Many parents may not be aware of how great an impact their education can make on their child's success in school. In fact, family literacy is one of the strongest predictors of a child's success in school. In this edition of Ed Forum we will talk to professionals in the field of literacy about steps parents can take at home to encourage reading and literacy at home before children go to school. We will also take a look at a successful comprehensive family literacy program in Greene County that helps families whose parents have minimal education or language barriers.

Program Moderator:

Audrey Kates Bailey
Public Information Officer
NC Community College System

Guests on the program include:

Nancye Brown Gaj
President of Motheread, Inc.
919-781-2088

Ray C. Gilbert, Sr.
Executive Director of the Fatherhood Resource Center.
910-253-0407

Barbara Kuligowski
Coordinator for the Even Start Family Literacy Program and also a consultant in Early Childhood Education.

Sue Scott
Emerging Technologies, NC Department of Public Instruction

LouAnne Shackelford, Director of the Greene County Lucy Heart Hill Family Literacy Program also appears. The family literacy program is a partnership with the local community college and public schools.

Greene County Lucy Heart Hill Family Literacy program is located at the Greene County Education Center on the satellite campus of Lenoir Community College, 602 West Harper Street, 252-747-4300, 252-747-0364 fax.

Motheread

Motheread, Inc., a multidimensional national literacy organization, began in 1987 as an intergenerational approach to developing literacy skills. The Motheread Institute teaches participants how to implement instructional model and curriculum in their local communities.

As part of their curriculum development, Motheread develops programs based on outstanding, commercially available, multicultural children's books.

The Raleigh-based national headquarters provides literacy services in the local community and through alliances with state and national funding partners, Motheread participates in special research and literacy development projects.

Motheread and its founder, adult educator Nancye Brown Gaj, have received numerous state and national honors, including the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal from the President of the United States in 1998 and the Parenting Leaders designation from Parenting Magazine in 2000.

Motheread and UNC-TV are developing a joint literacy effort in order to reach more North Carolina parents.