Next
Consortium Meeting – March 31, 2004
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TN DE, 710 James Robertson Pkwy, Nashville; 10 a.m. - 12 noon
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Send topics of interest to Becky Goldstein rebecca.goldstein@state.tn.us
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Consortium Continuation: Post Grant Activites
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Summit Resources: Executive
Summary of Design for the Future
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The Even Start program at Berclair Elementary School in Memphis has an English Language Learner focus. Entering its second year of service, this family literacy project has been extremely well received by the community and now has a waiting list for participants. Site Director Steve Baade reports on a recent back-to-school Family Celebration at Berclair. We had a Family Celebration and recruitment event last night at 6:30. We wanted to reward the adults who had achieved a certain number of hours since the beginning of adult English classes and to tell families new to Berclair and interested in our program a little bit about Even Start. We planned to have about 50 people, including children, but we bought extra pizza and drinks to be on the safe side. Good plan! We had more than 125 Hispanic attendees. We were shocked and pleased. The community is really beginning to trust us and to know we are here for them. A reporter from La Prensa Latina, a local bilingual newspaper, came to write an article about our program. A representative from Tennessee Infant Parent Services (TIPS) attended and was very impressed with the turnout. She works with the Latino community and was really amazed by the openness and degree of cooperation our families show toward each other and our program. First we welcomed the families and introduced the Even Start staff. Then three of our mothers shared their Even Start experiences. Each spoke about a different aspect of the program. Both the Berclair English teacher and Family Support person noted that, three months ago, these mothers would never have spoken in front of a large crowd, much less with a microphone! It’s becoming obvious that Adult Ed not only provides people with necessary skills, but also gives them confidence and a sense of empowerment within the community. This is probably the greatest success we’ve had so far! We had an awards ceremony and presented certificates and Spanish/English dictionaries to the recipients. Then the TIPS representative spoke about their services. We followed that with an overview of Even Start services and a discussion of the commitment our families make to the Even Start program. At the end of the evening we had a surprise Clothing Giveaway. Many teachers and people from the community contributed clothes and baby supplies, including strollers and carseats, for our families. These families are so appreciative of everything we have offered them. The ripple effects of our event are evident in school today as the Hispanic students talk about it with classmates and teachers. Several teachers have approached us tell us they heard last night was a great success!
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Fam
Lit Is Appreciated! To all members of the Hawkins County Schools’ Early Childhood Education Program, I just wanted to take the time to really thank you all for all the time and care you have given my little girl, Taylor Thurman. Since she first started with your program a couple years ago, she has grown and learned so much. I thank you so much for taking the time to really show and explain to her things that her father and I were not really sure how to go about explaining. Just in the last year alone, Taylor has really taken a special interest in actually wanting to learn new things. She has become a lot more social with other children, which was a concern of ours. She used to prefer to play alone. Now she’ll approach other children and initiate play. Taylor is now realizing that there are consequences for her actions and that her actions can actually have a pretty big impact on those around her. Just the fact that Taylor has come so far in realizing that other people have feelings too means so much to me. But to actually have gained such a sense of sympathy not only towards other people, but everything (animals, bugs, you name it) really does give me a wonderful sense of comfort as she starts transitioning into the new school year. Even Start has just been such a huge blessing for me and our family. Without your help I probably would have never been able to get my schooling that I needed to acquire my GED. I would never have been able to afford daycare on my own, which then means that I would never have been able to work. Being able to work has not only helped in allowing me to support our family, but it has also played a huge role in getting me motivated to get back into school. I don’t know how else to say it, I feel like I owe everything to you all. I love your program, I love what you have done for my daughter, I love what you have done for my family, and I just wish you knew what a window of opportunity this has opened up for me and my family. Thank
you from the bottom of my heart,
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