying books and being read to. Discusses how these principles can be…