Name of the Project

West Virginia Statewide Family Literacy Initiative

Grantee Contact

Kathi Polis, Director of Adult Education

West Virginia Department of Education

Building 6, Room 358

1900 Kanawha Blvd. East

Charleston, WV 25305-0330

Tel: (304) 558-6318 and Fax (304) 558-3946

E-mail: kpolis@access.k12.wv.us

Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Coordinator

Terry Fattaleh, Project Coordinator

West Virginia Department of Education

1816 Military Road

Huntington, WV 25701

Tel: (304) 733-3018 and Fax to the same number after first calling

E-mail (at home): d.fattaleh@att.net

Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative Project Goals

• To develop and implement family literacy indicators of program quality and performance standards for use in evaluating program performance and continuous improvement of family literacy services
• To develop a family literacy framework with flexible models consistent with the four-prong federal definition
• To create and launch a public awareness campaign to increase public knowledge of the benefits of a comprehensive family literacy program, identify the availability and access of information for family literacy training, and expand opportunities for families to locate and receive services
• To develop and implement a professional development plan based on effective practices for family literacy programs and scientifically-based research on emerging literacy, language development and reading instruction
• To increase the intensity of local family literacy activities for school age children through summer literacy activities coordinated with REA, Title I, WVREADS, and West Virginia University

Project Description

West Virginia will meet its first goal by involving stakeholders and local program staff in developing and field-testing indicators and appropriate performance levels. In addition to the required outcome areas, indicators will be developed to address staff development, program management, recruitment, retention, curriculum and instruction, and other areas. The consortium is recommending that all family literacy programs, regardless of funding source, eventually use the developed indicators as a guide for evaluation and continuous improvement.

To meet other initiative goals, West Virginia will conduct a Statewide family literacy planning institute to engage potential partners in understanding a comprehensive program model, identify gaps in services, and develop a coordinated plan to address those gaps. Model implementation sites will be established with small start-up grants. The initiative will also put together an array of staff development activities and will consolidate pre-existing training opportunities in one calendar. A cadre of experienced family literacy practitioners will serve as family literacy training specialists. A Statewide public awareness campaign will include promotional packets to be distributed to media, regular contributions to relevant publications, public service announcements, and establishment of a web site. A strand on incorporating family literacy into summer remediation programs will be included in the State's early literacy conference.

Invitational Priorities

• Using research on reading and literacy in program planning
• Implementing a professional development plan for staff
• Increasing the intensity of family literacy activities for school-age children (up to 7 years old)
• Improving local evaluation methods and practices
• Absolute Priority: Family Literacy Performance Indicators