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Literacy for Life
Written By: Tonya Hensley - Highlands Literacy Council | Issue: 2016/04 - April
While we all know that literacy is important, specialists are now informing us that the first 2,000 days of a child’s life are even more critical than we thought.
From the website first2000days.org, we gain more insight into this process: “Brains are built, not born.”
The brain is one of the only organs not fully developed at birth. Most of the cells are there, but the connections – the wiring that forms the architecture is not. These connections develop in early childhood. Every experience a baby has forms a neural connection in the brain. These connections – called synapses – form very rapidly in the early years at a rate of 700 synapses per second.
These early days can predict future success. By third grade, we know that a child’s academic future and success in life is predictable. If a child has not caught up by fourth grade, chances are he or she will not catch up, and this can lead to increased chances of dropout and a lifetime of struggling.
We are fighting to end this cycle by offering quality programs for all ages, free of charge.
Birth – Five Years: The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is offered throughout Macon County. This wonderful program provides a book per month mailed directly to the child’s home. This can build a library of 60 quality children’s books, chosen by a team of experts in child literature. To register, go to imaginationlibrary.com.
Kindergarten – Third Grade: Children can participate in several ways, the first being our after-school ESL enrichment program. This program provides homework assistance, cultural experiences, and literacy activities. Children can also participate in our ESL summer camp program in July. In Franklin, all children can participate in remediation directly in their classroom setting.
Fourth – Twelfth Grade: Study Hall is held in a group setting and provides homework assistance, computers for research and printing assignments, and additional resources, such as games and books. This age group can also participate in ESL class which teaches English and related skills.
Adults: Evening ESL and GED classes, including dinner and a children’s program, are offered two nights per week.
All Ages: Our computer lab, featuring wi-fi and Rosetta Stone in English and Spanish, is open to the public. Individual tutoring is available in any subject.
This is only a sampling of the many free programs we offer. For more details, or to volunteer or donate, please visit highlandsliteracy.com, or call us at (828) 526-0863.
