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November 7, 2005
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Media Contact: |
Mike AndreiCollege Relations |
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Daemen College Provides Teacher Training in Early Literacy as part of Fresh Start Program Funded by The Peter & Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation
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In July of 2005, The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation awarded Daemen College a two-year grant totaling $69,455 to implement an early literacy program called Fresh Start.
The goals of the program are to directly and systemically improve the literacy of children, particularly low-income residents of the East Side of Buffalo, by providing training to early education teachers in literacy instruction; offering direct literacy instruction to children in grades pre-K through 1; and placing Daemen pre-service education students and service-learning students in classrooms to provide literacy instruction to children. Daemen College is collaborating with St. John Christian Academy, The Community Action Organization of Erie County, Inc., which administers Head Start, and The Early Childhood Center at Roswell Park to implement the project. The program kicked off with a teacher training, which was held at the Community Action Organization's headquarters on October 22nd. Twenty-one teachers from the Head Starts, St. John's, and the Early Childhood Center and five students from the Education Department at Daemen attended the first training session. The training introduced the participants to The WordStart System™, a music and literature based curriculum that provides classroom instruction, assessment, and intervention to eliminate the gaps that keep children from reading. Word Start covers three stages of early reading development: Pre-K - building a reading-ready oral language and knowledge base; Kindergarten - mastering the principles and elements of written language; and early to middle 1st Grade - developing sight-vocabulary, fluency and decoding skills; starting to read independently. This program also has a parent component to help parents to support their child's acquisition of early literacy skills. "The teachers and students were excited about the resources that they received and found the training very beneficial," notes Susan Krickovich, Assistant Professor, Education, and director of the grant. "The teachers are now dovetailing the program into their existing curriculum as they move to full implementation." This fall and next spring, Daemen preservice and service-learning students will be placed in pre-school classrooms to assist the educators with the implementation of the literacy program. Additional training sessions to support the program attendees will be held December 6, January 10, February 7, and March 7 at Daemen College. This collaborative program builds on the efforts of the St. John Fruit Belt CDC Development Team. The Development Team, lead by Reverend Michael Chapman of St. John Baptist Church, works collaboratively to synchronize development efforts in this neighborhood for long-term stability. LaTanya Diggs and Phyllis McBride, under the direction of Mr. L. Nathan Hare, Executive Director of the Community Action Organization and Cynthia Schwartz, Executive Director of The Office of Corporate Projects & Initiatives at Roswell Park, are also collaborating on the project. The Fruit Belt neighborhood is one of the poorest in Buffalo. Of the estimated 3274 residents, 44.7% live below poverty level and 59% of the households have incomes of less than $20,000 (2000 Census). In June of 2004, Daemen College was invited to serve on the St. John Fruit Belt CDC Development Team, and the College committed to assisting with education specifically. Funding from the Tower Foundation is providing essential resources--staff, training, and supplies--to support teacher training, direct literacy instruction, and lasting change in the Fruit Belt neighborhood. For more information about Fresh Start, contact Susan Krickovich or call 839-8553. |