March 28, 2024
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Early reading program receives $3M grant

BELFAST – One of the top early reading programs in the country has been awarded another $3 million federal grant to continue its mission.

Waldo County Preschool and Family Services announced the receipt of a grant at a press briefing at the Belfast Unity Methodist Church on Friday. The Early Reading First-Supporting Preschoolers in Reading and Language Success project is being hailed as a national model.

The grant follows a similar award from the Department of Education under the No Child Left Behind Act. WCPFS received its initial grant in 2003 and is one of only three early reading programs nationwide to have its funding renewed for a second time.

The program targets children ages 3 to 5, many of whom are from families of modest means. It is designed to instill a love of language at an early age and prepare them for moving on to kindergarten. Researchers have found that early exposure to literacy and language eliminates the need for remediation at a later date.

“If a child begins behind, most often a child will stay behind,” WCPFS executive director Ruth Southworth said. “These kids not only have the skills but they have developed a love of books and a love of learning.”

Southworth said that about 140 children take part in the program and that the improvements among them and their teachers were dramatic over its first three years. It was the only program in New England to receive federal support. More than 1,000 groups nationwide applied for funding in 2002, just 30 were awarded grants.

“We watched as our children experienced the chance of a lifetime,” she said. “They played in a classroom which had exceptionally well-trained teachers who were taught by the best experts in literacy and language. We watched as they went from the fall to the spring increasing their skills to the point where they outperformed many of their socio-economic peers and their non-low income peers.”

The expanded program plans to capitalize on that earlier experience through the creation of SPIRALS – Supporting Preschoolers in Reading and Language Success – by bringing the program offerings into other communities, providing professional development for teachers through its Mentor Program and creating an emergent-literacy curriculum for use in other regions of the state as well as nationally.

Marcia Davidson, University of Maine assistant professor of special education and an expert on early childhood literacy, said the SPIRALS program would be an invaluable resource to the state. She said the mentor program would provide a source of knowledge and experience for new teachers. She said it also hoped to establish online certification courses for early childhood teachers.

Davidson described the program as a “visionary endeavor,” with national impact. She said the curriculum would be published nationally and leave a legacy of knowledge for years to come.

Julia Horton, one of the teachers in the program, said she was amazed at the ability of the young children to grasp the fundamentals of language and develop a love of books. She said the children thrive in group settings. They have enormous curiosity and constantly expand on one another’s ideas.

“They are natural sponges. They soak up all the world has to offer,” Horton said. “They’re taking what they learn in school and applying it to their world.”

WCPFS has classrooms in Belfast, Brooks, Searsport, Swanville, Unity and Rockland.

For information about enrolling a child in the programs call 338-2200 or visit wcpfs.org.


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