NESA NEWS

Providing a National Voice and Vision for Even Start Family Literacy Programs

July, 2000

Volume 4 Issue 2

National Even Start Association

Volume 4 Issue 2

National Even Start's 6th Annual Conference

Family Literacy for the New Millennium

October 22-25,2000

San Diego, California

Registration Form Inside

Message from Congressman William Goodling

Legislative Update

Between the Lions

Partnership with Esprit

Golden Bell to Lo-Inyo Even Start

National Even Start Association

National Even Start Association

123 Camino de la Reina, Suite 202 South San Diego, CA 92108 (800) 977-7777 FAX (619) 297-9107 evenstart.org

6th Annual Even Start Conference

Our Speakers Include:

NESA

Family Literacy for the New Millennium

Early Registration Opportunity! The first 100 registrants will enjoy a scenic yacht trip on "The High Spirits,"

on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 24, 2000. The 6th Annual National Even Start Conference will be held, once again, at the Holiday Inn, on San Diego's beautiful Harbor Drive.

Email to "[email protected]" or FAX to 619-297-9107

Topics Include:

Welfare-to-Work Learners Music and Literacy

Staff Training in Parent Education Adolescent Development

Parent/Homework Helper Tracking Family Outcomes

Adult Education Child Development

Assessment/Evaluation Curriculum Integration

Homework Helper Migrant Education

Family Literacy Violence Prevention

Teaching Reading Early Brain Development

Grant Writing New Approach to Teaching ESL

USDA's Child Nutrition Programs Literacy Pro System

Conference Dates: October 22-25,2000

Fee: $265 (Conference Fee includes

membership)

Pre-Conference sessions - $99 each

Holiday Inn on the Bay - $139 single/

double - bay view rooms

$20.00 additional

1355 N. Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA

(800) 877-8920

(Be sure to mention NESA to receive

special rate)

For Further Information Contact:

National Even Start Association

123 Camino de la Reina, #202 South

San Diego, CA 92108

(800) 977-7777

(619) 297-9107 Fax

Conference Sponsorship Opportunities

Don't miss this unique opportunity to reach educators, administrators and families dedicated to the cause of family literacy. Be a sponsor at the 6th Annual National Even Start Association Conference, October 22-25, 2000 in San Diego. For vendor, sponsorship or Presenter information, please call NESA at (800) 977-7777 today.

evenstart.org

Registration form enclosed or print it from our website

Tentative Schedule Included

National Even Start Association

Chairman's Message

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are very excited to announce three new Pre-Conference sessions at the 2000 National Association Conference. They are:

1) New, full day, New Grantee Orientation, including presenters from the Federal Department of Education, the National Even Start Association and the National Center for Family Literacy. This session is an excellent opportunity for brand new and first or second year program providers, to learn from experienced professionals. This session is a must for new program directors.

2) Between the Lions will provide information regarding how to integrate this new, national program with your family literacy program to improve reading and writing skills.

3) Brain Research, by Joan Firestone, will hightlight current brain research in a manner that can be easily understood and applied to early childhood development and education. She will present strategies to maximize brain development.

As a reminder, HR3222, the LIFT Act, is moving

through Congress. Please contact your Congressional Representatives and urge them to vote yes for Even Start. You can obtain information regarding how to contact your representative by accessing our Web Site at evenstart.org. A hyperlink to representative contacts is provided.

This year's NESA Conference is our opportunity to thank Congressman Goodling for all he has done for Even Start. I urge you to lend your voice as we say thank you to the author and caretaker of Even Start.

Reading is a privileged pleasure because each of us enjoys it, quite complexly, in ways not replicable by anyone else. But there is enough structural common ground in the text itself so that we can talk to each other, even sometimes persuade each other, about what we read: and that many-voiced conversation, with which, thankfully, we shall never have done, is one of the most gratifying responses to literary creation, second only to reading itself. Robert Alter

Scott Himelstein

Chairman

National Even

Start Association

NESA News Editor's Corner

National Even Start Association

123 Camino De La Reina, Suite 202 South

San Diego, CA 92108

(800) 977-7777 FAX (619) 297-9107

NESA News is published three times per year.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT...

We hope you enjoy our new newsletter format. In this issue we highlight Michigan's Newaygo County Even Start Project. Sharing successes serves to encourage and inspire others. Please send articles about your Even Start Success stories to [email protected] (FAX 619-297-9107.) Check out our Web-site at evenstart.org where hyperlinks to other partners are provided.

Thanks, and keep up the great work!

Rebecca Lunsford, Editor-in-Chief

National Director Member Services

I cannot live

without books.

Thomas Jefferson

National Even Start Association

Page 3

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

LIFT Act Essential to Breaking the Cycle of Illiteracy

by U.S. Representative William F. Goodling,

Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, introduced H.R. 3222 - the Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Act, on November 4, 1999.

Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, introduced H.R. 3222 - the Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Act, on November 4, 1999.

On February 16 of this year, the House Committee on Education and theWorkforce approved H.R. 3222, the "Literacy Involves

family literacy programs have successfully helped parents reduce their dependency on Federal assistance, obtain employment, or even advance in their current jobs. Meanwhile, school performance improves for children whose parents participate in such programs.

The LIFT Act will strengthen Even Start and make the program more effective by strengthening accountability; expanding the ages at which children can be served; setting standards based on scientific research; encouraging coordination with other federal programs to provide better services; and providing funding for training and technical assistance to local Even Start Instructors.

Across the country, Even Start programs are helping parents who are high school dropouts obtain their equivalency certificates, while teaching them on how best to foster their children's academic success. Other programs are teaching English grammar to recent immigrants and helping them understand the public school systems in which their children are enrolled. I am convinced that Even Start is working to help children, parents, and families learn to read and to improve the quality of their lives. By passing the LIFT Act, we can ensure that these programs will continue to help improve literacy and the quality of life for millions of Americans.

Throughout my career as both

an educator and legislator, I have worked hard to make sure our children receive the best education possible. I am most proud of the fact that I have tried to do this by always stressing quality over quantity and results over process. The LIFT Act is one more step in improving the quality of education in America and helping parents raise their literacy levels so they can truly be their child's most important teachers.

Families Together" (LIFT) Act. This important legislation makes changes to improve the quality of service under the Even Start program and is expected to be considered shortly by the full House.

As the original author of the Even Start family literacy program when it was first enacted in 1988, I want to be sure that the services provided to program participants are of the highest quality. Family literacy programs that are intensive and provide participants with high quality services are a very effective means of breaking the cycle of illiteracy that occurs in too many families.

Parental support is essential to a child's academic success. Unfortunately, there are many parents who are unable to support their child's education because they themselves have dropped out of school or have a low level of literacy. Family literacy programs provide adult education services to parents and, at the same time, help ensure that their children do not fall behind in school. By working with parents and

children at the same time,

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." Theodore Roosevelt

As of the date of this publication, LIFT is awaiting a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. Call your representatives to urge a "yes" vote for Even Start.

Scott Himelstein

Chairman

National Even Start Association

National Even Start Association

Page 4

Get Wild About Reading&.Go BETWEEN THE LIONS

This spring, a new family arrived on the literacy scene _ a family of lions that is! Parents Theo and Cleo, along with their cubs Lionel and Leona, head the cast of BETWEEN THE LIONS, a new PBS children's television series that promises to get kids wild about reading.

BETWEEN THE LIONS transports the audience inside an unusual library where books, words, and story characters come vividly and magically to life. The library is also home to an overworked (and underpaid) computer mouse, a couple of renegade pigeons, and a curmudgeonly bust of the library's founder, all of whom will help transform the sometimes confusing process of learning to read into an entertaining adventure for young viewers.

Each 30-minute episode introduces viewers to the many places where they are likely to encounter the written word: in stories, letters, notes, articles, poetry, reference materials, computers, signs, recipes, and songs.

While the show's engaging stories, humorous skits, and

national educational organizations to develop additional resources for educators and parents.

While the series is designed to help young children learn to read, it can also be used as a tool to help parents reinforce learning in the home. It is because of the learning potential for families that the BETWEEN THE LIONS team is working with the National Even Start Association to explore joint project opportunities.

National Even Start Association members will have an opportunity to learn more about the series and educational resources from the Between the Lions team at the NESA Annual Conference this fall.

Photo by John E. Barrett

infectious songs promise to keep young viewers entertained, its creators take seriously their educational mission. At the core of the show is the comprehensive literacy curriculum geared to beginning readers ages four to seven. Developed by the series producers, WGBH Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in consultation with the country's leading reading and literacy experts, the curriculum emphasizes both the pleasures and the value of reading, as well as the skills needed for learning how to read.

Accompanying the series is a host of resources including an extensive Web site (pbskids.org/lions) that is filled with engaging activities, games, an electronic newsletter, and other information for kids and parents based on the series content.

To continue to support this groundbreaking children's television series and ensure that the broadest possible audience benefits from its educational value, the BETWEEN THE LIONS team is working with a variety of

Mary Haggerty

Manager

Educational Outreach

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we believe we left without having lived them, those we spent with a favorite book.

Marcell Proust

Reading books

is good,

Rereading good books is better.

Lawrence Clark Powell

National Even Start Association

Page 5

Registration Form

6th Annual NESA Conference -

San Diego, CA October 22-25, 2000

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION IS SEPTEMBER 30, 2000.

Registration forms received after this date will be subject to a late fee of $30.00 and will be processed on a "space-available" basis. The first 100 applicants will be entitled to a Yacht trip, around scenic San Diego Bay, aboard the "High Spirits." Payment or purchase order must be received with completed registration form.

Name:___________________________________________________________

Organization:______________________________________________________

Address:_________________________________________________________

City:________________________State:_______________Zip:______________

Phone:_______________________Fax:___________Email:_________________

Are you a current MEMBER of NESA? Circle: YES NO If yes, your card number____________________

Do you wish to attend ESPIRS Training? Yes:_____ No:_____(Admittance to ESPIRS Training by prior registratio only.)

Pre-conference sessions (Choose One) $99 x____________

_____ New Grantee Orientation

_____ Between the Lions

_____ Brain Research

A. Total Pre-conference fees: $________________

Conference Registration (including membership renewal) $265 x_____________

B. Total registration fees:$________________

TOTAL DUE (add A & B)_______________________

PO#:___________________________________________________________

(Please FAX a copy of the purchase order with this registration)

Please charge to my: Mastercard:______Visa:______

Account Number:__________________________________________Expiration Date:_________________________

Signature:______________________________________________________

If paying by credit card, please FAX completed registration form to NESA at (619) 297-9107

If paying by check, please make check payable to National Even Start Association and mail this application,

with your check, to: 123 Camino de la Reina,Suite 202 South

San Diego, CA 92108

Your confirmation letter will serve as your invoice/receipt.

Please call NESA at (800) 977-7777 for further information or visit our web-site at evenstart.org

National Reading Panel Identifies Most Effective Research to Teach Reading

By Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Until now, educators and policy makers were left on their own to interpret the more than 115,000 English language studies on how children learn reading. Now, for the first time, teachers have guidance based on sound scientific researchon how best to teach children to read. This guidanceresults from the report of the National Reading Panel.

In 1997, the U.S. Congress asked our institute of the National Institutes of Health to consult with the U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley, to convene a national panel to review the reading research literature and determine, based on scientific evidence, the most effective ways to teach children to read. The 14 member panel confined its analysis to experimental and quasi-experimental studiesthose studies meeting the rigorous scientific standards that might be applied to evaluating a new drug or medical treatment. The panel

concluded that children can best learn to read with a combination of methods that includes:

* Phonemic awareness the knowledge that spoken words can be broken apart into smaller segments known as phonemes.

* Phonics the knowledge that phonemes are represented by letters of the alphabet which can then be blended together to form words.

* Guided repeated oral reading having children practice what they'velearned by reading aloud while receiving guidance and feedback from more proficient readers.

* Reading comprehension strategies techniques for helping children to understand what they read.

Regarding phonics, the panel found that the greatest improvements in reading were seen from systematic phonics instruction. This type of phonics instruction consists of teaching a planned sequence of phonics elements, rather than highlighting elements as they happen to appear in a text. More information on phonics and phonemic awareness is available from the NICHD publication, Why Children Succeed or Fail at Reading,

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/read bro.htm. The panel also concluded that guided oral reading is important for developing reading fluency. In guided repeated oral reading, students read out loud, to a parent, teacher or other student, who corrects

their mistakes and provides them with other feedback. The panel could not find conclusiveevidence that independent silent reading would lead to improvements in fluency. The panel stopped short of discouraging the practice, however, but recommended that if silent reading is used as a classroom technique, it should be done in combination with other types of reading instruction. To help children comprehend what they read, the panel recommended that vocabulary should be taught both directly apart from a larger narrative ortext and indirectly as words are encountered in a larger text. The panel also found that comprehension of text is best taught by teaching students a variety of techniques and systematic strategies to assist in recall of information, formulating appropriate questions, and summarizing information.

The report of the National Reading Panel is available from the NICHDs

websit,

http://www.nichd.nih.gov

Think what a book is. It is a portion of the eternal mind caught in its process through the world, stamped in an instant, and preserved for eternity.

Lord Houghton

Twice five years,

Or less I might have been, when first my mind

With conscious pleasure opened to the charm

Of words in tuneful order, found them sweet

For their own sakes, a passion, and a power;

And phrases please me chosen for delight,

For pomp, or love.

William Wordsworth

National Even Start Association

Page 7

National Even Start Association

Page 8

Lo-Inyo, CA, Program Gets Golden Bell Award

By Jed Retiman

_ News Staff - As printed in the Inyo Register

Lone Pine made history recently when the Lo-Inyo Elementary/Middle School won a Golden Bell Award for its Even Start Family Literacy Program.

Director of the program, Joanne Parsons, Lone Pine School District Superintendent, John Triolo, and Lone Pine School Board President, Catherine George all went to San Francisco to receive the award at the California SchoolBoards Association's (CSBA) Annual Educational Conference.

Parsons said the awards luncheon was very elegant and for a school to be awarded the Golden Bell is "quite an honor."

Parsons said that only 60 outstanding curriculum programs in California's public schools were awarded honors. Out of 300 entries in 19 different categories, Lone Pine's Even Start Family Literacy Program was selected as one of the best.

"It was really exciting to be surrounded by the `cream of the crop' from all the other programs", Parsons said.

To the knowledge of Parsons, Triolo, George and board member, Bill Schmidt, the Lone Pine School District has never received such an honor.

Parsons explained that after a lengthy application process, two members of a neighboring school district came to Lone Pine to validate the integrity of the program. After the validation, the program was recommended to the CSBA to receive the award.

Experts from school districts, county offices of education and the California Department of Education comprised the 18-member judging panel. CSBA is a

wellbeing, Parsons said.

The program claims that parents become learners as well as "teachers" of their child's education, and children can reach their full potential as learners.

Parsons said that Superintendent Triolo received a plaque with a bronzed school bell to represent the honor.

(From left) Lone Pine Superintedent, Jon Triolo, Even Start Family Literacy Program Director, Joanne Parsons, and Lone Pine School Board President, Cathy George were at San Francisco to receive the California School Boards Association "Golden Bell Award."

cont'd from page 2 - Introducing Board Member Sheryl Barnett

...children are young and the ability to offer intensive services over time contribute to her commitment and belief in Even Start.

Sheryl has been an advocate for early childhood and school-age care over the past couple decades. This interest led her to her current position as the President/CEO of Volunteers of America in Sioux Falls in 1998. Programs under her administration include child care,Teen Parent programs,Community HeadStart, Even Start, Parenting and Provider Trainings.

In addition to her board member role with the National Even Start Association, Sheryl has worked on the Governor's Task Force for School-age Care, served as the state co-chair for National Women's Political Caucus, is a member of the Sioux Falls Promise Board, the state director for Healthy Families America, is a member of NAEYC, South Dakota Children's Coalition and serves on the national Volunteers of America steering committee for Children and Youth.. She has presented at many local, state and national conferences on childcare, parenting and mental health issues.

Sheryl and her husband, Frank, have two children, Molly , a recent graduate of the University of Arizona and Patrick , a freshman at South Dakota State.

Page 9

non-profit association representing nearly 1,000 school districts and county offices of education throughout California.

The CSBA Golden Bell Awards program promotes excellence in education by recognizing outstanding programs in school districts and county offices of education throughout California. The Golden Bell Awards reflect the depth and breadth of the education programs necessary to address students' changing needs. The goal of the program is to contribute to the development and evaluation of curriculum, instruction and support services.

The Lone Pine Even Start Family Literacy Program is a state and federally funded family program which helps families at the lowest ends of the literacy and economic spectrums, Parsons said.

In the program, parents become their child's first teacher. The program also uses existing resources to help parents and children learn together. Providing literacy training for both parents and children makes this program unique, and improves economic and social

National Even Start Association

Introducing our Partnership with Esprit

Esprit de Corp., the San Francisco-based apparel company with 19 retail stores nationwide, is proud to support the Even Start Association in its commitment to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy.

During the month of August (8/1 - 8/23) Esprit retail stores will be running an event entitled Even Start/Esprit Style Defined. Esprit defines its style in both fashion and community involvement. This fall, in addition to exciting back to school styles, we're offering our customers $10.00 off any purchase of $50.00 or more when they bring in a book to be donated to the Even Start Association. During this event, Esprit will be collecting these books to be given to an Even Start center closest to the following retail locations:

California: Beverly Center, Pasadena, South Coast Plaza, Stoneridge,

Stonestown, Valley Fair

Colorado: Littleton

Connecticut: Westfarms

Florida: Sunset

Hawaii:Hilton, Pearlridge,Waikiki

Michigan: Troy

Missouri: St. Louis

New York: Garden City

Virginia: Norfolk

Washington: Bellevue

Founded in San Francisco in 1968, Esprit has developed into one of the most recognized lifestyle brands in the world. Sold in 350 freestanding retail stores in over 44 countries, the Esprit brand is available in department stores, specialty stores as well as Esprit.com. Esprit designs,

produces and distributes a wide variety of products including women's sportswear, children's wear, footwear, accessories, swimwear, eyewear, timewear, and bath & bed.

Esprit is excited to be able to assist the National Even Start Association's literacy program. We know our customers will be just as excited to participate in this important cause. Esprit has had a long history of supporting a variety of community groups over the years, and this is one more way we hope to help.

Leslie Mullins

Retail Director of Visual Merchandising and Marketing.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE - NESA CONFERENCE

October 22

Pre-Conferences (choose one ,Full Day session,9AM - 3PM):

New Grantee Orientation

Between the Lions

Building Children's Brains

4PM _ 8PM Registration for Conference

6PM Reception

October 23

Full Day Conference

October 24

Full Day Conference

October 25

Half Day Conference, until Noon

There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we believe we left without having lived them, those we spent with a favorite book.

Marcell Proust

National Even Start Association

Page 10

National Even Start Association

123 Camino de la Reina, Suite202 South

San Diego, CA 92108