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Children's Reading Alliance pitches parent-focused literacy classes to LCPS board
Summary
The Children's Reading Alliance described a parent training program (First Teacher Primer/Maestro) that the organization says increases home literacy behaviors; CRA told the board it plans to scale classes with LCPS early-childhood partners.
Representatives of the Children's Reading Alliance (CRA) told the school board on Feb. 18 that their First Teacher Primer ("Maestro") program empowers parents to be early literacy coaches and yields measurable increases in home reading behaviors.
"If a child can learn eight rhymes before they start school, they are far more likely to be reading at grade level by third grade," Jude Hickey, CRA executive director, told the board. CRA said it has served about 2,500 families since 2012 and is working with LCPS early-childhood education to provide 20 classes this year targeted at the district's highest-need schools.
CRA said local pilot data show participants read more to their children, talk and play more often, and report greater confidence about child learning. "After the course, 97% of parents read more to their children," CRA said in slides presented to the board.
CRA representatives said the program is bilingual, includes materials (books, puzzles and games) given to families, and can be run as a condensed three-day or three-week format to encourage participation. Board members and staff discussed scaling the program to reach an estimated 1,100 families per year, and staff said they would explore options to embed the training in family-support centers and existing early-childhood networks.
Ending: The board did not take a formal action but asked staff to continue working with CRA on implementation logistics; CRA requested board advocacy and outreach to help meet expansion goals.
