Early Reading First

In September 2009, R2LP learned it will receive a third ERF grant for $3.9 million.

Early Reading First, a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Education, supports the transformation of early learning programs into high-quality centers of educational excellence that ensure low-income children have the early language, cognitive and pre-reading skills that prepare them for continued school success.

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/Mt. 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 .)

The ERF grant provides for intensive professional development, including college-level courses and mentoring, around early literacy and assessment. A partnership with the Community College of Rhode Island makes it possible for ERF participants to earn college credits for many of the 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 a full-time on-site mentor who models literacy strategies and helps with their implementation in the classrooms. The project also funds substitutes at each center to allow time for classroom teachers to attend trainings and to plan and develop new literacy activities.

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 stories with their children and doing fun at-home activities aligned with the Rhode Island Early Learning Standards.

While ERF activities will provide much institutional 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.

Take a peek at what our ERF partners are doing to strengthen the early-literacy skills of their children.