National Literacy Secretariat - Project Funding 2002-2003 (Prince Edward Island)
(01.04/02 - 31.07/02)
Ms. Wendy Waite-Snow
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION - EAST PRINCE CHAPTER
P.O. Box 1374
Summerside,PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C1N4K2
Tel. (902) 436-4094
Play Fair Kids: Literacy for Families
The P.E.I. Early Childhood Development Association of East Prince (P.E.I. ECDA), in partnership with East Prince Health and the Department of Health and Social Services, will develop and produce literacy materials to enhance the vocabulary of emotions among families with young children. This project builds on a project that developed literacy resources to support parents and early childhood educators in teaching emotional and behavioural skills related to empathy. Family story books will be developed which build on the characters, themes, and messages from the previous project, which parents can use to explore topics such as empathy, impulse control, co-operation, and respect for oneself and others. A CD ROM will also be produced featuring voice recordings of the stories, and several Story Sacks will be developed. Early childhood educators and parents will provide input for development of the products informally and through focus groups. Media advisories, press releases and interviews will raise awareness of the project, and a public launch will take place. The family story books and the CD ROM will be distributed to licensed early childhood education centres, family resource centres, public libraries, and elementary school libraries across the Island. The Story Sacks will be distributed to each provincial chapter of the P.E.I. ECDA and to family resource centres. All products will be made available to national and international agencies or bodies as examples of family literacy resource materials. This project will result in the creation of products that will contribute to the literacy success of young children and will encourage parent-child interaction and promotion of family literacy activities.
Ms. Charlotte Cudmore
MORELL REGION COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER
100 Little Flower Avenue
Morell,PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C0A1S0
Tel. (902) 961-2642
Morell Learning Centre "Storysacks Library"
Morell Region Community Learning Centre Inc. will undertake a pilot project to increase awareness of family literacy through the development of a Storysacks library serving the King's County communities of Mount Stewart, Morell, and Souris. A Storysack is a large cloth bag that contains a quality children's book, props to tell the story, an accompanying audio cassette tape, and a "prompt" card with ideas and activities for parents and children. The Centre will create eight Storysacks and hold four orientation workshops for families to provide practical information on aspects of making Storysacks and to explore the contribution Storysacks can make to family literacy. Local community groups will be involved in the production of the Storysacks, and the project will build on and contribute to the province- wide Storysacks initiative being undertaken by the PEI Literacy Alliance. Evaluation of this project will consist of tracking borrowing of the Storysacks and the number of partnerships established. This project will result in the development of interactive literacy tools for families that will give parents of various literacy levels the confidence to enjoy books and read with their children. In addition, this project will serve as a vehicle to increase public awareness of the value of family literacy and will have the long term benefit of bridging some of the gaps in literacy activities in an area of great need.
Mr. John Kamphuis
P.E.I.PROVINCIAL APPRENTICESHIP BOARD
16 Fitzroy Street P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown,PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C1A7N8
Tel. (902) 368-4625
Literacy & Prior Learning Assessment: Strengthening the Foundation in Apprenticeship on P.E.I.
The P.E.I. Provincial Apprenticeship Board, in partnership with Workplace Education P.E.I., will develop and design a literacy and numeracy project to increase the success rate of trades people who are seeking trades certification. The Board will research and record the number of individuals actively employed in voluntary and compulsory trades, the number who are certified, and their literacy and numeracy levels. A Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) portfolio on the apprenticeship process will be developed to demonstrate the chronological events involved in apprenticeship and certification. This project will also focus on gathering of essential skills information and completion of all preparatory work to develop the pilot, including a curriculum outline, a delivery agenda, and an information session. This project will be evaluated through individual interviews, focus groups, and written/oral surveys. This project will lay the foundation for a pilot that will allow trades people to maximize opportunities and progress towards certification in order to remain competitive in a changing work environment. In addition, this project will provide the basis to establish a province-wide initiative to increase awareness of the importance of literacy and numeracy skills in obtaining trades certification. The resulting model can be shared with other provinces.
Mrs. Laura Mair
PROJECT L.O.V.E.- PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
11 Queen Street P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown,PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C1A7N8
Tel. (902) 368-4695
Reaching out with L.O.V.E.
Project L.O.V.E. (Let Older Volunteers Educate) will extend the scope of their successful volunteer recruitment campaign to focus on the Western region of Prince Edward Island, an area shown to have the lowest literacy levels in the province, one of the highest high school dropout rates, and a strong need for a solid literacy volunteer base. Promotional materials will be developed for recruitment of retirees and for use at trade shows, fairs, and retirement events that Project L.O.V.E. will attend to promote the project. In addition, advertisements will appear in local newspapers and in community newsletters, and public service announcements will air on both radio and television. Presentations will be given to Western School Board administrators and in-service presentations will be developed and delivered to train teachers to support literacy volunteers in their schools. Seven new schools will participate, with the goal of recruiting and training forty new volunteers. The Board of Directors, which includes a professor of social gerontology and Project L.O.V.E. volunteers, will review the project's progress on a monthly basis, and the executive committee will oversee the project directly. The project will be evaluated in several ways: respondents to the established toll-free telephone line will judge the media campaign's effectiveness; surveys will be conducted at public presentations to evaluate the message; the number of new schools and volunteers involved with the project will be recorded to indicate promotion efficacy; new volunteers will be surveyed at one and three months; and on-site visits will be conducted at new project locations. This project will enable Project L.O.V.E. to build a stronger literacy volunteer base in a high-need region and will promote literacy and volunteerism.
Monsieur Gilbert Ladéroute
SOCIÉTÉ ÉDUCATIVE DE L'ÎLE-DU-PRINCE-ÉDOUARD INC.
48, chemin Mill Case Postale 159
Wellington,PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C0B2E0
Tel. (902) 854-3010
"Soutien éducatif aux familles"
La Société Éducative de L'Isle-du-Prince-Édouard, in partnership with CAP enfants (Coalition action pour enfants) and La Voix acadienne, will undertake various literacy activities to increase and improve the services available to the Acadian and Francophone community on Prince Edward Island. Activities will include researching literacy centres and existing materials across Canada, particularly in Ontario and Québec, in order to develop literacy starter kits and thirty small booklets for parents to use with their children. In addition, a six-part parental literacy column will be published in La Voix acadienne, and tutors will be recruited and trained to support literacy initiatives from a French Canadian perspective, also utilising the kits developed in this project. A support system will be established in all Acadian and Francophone regions on the Island for adults with low literacy skills. Evaluation will consist of questionnaires, observation notes, open discussions, and meetings following each activity and upon completion of the project. This project will increase parental awareness of the importance of family literacy, and will provide participants with learning opportunities and on-going support in the area of family literacy.
Mrs. Barbara Macnutt
TOUGH CHALLENGES: GREAT REWARDS IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 2000 16 Fitzroy Street
Charlottetown,PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C1A7N8
Tel. (902) 368-6286
Are We There Yet?
In September 1996, the provincial literacy strategy entitled Tough Challenges: Great Rewards - A Strategy of Adult Literacy/Education, was released in Prince Edward Island with the goal of making "adult literacy/education accessible and affordable to all adult learners in PEI". It has provided the blue print for establishing literacy and adult basic education programs province wide, the development of the Workplace Education Literacy Initiative, and the development of a family literacy strategy for the province. The current project will assess the overall impact of Tough Challenges: Great Rewards by measuring the effectiveness of funded programs and activities in meeting the strategy's goals over the past five years. Through a variety of evaluation methods including surveys, interviews and document review, it will be determined if the original goals and success indicators have been accomplished, and the effectiveness of the strategy will be demonstrated in measurable terms. All aspects of the strategy and its implementation will be reviewed, and new ways of measuring impact will be developed. The final result will be a comprehensive report of all activities that have resulted in implementation of Tough Challenges: Great Rewards. This project will provide a baseline of information about the strategy and will help to determine future priority areas, new success indicators, goals, and a vision to lead literacy in PEI for the next five years.
Ms. Mary Burke
P.E.I. LITERACY ALLIANCE INC.
11 Queen Street 1st Floor P.O. Box 400
Charlottetown, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C1A 7K7
Tel. (902) 368-3620
Storysacks in PEI
The PEI Literacy Alliance will undertake a project to develop a province-wide implementation strategy for Storysacks, a resource tool for introducing and encouraging literacy in young children and parents. A Storysack is a large cloth bag that contains a good quality children's book, props to tell the story, an accompanying audio cassette tape, and a "prompt" card with ideas and activities for parents and children. Meetings will be held with provincial organizations to familiarize them with the Storysacks concept and to establish partnerships that are essential in building a Storysacks network. The Alliance will create, demonstrate and distribute ten Storysacks and facilitate their visibility and availability on Prince Edward Island. An inventory of Storysacks will be compiled for resource centres, community groups and parents, and an image will be designed to act as a symbol to promote Storysacks. Promotional materials for Storysacks will be developed and distributed, and local media will be used to raise awareness of Storysacks and of the six workshops that will be held across the Island to demonstrate their use. The compiled inventory of Storysacks and the tracking of their distribution will be used as an evaluation tool, and parents will be asked to complete an evaluation following the workshops. This project will result in the creation, distribution and province-wide promotion of an innovative and creative tool that offers methods with which to enhance children's and caregiver's learning and literacy.
Fostering and Supporting Initiatives in the Literacy Community
The PEI Literacy Alliance will undertake various activities focussing on family literacy and public awareness, including workshops, public events, and resource production. The Alliance will deliver several proposal writing, plain language and literacy information workshops to member organizations and co-sponsor a Learners Conference with Laubach Literacy of Canada - PEI. The Alliance will launch a new adult scholarship program honouring literacy leaders who have supported the annual Peter Gzowski Invitational (PGI), as well as taking over management of the Reading Line, a toll-free literacy information line that provides a valuable resource for literacy learners and tutors. The Alliance will introduce a new learning disabilities screening tool for adults, as well as assist in the improvement of referral and services for ex-offenders in partnership with the Department of Justice and the Institute for Adult and Community Education. Family literacy activities will include workshop presentations, development and distribution of 300 family literacy kits, and the presentation of a Family Literacy Carousel in celebration of Family Literacy Day 2003. In addition, Word Monster, a popular mascot and ambassador for family literacy in the province, will embark on a PEI library tour to promote family literacy as well as a new comic of Word Monster adventures that will be produced and distributed as a result of the project. Evaluation of this project will consist of several surveys, formal and informal feedback at events, and the documentation of workshop registration, information requests and borrowing of items. This project will raise public awareness of literacy issues and increase interest in and knowledge of family literacy, helping to advance literacy for the people of Prince Edward Island.
Mrs. Barbara Macnutt
TOUGH CHALLENGES: GREAT REWARDS IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
16 Fitzroy Street P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C1A 7N8
Tel. (902) 368-6286
Evaluation of Project L.O.V.E.
The Tough Challenges Great Rewards Implementation Committee will conduct a summative evaluation of Project L.O.V.E., a province-wide organization formed in 1993 which promotes intergenerational literacy activities. Using qualitative methods, the Implementation Committee will determine the effectiveness and value of Project L.O.V.E. to both Island children and seniors by conducting interviews with students, developing and delivering a survey to Project L.O.V.E. volunteers and students, and by gathering information from teachers involved in the program. The evaluation will provide a concrete document that supports the work Project L.O.V.E. is doing and that can be shared with other organizations and provinces on a more formal basis. This project will provide Project L.O.V.E. with feedback on their progress as an organization to date and will be used as a basis for Project L.O.V.E. to move forward with extension and improvement of intergenerational literacy services and activities on Prince Edward Island.
Mrs. Barbara Macnutt
WORKPLACE EDUCATION PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
16 Fitzroy Street P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
C1A 7N8
Tel. (902) 368-6286
Workplace Literacy
Workplace Education PEI will undertake a project to develop and pilot a workplace literacy program intended for three distinct groups (plumbers, cooks and administrative staff), as well as develop and launch a public awareness and outreach campaign for out-of school youth aimed at increasing the profile of the trades and increasing literacy skills. The workplace literacy program will assess and ensure basic literacy and essential skill levels to improve occupational performance, and to prepare tradespersons for certification and changing job demands. The pilot will focus on three areas of literacy (document, prose, and quantitative) with the goal being the acquisition and application of new literacy skills. Using the workplace education model, the pilot will take place at each work site and job specific curriculum will be developed for each group. In addition to addressing the common literacy issues among these groups, each program will be specifically based on the needs of learners as determined by the Individual Needs Assessment (INA). Based on information from the "Skills Canada Focus Group Report" (2001), a report surveying youths' perceptions of the trades, the public awareness and outreach campaign will highlight successful tradespersons through various media outlets specifically targeting youth, and encourage youth to enter literacy programs that will lead them to trade certification. An advisory committee will be established to oversee the project, and assessment will take place via several informal evaluations. This project will result in the development of a workplace literacy program for tradespersons and administrative staff that will benefit employers and employees, both occupationally and educationally, as well as promoting the importance of literacy and education in obtaining employment as a tradesperson.
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