Readers to Leaders Program Receives Four for the Future Award

On May 24, 2013 a press release was circulated regarding the “Four For The Future” award received by the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership and the local Readers to Leaders literacy initiative.  Please see press release below.

This year, Georgia Trend and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach at the University of Georgia announced a new award called Four for the Future which recognizes community collaboration, leadership, and innovation. The purpose of this award is to acknowledge communities and regions that worked across public-private sectors and non-profit boundaries on challenging issues that ultimately will lead to an improved quality of life. On April 15, 2013, the Readers to Leaders Program in Dalton was awarded one of the Four for the Future Awards for an effort focused on getting every student reading at grade level by the third grade. 

Local representatives receive the Four for the Future award.  Pictured left to right: Jennifer Frum, University of Georgia Vice President of Public Service and Outreach; Neely Young, Georgia Trend; Mayor David Pennington, City of Dalton; Pam Partain, Chair of Readers to Leaders initiative; Michael Adams, University of Georgia President.

In June 2012, civic leaders in Whitfield County and Dalton announced a major commitment to public education through an initiative called Readers to Leaders (R2L) with the goal of getting every student reading at grade level by the third grade. Equally impressive was the fact that leaders from every major community stakeholder, the City of Dalton, Whitfield County, Dalton Public Schools (DPS), Whitfield County Schools (WCS) and the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce had skin in the game.

The R2L initiative is an outgrowth of community conversations guided by professionals from the Archway Partnership, a unit of UGA’s Public Service and Outreach division. The Archway Partnership was introduced to Dalton-Whitfield County in 2009. One of the key areas on which the group focused their attention was early literacy. “One negative statistic after another is associated with [an] inability to read at grade level by third grade,” Melissa Lu, Archway Professional says. “Creating Readers to Leaders is our community’s way of saying that we’re not going to let that happen to us.  We’re going to make sure we are doing everything we can to get our students on grade level at an early age.”

One of the key elements of the R2L program is a comprehensive, nationally recognized literacy program, the Literacy Collaborative, which was already in place in Dalton City Schools. But in an unusual move, and with the backing of the city and county governments and local chamber of commerce, the city and county school systems decided to partner, sharing resources and implementing the Literacy Collaborative in county schools as well.

In another bold step, the city, Chamber of Commerce, UGA’s College of Education and the Archway Partnership are funding a Birth-to-Age-Five Education professional for Dalton-Whitfield County. This new position will help fill in the gaps, addressing community needs related to school readiness in preschool-aged children.

Pictured left to right:  Sue Chapman, University of Georgia Archway Partnership; Superintendent Jim Hawkins, Dalton Public Schools; Mayor David Pennington, City of Dalton; Pam Partain, Chair of Readers to Leaders initiative; Superintendent Judy Gilreath, Whitfield County Schools; Barbara Ward, Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce and Joint Development Authority; Chairman Louis Fordham, Whitfield County School Board

The community also passed a five-year Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST) in July 2012. E-SPLOST funds will go toward infrastructure improvements, technology upgrades and debt retirement.

The public responded to the initiative with enthusiasm and, importantly, participation. “For our first Community Literacy Celebration, the goal was to have 200 people show up,” Lu says. “Over 2,000 people came. We saw parents hungry for ways to teach their children. We knew we were on to something. Families wanted this support and would come to events if we provided them.”

 “The communities we are recognizing are showing great foresight in investing their time and energy in a way that will have a payoff in the long term,” says Jennifer Frum, Vice President of Public Service and Outreach. “In some cases, this has meant making some fairly tough decisions in the present. It’s great to see, because it’s going to benefit all of Georgia.”

Literacy Database is Finalized

In July 2012, data was collected by Dalton State student and Archway Partnership employee Jordan Manis to create a database to support literacy and early brain development in the Dalton-Whitfield community.  The data collection was concluded in November 2012 and the Literacy and Early Brain Development Workforce Development Team was then created to assist in completing the database. 

In April, a trial presentation was given to the team and corrections were made to improve the presentation.  On May 1, 2013, Jordan and UGA student Leize Marie Davis presented the finalized literacy database to the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Executive Committee.  The database will currently be housed and maintained by Archway Education Professional Katy Green while future plans are being made.  The presentation will be given around the community to inform the public of its importance and of all the great programs in the area that are supporting literacy and early brain development.  To review this presentation please go to the following link: http://bit.ly/LiteracyDatabasePresentation

If you or an organization you know of has a program that would apply to this database and you would like to be included please email us at dwarchwaypartnership@gmail.com. Thank you!

What Does Dalton-Whitfield Think of Their Public Schools?

In January 2013, a survey was created and distributed to the public to get an understanding of how the community believes the school systems in Dalton-Whitfield are doing.  UGA law student Matthew Wilson created the survey and has worked over the past several months to compile the survey information into a report to disseminate to the community.  The results of the survey indicated that the majority of the public graded the public schools with a letter grade of “B”.  These results are right on target with national trends and show there is faith in the public schools and there is room for improvement.  To review the report with the survey results please go to the following link: http://bit.ly/EducationSurveyResults

Readers to Leaders (R2L) Update: May

On Wednesday, May 8, the members of the Readers to Leaders Workforce Development Team met to discuss announcements, updates, and action items going forward with R2L initiatives.  Announcements included the “Four For The Future” award from UGA and Georgia Trend magazine; the generous grant provided by the Community Foundation; and the interest expressed by First Presbyterian Church in being involved in the R2L initiative. 

Members of the R2L team listening at the meeting.

The team also celebrated several updates of projects.  The group was pleased to hear that Pre-K registration and the “Week of the Young Child” event were very successful.  Library Board Member, Elizabeth Chadwick, shared with the team that an application has been submitted to begin the Reach Out and Read (ROR) program through White’s Pediatrics.  The team also talked about the great summer programs across the county that will begin soon.  These programs include:

·        Big Red Reads

·        Lunch and Learn

·        NGRL Summer Reading Program

Library Board Member Elizabeth Chadwick.

Other great news announced was that the 2nd Annual Literacy Celebration has officially been scheduled to occur on July 18th at the Mack Gaston Community Center from 4:00pm-6:00pm.  Using funds donated to R2L, 3,600 keep books and 316 plastic containers were purchased to give to families at the literacy celebration.  

 

For more details from this meeting please go to the following link: http://www.archwaypartnership.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/R2L-Minutes-5-8-13.pdf

The Week of the Young Child Is Recognized in Dalton

The week of April 14-20 is nationally recognized as the Week of the Young Child (WOYC) and the month of April was recently declared in Georgia by Governor Nathan Deal as the Month of the Young Child (MOYC).  The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus the public’s attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.  The Readers to Leaders Workforce Development Team worked together to commemorate the Week of the Young Child in Dalton-Whitfield.

 

The week began with Pre-K registration at the Mack Gaston Community Center on April 15-16.  Community members were invited to attend and sign their children up for Pre-K while the children enjoyed reading circles and crafts.  The parents received a resource packet in both English and Spanish which included information to help their child’s learning growth.  They also received a summer activity packet that included activities for them to do to help their children learn Pre-K skills.  After registration each child then received a free book.

 

The week concluded with a celebratory event at Rock Bridge Community Church on April 21.  Early childhood educators from throughout the county were invited to attend and receive a certificate of appreciation for their hard work.  Special guests Mayor David Pennington, Commissioner Mike Babb, Dalton Public Schools Superintendent Jim Hawkins, Whitfield County Schools Superintendent Judy Gilreath, and Commissioner of Bright from the Start Bobby Cagle attended and spoke at the event on Sunday afternoon. 

 

Commissioner Mike Babb speaking at the ceremony.

Early childhood educators along with Commissioner Bobby Cagle and local leaders pose for a picture.

Also, the newly hired Archway Education Professional, Katy Green, was introduced during the ceremony.  Special performances were given by students from Whitfield County Pre-K and Dalton Public Schools.  The event was concluded with a reception of refreshments and cupcakes baked by students in WCS and DPS culinary arts programs.  There were also booths set up with information about Readers to Leaders, the Northwest Georgia Regional Library, Jag the Blue Ridge School Reading Buddy  and Big Red Reads which gave out free books to each child. 

Archway Partnership Executive Committee member Dixie Kinard (Right) introduces the new Archway Education Professional Katy Green (Left) to the community.

 

Whitfield County Pre-K students dancing at the ceremony.

Children choosing their free book provided by Big Red Reads.

The weeklong celebration was a huge success! Big thanks to everyone who made it possible!  For more pictures during the Week of the Young Child in Dalton-Whitfield please visit our Facebook Page at http://bit.ly/DWArchwayPartnership .

“Four for the Future” Award Graciously Received

On Monday, April 15, 2013 members of the Archway Executive Committee and the R2L team along with Mayor Pennington attended an awards luncheon at the University of Georgia.  The group proudly received the “Four for the Future Award” presented by the University of Georgia and Georgia Trend magazine for the tremendous work that is being done in the Dalton-Whitfield community.

Four for the Future Award

Literacy Database Presentation: Yea or Nay?

On Friday, April 12, 2013 members of the Literacy and Early Brain Development Database Workforce Development Team gathered together to hear a trial presentation of the database to potentially be presented around the Dalton-Whitfield community.  Archway Partnership employee and Dalton State College student Jordan Manis began the presentation with a background and overview of the database and its uses for the community which included:

·        The database can serve as a resource for the community to learn about programs and services available, where they are located, and how to participate.

 

·        The database can help local nonprofits refer clients for additional services and collaborate with other organizations to ensure all of their clients’ needs are addressed.

·        The database can help organizations identify possibilities for partnerships that could increase their potential to receive funding from federal and private grants.

·        The database can help the local stakeholders and community members to determine service gaps and determine new ways to promote early brain development and literacy in Whitfield County.

Leize Marie describing the asset maps to the group.

University of Georgia Masters in Nonprofit Administration student Leize Marie Davis then broke down the data that was gathered and exhibited different ways that the information could be used within the community.  One of the examples Leize Marie displayed was an asset map displaying book distribution sites in the county.  The map showed that the majority of the book distribution sites were located in the Dalton area and were not dispersed across Whitfield County as a whole.  This could be helpful for site coordinators to see the gaps and help make provisions to fill those gaps.  This map could also show individuals where they could locate a book distribution site to receive books and expand their learning. 

Following the presentation the floor was open for discussion for any improvements that should be made.  The team made some suggestions which will be implemented into the presentation over the next few weeks.