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HeadsUp! Reading
R2LP brought HeadsUp! Reading to Providence in 2003 through a contract with the National Head Start Association, making Providence the first city in the country to offer the training program. HeadsUp! Reading provides family child-care providers and early-care educators with the latest research and practices in early literacy. The 15-week course is delivered via satellite television at Ready to Learn Providence at 945 Westminster Street. To accommodate the busy schedules of child-care providers, classes are held in the evening. The program and all training materials are offered in either English or Spanish. The weekly classes combine national experts with locally trained facilitators to make the information both relevant and useful. R2LP contracted with the National Head Start Association to train 18 on-site facilitators, most of whom live or work in Providence. These classroom facilitators are able to answer questions, reinforce the curriculum, and connect providers with local resources, such as those at the Providence Public Library. HeadsUp! Reading, which R2LP hosts at no cost to participants, is open to all early-care providers in Providence. R2LP provides a small stipend to cover transportation, child care and other expenses. After completing the 45 hours of training, participants are eligible for three college credits through the University of Rhode Island. Pre- and post-assessments are conducted at the participants’ settings to measure progress. R2LP has hosted 10 HeadsUp! Reading classes since 2003. Over the next 17 months, an additional 135 providers are expected to complete the program, and by 2008 R2LP hopes every licensed provider in the city will have taken the course. HeadsUp! Reading is funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Bureau. For more information or to register for a session, please call Tania Quezada at 401-490-9960 or e-mail Tania at tquezada@provplan.org. See a map that shows the locations of HeadsUp! Reading graduates. HeadsUp! Reading Club Twenty-five graduates of the HeadsUp! Reading training program have joined Ready to Learn Providence’s first HeadsUp! Reading Club. Once every other month these early-care providers and educators gather for a two-hour evening meeting at R2LP to fine tune the early literacy skills they acquired in HeadsUp! Reading. Participants learn how to select quality books and how to create related activities in their settings. Club members share success stories and examples of children’s literacy work with others in the group, and serve as mentors to neighboring providers. All recommended materials, including books, are provided at no cost. The HeadsUp! Reading Clubs also help to build an early-care community. Members meet others like them who have similar interests, are facing similar challenges, and are committed to enhancing opportunities for themselves and the children in their care. If funding permits, additional clubs will be formed following future HeadsUp! Reading sessions. Look for announcements of new clubs on this website. |
