By Eric Stevick
Herald Writer
LAKEWOOD — The Lakewood School District has received a federal grant aimed at improving literacy skills for some preschool children and their families.
Allen Sharples, curriculum coordinator for the Lakewood district, pointed to socioeconomic educational research that has found parents should be brought into the equation early if their children are to succeed.
"If you want to break the cycle of illiteracy in kids, you also have to teach the parents," Sharples said. "They have found that when the support at home isn’t there for some kids, in many cases, the parents don’t know how to provide it."
The $183,000 grant, which is renewable for up to eight years, is called the Lakewood Even Start Family Literacy Project.
It seeks to improve literacy in the home while making parents "full partners" in their children’s education, Sharples said. It also will be used to sharpen literacy skills among young children and offer adult education resources that lead to economic self-sufficiency for families.
The aid for adults could take many forms, such as helping a parent enroll in community college classes or obtaining a GED, the General Education Development certificate widely considered the equivalent of a high school diploma.
Partners in the project include the Lakewood district, the Snohomish County Literacy Coalition, the Snohomish Health District and Snohomish County Human Services. The district is also tapping into services from Everett Community College and the Sno-Isle Regional Library System.
"We are excited to be able to combine resources of the various agencies to address very real needs," said Bill Evans, an administrator who will be principal of the district’s newest elementary when it opens in the fall of 2003.
The district is eligible to renew the grant annually for up to eight years. Each year, it would contribute a larger percentage of the cost "with the idea being we aren’t just building a program that goes away when the funds go away," Sharples said.
The project begins in January.
You can call Herald Writer Eric Stevick at 425-339-3446
or send e-mail to stevick@heraldnet.com.
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