Early Reading First, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, supports the transformation of early learning programs into high-quality centers of educational excellence so that low-income children have the early language, cognitive and pre-reading skills that prepare them for continued school success.
In fall 2009, R2LP was again awarded an ERF grant – its third – for $3.9 million, and work began in January 2010. The five centers participating in this program are Heritage Park YMCA Early Learning Center and Pawtucket Day Child Development Center in Pawtucket, Progreso Latino and Children’s Friend Child Care Program in Central Falls, and Roger Williams Day Care Center in Providence.
The ERF grant provides for intensive professional development, including college-level courses and mentoring, in early literacy and assessment. A partnership with the Community College of Rhode Island makes it possible for ERF participants to earn no-cost college credits for courses they take at R2LP. Funding also provides partner sites with hundreds of quality children’s books and other literacy materials.
R2LP has gathered a strong team to ensure success. Teachers at each center work with on-site mentors who model literacy strategies covered in the courses, and help with their implementation in the classrooms. The project also pays for substitutes at each center, enabling classroom teachers to attend trainings and to plan and develop new literacy activities.
R2LP received its first ERF funding in 2004 to work with four partner sites - Beautiful Beginnings Child Care Center, Cianci Head Start Center, Intown YMCA Kid’s World and the Providence Public School Department’s Leviton Annex. At the conclusion of that first program in 2007, internal and external evaluations showed positive, measurable changes in teaching practice, classroom environments and children's school readiness.
In 2006 R2LP received a second Early Reading First award of $3.7 million from the U.S. Department of Education. In this three-year program it has partnered with the East Side/Mount 
Hope YMCA, Federal Hill House Association, Genesis Center, John Hope Settlement House, West End Community Center and the R2LP Early Learning Center at CCRI. All of these partners brought unique strengths and challenges to the project and demonstrated that with a sound curriculum, strong teaching skills and a rich classroom environment, children can thrive in a diverse array of settings. Assessments of children since the start of the grant show sizable increases in early language and literacy skills. (On October 5, 2009, participants in ERF 2 shared their new strategies with one another at a final celebration.)
As in all R2LP initiatives, parents are integral to the success of the ERF program. Research shows that the roots of reading and writing begin long before children enter school. Parents learn how to nurture those roots by reading books with their children from take-home libraries and sharing activities aligned with the Rhode Island Early Learning Standards packed for them by R2LP staff.
While ERF activities will provide much knowledge about curriculum, best practices and assessment tools at the participating centers, it is expected that the findings will be applicable to other early-care settings as well. In addition, assessments will yield a wealth of data on the academic preparedness of children entering kindergarten.
