This paper examines the development, implementation, and evaluation of the LAP Reading Program. The program sought to provide low-income, inner-city kindergarten children with "lap reading" experiences (having adults read aloud to them) to increase their interest in and knowledge of books and reading. The 10-week program initially contained 25…

This booklet discusses the origins and components of Head Start, a federal project launched in 1965 to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. The description of the program notes that in fiscal…

The result of a project that also developed a database of intergenerational child care program, this publication summarizes intergenerational child care programs in which adults age 55 or older provide child care services to infants, toddlers, and school-age children on a volunteer or salaried basis. Chapter 1 provides a rationale for…

By strengthening families' ability to nurture their children physically, emotionally, and intellectually, family support programs increase the likelihood that children will grow up healthy, safe, and successful. This report provides child advocates and others who work for children's well-being a clearer idea of what family support programs do, how…

This manual is a guide from the Montana State Library for libraries interested in setting up a family reading program with a multicultural theme. The purpose of a family reading program is to encourage reading and foster an enjoyment of reading among children and families. This manual contains an introduction which gives planning information,…

The Talk to a Literacy Learner (TTALL) program was developed in response to a New South Wales (Australia) government initiative, and is designed to focus on parents and the strategies they use to interact with their children as they read and write. An 8-week parent workshop on literacy development and a community tutor program trained selected…

During 1992, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare instituted several new collaborative projects to increase training opportunities for child care employees in the state: (1) to assure that high quality training would continue to be offered; (2) to respond to the mandate for ongoing training for all child care workers; and (3) to subsidize…

Realities of a multilingual, multiethnic workforce and the services available in the current employment and training system are discussed in this report, which outlines the main Federal programs that provide employment and training for the foreign-born. Also highlighted are issues raised by participants in the Immigrant Policy Project's regional…

The report details a 12-day workshop for 40 teachers of English as a foreign language (TEFL) held in China. It begins with an overview of the status of instruction in English as a second language (ESL) in that country, highlighting both progress and the difficulty of keeping up with demand for ESL teachers. Areas of difficulty in ESL instruction,…

A program of English instruction to speakers of other languages (ESOL) designed specifically for students with disabilities is described. The program is based on the Ulpan philosophy, developed in Israel to teach Hebrew culture to immigrants. It is operated by a private organization serving individuals with disabilities, in two Philadelphia…

A workplace literacy program for garment workers is described and evaluated. The program, a partnership between El Paso Community College (Texas) and Levi Strauss & Company, consisted of a three-level, job-specific, video-based curriculum for limited-English-speaking employees implemented at seven plants in El Paso. The 18-month model…

This practicum focused on improving the funding of a state-supported, non-profit day care center through the development of a marketing plan, enhanced fundraising techniques, increased involvement by the center's board of directors, and heightened community awareness. To accomplish these goals, board members were interviewed and encouraged to use…

A program was developed and implemented to improve the reading achievement of 56 learning-disabled (LD) students in grades five through eight in a rural school district in South Carolina. Only 12% of the students were meeting the state standard in reading. Baseline test data indicated that reading achievement was from two to six grade levels below…

After a brief literature review, this paper examines the problem of defining literacy. It emphasizes the importance of using a flexible definition based on learners' needs and goals in social contexts in determining the goals of literacy instruction. In order to illustrate the wide variation in not only students' levels of English-language…

This compilation presents edited manuscripts of presentations from a community education conference held in Illinois. Summaries are provided for the following presentations: (1) "Leadership for Diversity," by Theodore L. Gross, outlining classroom goals to lead students out of prejudice; (2) "Building Coalitions," by Pat Kaye Edwards, reviewing…