Program helps ready pre-schoolers to succeed when they enter kindergarten
LEONARDTOWN, Md. - St. Mary’s County Library Director Kathleen Reif on Monday announced the library has been awarded a $51,728 grant to fund WoW! (Words on Wheels!) This new service will expand the library’s outreach service to the county’s child care providers and parents of young children to help their children be ready to learn to read when they start school.
The 2005-2006 Maryland State Department of Education School Readiness Report indicates that 44% of St. Mary’s County children are not ready in language and literacy when they enter kindergarten. The WoW! service will target these children, via their child care providers and parents, to help improve the child’s readiness skills, particularly in the domain of language and literacy.
“It is exciting to be expanding our outreach services to more children with this research based program,” said Reif. “It’s important for caregivers and parents to know how to help their children be ready to learn to read. With our new WoW! service, we will play a significant role in this process.”
Reif also announced that the position of WoW! Grant Coordinator has been awarded to Paige Painter-Boyer. Boyer is a member of the staff at the Lexington Park Library. “It is always rewarding to be able to promote staff from within the organization and in this case it is a perfect fit,” said Reif. “Paige has the enthusiasm and professional knowledge we need to bring this project to life.”
The federal grant is provided by the Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA) and was awarded by the Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Library Development and Services.