From Rogersville to Memphis: The Journey of the TN SIG Preschool Literacy Training Project Alissa Ongie, M.Ed. TN SIG Pre-K Project Coordinator East Tennessee State University

What Is the PLTP? Part of the Tennessee State Improvement Grant – a federal grant through OSEP that wraps around Reading First services The PLTP has worked with preschools across Tennessee The PLTP has provided professional development to preschool teachers, parent workshops for families, and products available for free on the TN SIG website: Sig.cls.utk.edu The TN SIG is currently in a no-cost extension period with limited funding, and will end on 6/30/2010

Professional Development Training opportunities have been provided to TN SIG participating preschools in Rogersville, Knoxville, Claiborne County, Woodbury, Nashville/Davidson County, Somerville, Wayne County, and Memphis Topics covered in professional development include preschool literacy in the classroom and at home, infant/toddler literacy, and working with children with Autism

How Was PD Delivered? Workshops held at TN SIG preschools on topics requested by individual preschools ETSU Early Childhood Summer Conference – when funding was available, TN SIG preschool staff were invited to attend 3 days of conference activities with registration and all travel costs paid for by the PLTP ELLCO Quasi-experimental Design

ELLCO Experiment We chose 10 TN SIG preschools and 10 control preschools with similar qualities (same type of program, same geographical region, etc.) We used the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) to do a pre- and post-assessment on intervention and control preschools Intervention preschools received feedback on their ELLCO scores and PD in the areas in which they scored the lowest on the initial ELLCO Control preschools received no feedback or PD

ELLCO Experiment continued ELLCO PD Trainings covered the following areas: –Organization of the Classroom –Contents of the Classroom –Presence and Use of Technology –Opportunities for Child Choice and Initiative –Classroom Management Strategies –Classroom Climate –Oral Language Facilitation –Presence of Books –Approaches to Book Reading –Approaches to Children’s Writing –Approaches to Curriculum Integration –Recognizing Diversity in the Classroom –Facilitating Home Support for Literacy –Approaches to Assessment

ELLCO Experiment Continued After a year of ELLCO-related PD, the post-assessment was completed Overall, intervention preschools improved their scores on ELLCO items more than control preschools The average post-score on the classroom observation portion of the ELLCO for intervention preschools was 4.1 points (5-point scale) compared to 3 points for control preschools The average increase on the literacy activities rating scale was.7 points (13 points max available) for intervention preschools compared to -1.9 for control preschools

How PD Is Impacting Participants’ Literacy Instruction in the Classroom “I used what she showed us and used that to take what I was doing in a different direction. Made it two-fold. For example, KWL and flip chart for reading and phonics.” “Teaching them to spell their name, using letters in different ways such as the Frog Street Press using rhyme and song to get children interested in learning to read.” “Like when they are playing with food and they'll show me a piece of food and I'll say ‘what kind of food is this? What letter does it start with?’”

How PD Is Affecting Preschoolers’ Learning “It has improved their knowledge on knowing their letters. Also it has helped teach parents the importance of reading to their children at home.” “Children are more aware of the letters, recognition; a big portion of the children can print their names, recognize and print letters; when they are doing artwork they are more aware of what they are drawing - you can really see what they are drawing.” “They are recognizing the alphabet more quickly, they want to listen more and are more focused. I have seen improvement in their learning.”

Participants’ Overall Feelings about PD Received through the TN SIG PLTP “I think this is wonderful and I don't think there is a comparison to anything I've seen in the other school systems in terms of the early child professional development.” “It has a lot of components like special education that we did not have with previous PD.”

Parent Workshops We worked with participating TN SIG Preschools to schedule family nights with a focus on literacy These workshops were available to families within the community Preschools chose one of two workshops: –Family Reading – provides tips for reading aloud with preschoolers –Early Writing Experiences – provides ideas to include writing activities in the home

Parent Workshops continued Preschool Literacy Toolkit: –At the parent workshops, each family received a toolkit with items to help them include literacy in the home –These toolkits are designed to follow developmentally appropriate pre-literacy guidelines

Parent Workshops continued Toolkit Contents: –Family Reading Parent Flyer –Early Writing Experiences Parent Flyer –Spiral Notebook –Construction Paper –Little Sketch Book –Alphabet Pasting Pieces – many fonts –Glue Stick –Quality Children’s Book –Magic Markers –Wikki Stix –Pencil Sharpener –#2 Pencils –Chubby Primary Pencils

Parent Workshops continued Parent workshops have been offered in Madison, Nashville, Woodbury, and system-wide in Wayne County (over 200 preschoolers at 3 pre-K programs) In 2007 and 2008, a total of 692 Preschool Literacy Toolkits were provided to families, early childhood education students, and Head Start teachers

Products Available on TN SIG Website Materials used with preschool teachers and families are downloadable at no cost from the TN SIG website Sig.cls.utk.edu under Preschool Products section Parent brochures are also available in Spanish

Success Stories At a TN SIG preschool in Memphis, a licensing evaluator told the director that she had never seen more organized literacy instruction and that she would be using this center as an example for others At a TN SIG preschool in Jackson, the classroom that participated in the ELLCO Experiment later received a 6.09 out of 7 on the Tennessee Star Quality Assessment At a TN SIG preschool in Wayne County, the day after a tornado caused significant damage to the area, most families still attended our parent workshops held at the three pre-K sites

Contact Information If you have any questions about how to use the preschool products on our website, please contact me: Alissa Ongie Pre-K Project Coordinator TN SIG Preschool Literacy Training Project P.O. Box Johnson City, TN