Project SOAR
Sharing Opportunities and
Activities for Reading
A Head Start Early
Literacy Youth & Development Initiative
Mission:
Project SOAR, developed in partnership between the
Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services and the UIC Center
for Literacy, is committed to supporting the development of literacy
among preschool children in Head Start programs, as well as supporting
teens and parents serving as Teen Literacy Coaches and Parent Literacy
Leaders as they develop their own literacy, leadership, and
employability skills.
The design and development of the SOAR
with Literacy Initiative is based upon the following three
tenets:
·
Head Start children will benefit from
extensive interactions with trained youth and adults who will engage
them in age-appropriate early literacy activities.
·
Teens will benefit from participation
in a wide array of youth development activities to develop the
behaviors, skills, and attitudes needed to successfully transition to
adulthood.
·
Parents will benefit from training and
experiences that further develop the skills needed to effectively
support their children’s education throughout the grades and prepare
them to transition to further education or employment.
Goal 1:
Head Start Classrooms will develop a more
literate classroom environment through support from the HS Early
Literacy & Youth Initiative
Objective 1.1
Train teen literacy coaches and parent
literacy leaders to prepare them to effectively engage preschool
children in age appropriate early literacy activities.
Objective 1.2
Assign teen literacy coaches and parent
literacy leaders to Head Start programs where they will work under the
direct supervision of the classroom teachers. In addition, provide
on-going technical assistance from the project’s team leaders who
develop and conduct training and make site visits to support the teen
and parents’ work in the field as they engage children in emergent
literacy activities including reading books, taking story dictations,
encouraging language development, and developing early literacy skills
through art-based activities.
Objective 1.3
Recruit and train twenty-five Head
Start parents or family members as Parent Literacy Leaders who will
participate for up to 30 hours, thus allowing for consistent service
and support to the Head Start teachers. Train parent literacy
leaders to work with other parents at the site to explain activities
that can be done at home.
Goal 2:
Parent Literacy Leaders will develop the
skills needed to transition to post-secondary education or employment.
Objective 2.1
Conduct basic skills, GED preparation,
English as a Second Language, computer literacy, and career planning
workshops and provide tutoring support as needed to develop parents’
skills (an objective shared with FAST).
Objective 2.2
Provide parents enrolled in Project
SOAR with the support of team leaders who assist parents in applying
the family literacy skills and activities they learn at FAST in Head
Start classrooms.
Goal 3:
Teen literacy coaches will develop
confidence and leadership skills needed to effectively work with
preschool children and staff in the Head Start program.
Objective 3.1
Provide the infrastructure, training,
mentoring and technical assistance necessary to help teens improve
their own literacy and learning skills; develop leadership skills; and
examine career options and employment skills within the child care
field.
Achieving these benefits
for children, teens, and parents will have a dramatic impact on
families, Head Start, and the community.
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