Services

Who supported your development into the literate person you are today? What

experiences supported that development?

The process for developing into a literate person must be transferred from

parent or adult to child within families. A positive connection between adults

and children promotes literacy development.

Our own lives confirm the crucial role that adults play in the literacy development of

children. We understand the connection between positive adult-child interaction and the

development of literacy. We gain an appreciation of the fact that a love of literacy can

be transmitted from one generation to the next. This intergenerational aspect of literacy

development is the

“Power of Family Literacy.”

The LEAP philosophy that literacy is the foundation to education attainment is

demonstrated through its family literacy programs which follow the national family literacy

model: Adult Education, Early Childhood Education, Parent and Child Together (PACT)

Time, and Parenting Time. Integrating those four components provides a framework for

comprehensive family literacy services. It allows learning across generational lines,

building not only on the strengths of families, but also on their goals and interests to

provide a powerful and meaningful context for learning.

The

Even Start Family Learning Program

is located at South Side School in Kendallville.

Families meet five times per week with qualified staff trained to implement the four

component model. Parents develop academic goals, whether it is earning a

GED,

learning

English as a new language (ENL),

or improving job skills. Preschool-age

children receive instruction using the East Noble School Corporation “Foundations”

curriculum, preparing them to transition smoothly to Kindergarten. PACT Time offers

the opportunity or families to play together, and Parenting Time provides parents with a

chance to share the challenges and successes of applying parenting skills.

Collaborators include The Early Childhood Alliance, Drug Free Noble County, The East

Noble School Corporation, The Department of Families and Children, The Four County

Area Vocational Cooperative, The Kendallville Library, and Noble House.

This year,

Even Start

expanded its program to include families with children ages 6

weeks to 10 years old. These families meet two evenings per week, participating in all

four components. Infants and toddlers develop literacy skills through physical activities

and structured playtime. School-age children receive homework help and tutoring as

well as opportunities to build their literacy skills. The addition of evening programming

has given working families, who do not have the time to commit to 60 hours per month,

the opportunity to develop skills to help their child be successful problem solvers as they

grow.

LEAP’s ENL

programs have also evolved into family literacy opportunities to participants

in Ligonier. Childcare includes literacy based activities for babies, toddlers, and school

age children. Childcare providers have checked out discovery boxes from the Ligonier

Public Library and used them with all ages of children. Parents are encouraged to take

their children to the library to explore other boxes and materials that will help foster

language acquisition as well as literacy skills. Next year, LEAP plans to offer PACT

activities once per month for families in the Ligonier programs.

LEAP’s family literacy programs

are essential in preparing families to become active

participants in their children’s education. These programs, like all LEAP’s programs are

providing residents with the opportunity to become life-long learners and assets to the

Noble County community.