Anderson County First Steps Wins State Literacy Award

Recently at the 2013 annual conference for the South Carolina International Reading Association in Myrtle Beach, SC the Anderson County First Steps Board was recognized for its work in promoting literacy and the work they have done in the school districts of Anderson County.

Executive Director Paige Wall accepted the award and said, “Receiving the award for significant contribution in literacy is an honor. Anderson County First Steps works with children 0-5 and their families who are at the highest risk for not being ready for school. Family Literacy makes a permanent change in people's lives and is something that can never be taken away. Over the last 13 years at First Steps, I have witnessed the difference literacy skills make with the children and families we serve in Anderson County.”

Jane Harrison, Anderson One, said, “First Steps makes a great impact in our district for students, parents and teachers. Their financial support is greatly needed and appreciated and provides opportunities that might otherwise not be available. Anderson One was happy to submit this outstanding organization and is grateful for the recognition they have received and so rightly deserved.”

The Anderson County First Steps Board works along side community leaders, child care providers, parents, teachers, faith leaders and businesses. These individuals collaborate to address unmet needs of young children and their families specific to Anderson County. During the past twelve years, under the direction of its Board, the Anderson County First Steps Partnership has achieved many literacy milestones:

• The Anderson County First Steps Partnership has distributed $7,145,173 to area school districts and other education organizations to support parent and family strengthening programs and services, school transition, 4-K classes for at-risk children; and to improve learning environments through the child care quality enhancement and training programs.

• Since 2007 when the Partnership transitioned to supporting model Family Literacy Programs in all five school districts, 72 parents have received GEDs and 71 teen mothers have received high school diplomas. 100% of parents improved their pre/post assessment scores based on at least one scale of the Parent Education Profile (PEP). The Partnership collaborated with Anderson School Districts 1 and 4 to obtain $150,000 in Even Start grants to expand programming. The Partnership purchased and distributed READY kits for all five school districts paid for in part by the Anderson Rotary Club.

• The Partnership continues to expand the number of available half-day 4-K classes impacting overall 645 at-risk children and their parents to date.

• The Partnership has helped improve the learning environments of 19 Anderson County child care providers to date.

• In May, 2011 and 2012, United Way of Anderson County awarded $16,740 in grant funds to the Partnership to implement the Countdown to Kindergarten program. This program has served to date 127 at-risk four-year-olds to prepare them for kindergarten and to provide assistance to their parents.

The focus of Partnership services is Family Literacy, a comprehensive program that provides a holistic, fully integrated, family-focused approach, providing parents and children most in need of improving their literacy skills with intensive, frequent and long-term educational and non-educational services. The target population is composed of at-risk children, ages 0-5, and their families with low caregiver education, teenage parents, and children and parents in poverty.

Family literacy services integrate all of the following: Adult Education; Childhood Education; Parent Education; and Interactive Parent/Child Activities. The desired outcomes of this program are to:

• Extend basic academic level, set and achieve goals, and acquire successful workplace and interpersonal skills.

• Promote the growth and development of young children and to engage parents in their child’s educational program.

• Provide instruction on how children grow, develop, and learn; connect parents with community resources; and provides opportunities for parents to network and develop mutual support systems.

Outcomes are measured based on pre-and post-client assessments using Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE); Basic English Skills Test (BEST Plus); Parent Education Profile (PEP); Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), Denver Developmental Screening (Denver II); and/or Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT).

Through surveys, parents report that the Family Literacy program has helped them: be a better parent; deal with behavior and different developmental stages of their children; learn more ways to help their children prepare for school readiness; help them and their spouses collaborate with parenting; obtain books and build home libraries; and provide child care so the parent can go to school and obtain meaningful employment.