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First Steps News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 29,2005
[ link to pdf ]
SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO PARTNER
IN USC’S CHILDREN, LIBRARIES AND
LITERACY INITIATIVE
Columbia, SC - “Children, Libraries and
Literacy,” launched today by The University of South Carolina’s
School of Library and Information Science, ties USC's research,
training and teaching mission to that of other entities who
promote early literacy across the state. With the goal of eliminating
illiteracy in the Palmetto State by specifically targeting young
children, parents and teachers, USC hopes to enhance existing
literacy programs, provide literacy research specific to South
Carolina, and offer early literacy training to those who serve
young children.
As a partner in the initiative and as part of its mission to
increase school readiness outcomes of young children, First
Steps’ 46 partnerships will echo the call for greater
attention to early literacy efforts through greater collaboration
among community agencies at the local level.
“Research
shows a significant gap in vocabulary among children as early
as age 3,” First Steps to School Readiness state director
Susan DeVenny said. “The gap is largely dependent on a
child’s exposure to words and language in the earliest
years. Increasing quality reading time and instilling a love
of reading can make a tremendous difference in eradicating the
achievement gap found in later years. Specific training on early
literacy, for those already serving SC children and families,
is a great teaching asset the University extends to all of our
partners statewide. The School of Library Science is to be commended
for their bold step to bring partners to the table to extend
the reach of this exciting initiative.”
Since inception in 1999, First Steps partnerships have invested
nearly $5.7 million in expanded services targeting early and
family literacy. Integrating local libraries, early childhood
educators and family literacy partners as part of a collaborative
planning at the local level ensures limited resources reach
as far as possible into communities across the state. “Building
high quality early learning experiences for children, when the
brain is most formative in those first few years, is the goal
of First Steps across the state,” says DeVenny. “Collaboration
and leverage among partners is how we get our work done best.”
“We are very interested in the research focus of the USC
initiative,” states Dan Wuori, School Readiness Officer
for South Carolina First Steps. “Our work in expanded
early literacy, particularly with our partners in child care
settings, should return a strong investment in greater reading
proficiency at third grade. USC’s research will help us
determine reach and impact, and allow us to help local communities
--as well as other states-- struggling with the same issue.”
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