This paper describes the activities and outcomes of a program in literacy education for the deaf funded by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The "L.E.A.D." program began in El Paso, Texas, on September 1, 1995, and ceased operations on July 31, 1997. The program was designed to improve communication in economically disadvantaged…

This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and…

The Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP) developed and field-tested the REEP Family Literacy Curriculum during the REEP Family English and Learning Project. The project was intended to help parents improve their English language skills and increase their involvement with their children's schooling. The curriculum was developed to…

The Even Start Family Literacy Program is a national program designed to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by working with low-income families to improve adult literacy, parenting skills, and developmental and preschool readiness of young children in the family. The Monongalia County (West Virginia) Even Start Program is unusual in that…

This booklet, which was written for literacy educators in Australia, examines selected research on adult literacy practices in rural families and communities and the implications of that research for adult literacy practice. The booklet begins with a discussion of literacy as social practice. The role of case studies in identifying factors…

Noting that family literacy can work effectively to break the cycle of undereducation, this book examines the history of the national family literacy movement, discusses the role of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), and presents guidelines for designing and developing a family literacy program. The book's introductory section…

Examined home literacy environments of four children from low-income Caucasian, African American, or biracial families. Found that all the parents provided support for literacy but with different constructions; children's descriptions of how they were learning to read at home reflected their home literacy experiences; and all four environments…

Advocates building literacy-related partnerships with families. Provides relevant strategies for teachers, including: (1) recognizing existing literacy; (2) getting clear about the basics; (3) looking for teachable moments to coach children in reading and writing; (4) exploring what makes a book good; and (5) partnering with families to make…

Early Head Start services are typically offered through home- or center-based delivery models. A formative evaluation of an example of each service delivery model was conducted. The purpose was to examine the issues involved in the implementation of these two service delivery models relative to the content of services, intensity of services,…

Formative, in-process evaluation results can be used to refine or "fine tune" Even Start programs. The assumption is that the programs have obtained comprehensive and appropriate empirical data on the assessment of the program as a whole as well as its specific goals. This six-step model uses evaluation data to improve program delivery.…

Canada's National Literacy Secretariat (NLS) develops innovative partnerships to involve voluntary and national organizations, governments, business, and labor in a national effort to make Canada a more literate society. The two main objectives of the NLS are to promote a variety of opportunities for people to improve their reading and writing…

A 3-year Library Services and Construction Act grant project from 1989-1992 provided for adult learning centers, equipped with Apple IIGS computers and software at each location of the Hammond Public Library (Indiana). User-friendly, job-based software to strengthen reading, writing, mathematics, spelling, and grammar skills, as well as video and…

This handbook records the joint planning process for development of a family literacy program suited to each of six Massachusetts communities. Part 1 discusses the national background to collaborative projects, national educational goals and concept of family and intergenerational literacy programs, justification for family literacy, libraries'…

In 1997, the National Center for Family Literacy convened four state policymakers for an audioconference to discuss five issues related to family literacy and its role as a welfare reform strategy. First, with regard to the value of family literacy, policymakers saw literacy as the key to employment and job retention. Second, family literacy was a…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a program for at-risk parents designed to improve family reading and thus prepare at-risk children for school. The program, "Ready for Reading," consists of three two-hour sessions conducted with parents at their children's school while the children are in pre-kindergarten classes in various…