Name of the Project

Family Literacy Statewide Initiative

Grantee Contact

Mary Ann Jackson (originally) Changed to Monica Notaro or Michelle Dudka

(please note which one)

Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Coordinator

Michelle Dudka, Ph.D., Coordinator

WI Technical College System Board

310 Price Place, P.O. Box 7874

Madison WI 53707-7874

Tel: 608-266-5858

Fax: 608-266-1690

E-mail: dudkas@board.tech.wi.us

Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative Project Goals

• The design and implementation of professional development as in-service for faculty and staff working with family-centered education Statewide.
• The development of Statewide indicators of program quality with respect to Even Start and other family-centered programs.
• The design and implementation of a Statewide public awareness campaign for the purpose of educating both professionals and the general public about the design of and necessity for family-centered education.
• The development of a strategy to impact pre-service teacher preparation programs to reflect the philosophy and strategies of family-centered education.

Project Description

The Wisconsin Consortium of Programs for Families has been active since February 1999. It has a detailed plan to achieve the above stated goals, which can be summarized as follows:

• Development of performance indicators with respect to adults and children in all Even Start Programs for the purpose of program improvement, monitoring, and providing an information base for decisions about funding programs. Integrate this with efforts of other existing groups or programs which target families with children birth through eight who wish to develop performance indicators.
• A broad-based professional development effort that incorporates current providers as well as teacher training institutions and establishing a cadre of mentors to support current activities and the expansion of family literacy throughout the systems of early childhood education, adult education and family education in the State.
• Public awareness to increase knowledge of family literacy and its impact on lifelong learning, and to develop and disseminate resources and information that support current activities and the expansion of family literacy throughout the systems of early childhood education, adult education, and family education in the State.
• Change at all levels of teacher training (i.e., Child Development Associate (CDA), Associate Degree, Bachelor's Degrees, Continuing Education) to develop a system of common core competencies that integrate family literacy (andragogy and pedagogy) across training programs.

Priorities Addressed