Few investments are as fruitful as those made in early education. Countless studies show that dollars spent on our youngest children can make a real difference as these children move through the academic system, and, indeed, through life.
In pursuing its vision that all children in Providence will enter school healthy and ready to learn, Ready to Learn Providence has invested heavily in programs designed to improve the quality of a preschooler’s education. It raises resources from both the public and private sectors – funds that might not otherwise come to Providence.
In August 2006, R2LP won two highly competitive federal grants totaling nearly $7 million. These two grants allow R2LP to continue its professional development work in early literacy.
The $3.2 million Early Childhood Education Professional Development Project grant – one of only three awarded in the country – is funding a three-year professional development program and study that got under way in February 2007. In this program, which includes an extensive evaluation component, more than 200 center-based and family-care providers will receive college-level courses, on-the-job coaching and mentoring, and the opportunity to participate in R2LP clubs and activities.
The $3.6 million Early Reading First grant, the second awarded to R2LP, will create additional centers of educational excellence. Over the next few years, these centers will integrate a tested early-literacy curriculum into their existing programs, while offering children an environment that promotes oral and written language development in every activity. Teaching staff at these centers will receive the professional development and mentoring support needed to implement the curriculum and add richness to their classrooms.
Now in its fourth year, R2LP’s popular HeadsUp! Reading program has helped more than 400 early-care providers integrate early literacy activities into their daily programming.
R2LP’s highly successful AmeriCorps program is now in its second year. Each year 30 members are assigned to branches of the Providence Public Library, early-care education settings throughout the city, and programs headquartered at R2LP to promote early-literacy skills.
For fuller descriptions of these and other R2LP investments, please go to the links at right.
