Mission: Literacy

A Partnership Between

The Salvation Army’s NJ Division

& The American Bible Society

What is Mission: Literacy?

•  It is a multicultural literacy curriculum for struggling readers

•  Reading levels range from the beginning reader to about a 3rd grade reading level

A Beginning Reader: Knows the names of the letters of the alphabet Know the sounds of the letters of the alphabet

Can read short words

Who developed Mission: Literacy? •  The American Bible Society

(vision, packaging, piloting, funding and a Mission: Manager who works with TSA only)

•  The Bank Street College of Education (educational strategy, writing, training for pilot programs, revisions for reprint)

This partnership began about 1996

How did the New Jersey Division become owners of Mission: Literacy?

Copyright License Agreement

October, 2006

American Bible Society granted The Salvation Army’s NJ Division:

Sole ownership for 10 years

Right to print, use & distribute it among other

divisions of TSA across the United States

Royalty-free

Printed inventory was donated

Here are some facts:

35% of Children enter school academically at risk

The skills a child enters school with directly predicts later academic performance

Ø  A poor 1st grade reader has a 90% probability of being a poor 4th grade reader

Ø  A kindergartner with good alphabet knowledge will likely be a good reader in 10th grade

Words Heard Per Hour

•  Children in poverty = 615

•  Children in the middle class = 1,251

•  Children of professionals = 2,153

By age 3, children from wealthier families typically have heard 30 million more words than children from low-income families.

Vocabulary is Vital

•  The average 6 year-old has a vocabulary of about 8,000 words

•  A child’s vocabulary in kindergarten and 1st grade is a significant predictor of her reading comprehension in the middle and secondary grades

and more facts:

School achievement vs. family income & social class

Alphabet books in the home:

► 97% of professional parents have alphabet books in the home ► only 53% of public aid parents have alphabet books in the home

Upon entering first grade:

► a middle-class child has 1,000-1,700 hours of one-on-one reading ► while a low-income child has just 25 hours of one-on-one reading

Yet another fact:

Teens who have significant reading problems .......

are 4 times more likely than their peers

to contemplate or attempt suicide

Children of low-income families… Are at risk for:

► Slower cognitive development ► Slower language development ► Poorer academic performance

Due To: ► Poverty ► Low parental education ► Limited English proficiency

Are Less Likely to have parents who: Ø Read to them Ø Help them with homework Ø Participate in school activities

Summer learning loss .....

Low-income children lose a significant amount of reading knowledge over the summer months while

Middle-income children make slight gains

Cumulative effect: By the end of 5th grade, low-income children are about 2½ years behind their more affluent peers - primarily due to summer learning loss

After-School Programs &

Summer Day Camps

Goals of Mission: Literacy

► To significantly increase the % of children able to read at grade level

► To help children discover the joy of reading God’s word

► To break the cycle of illiteracy

► To establish a relationship between a caring tutor and a child

► To have children embrace the conviction that reading is a useful and enjoyable activity

Texts of Mission: Literacy

30 Bible Stories

►30 stories from the Old & New Testaments

►Each story is in a 28-Page, beautifully illustrated & multi-ethnic book

►10 stories based on the life of Jesus

Once your corps has attended a training, This set of 30 story books can be ordered via Dawn Sharp, New Jersey Division – a free gift from the American Bible Society. You would just pay for shipping.

Lesson Plans on Website •  User-friendly – you do not have to have an education degree to

understand the lesson plans.

•  Gives guidance in how to use: Ø  The Lessons Plans included for all 30 bible story texts Ø  The Student Written Exercises included for all 30 bible story texts Ø  The hands-on learning games, crafts, etc Ø  The Alphabet and Phonics pages Ø  The Reading Skills Pre and Post Tests

This digital format allows you to easily download lesson plans and activities and to make copies for multiple tutors.

Faithfulness to biblical texts vs. a controlled vocabulary

Challenging Biblical words are included but tutors are encouraged to pronounce them and to offer plenty of help so that the child does not struggle with the Biblical vocabulary – since many of the Biblical words are admittedly beyond the expected skills of even a good reader.

The Contemporary English Version (CEV) of the Bible is used

Supporting readers through Mission: Literacy

► Tutors offer plenty of help with biblical vocabulary

► Tutors pronounce all difficult words for students

► Illustrations are vivid to keep students motivated to continue reading to find out what happens next

► Predictability of text written into the earliest books

► Tutors tailor each reading session to the student’s individual needs

Format for Mission: Literacy

Each tutor works with 1 to 5 children

In 30 minute sessions

At least once a week

In cycles where each child has had a reasonable chance to have

had at least 16 lessons

Measurement of Impact .....

Pre & Post Tests

Sentences to Read in the Curriculum CD

Other informal measures Student Folders

School Report Cards Notes by Tutor, Parents, Teachers, Child

Reporting Timeline Send to your coordinator & to Dawn Sharp who

will report to American Bible Society •  At Start: Registration form – send •  Pre Test Scores – hold until end of cycle •  Keep attendance – include children

even if only have been there for 1 week •  Tutor for 16 weeks or 16 sessions over

at least 8 weeks •  At End: Post Test Scores & Number of

tutoring sessions actually attended by each child - finish filling in the Sentences to Read Assessment Scores form & send

An Eligible Site Is One That:

•  Has the facilities, equipment, resources •  Can identify a Program Coordinator •  Has a base of staff and/or volunteers •  Has active relationships with schools •  Can schedule 16+ Week Tutoring

Cycle(s) •  Will complete reporting forms •  Plans to have ongoing tutoring cycles

Getting Started At A Corps:

► Determine funding sources ► Designate a room ► Identify the most struggling readers

Pre-test children – Group by scores ► Assign 1 tutor per 5 or fewer children

Send registration form to Coordinator & Dawn ► Order Sets of Readers from Dawn ► Train tutors – send Roster to Coordinator & Dawn ► Schedule testing, tutoring & reporting in cycles of

at least 16 Weeks ► Introduce program to parents, teachers & children ► Launch Mission: Literacy

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Testimonials