WVU Medicine Department of Pediatrics receives grant to improve West Virginia childhood literacy
West Virginia University’s School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics recently received the WVPEC Sparking Early Literacy Growth in West Virginia Grant, which aims to reduce the literacy gap for students in WV.
The West Virginia Public Education Collaborative (WVPEC) has joined with the West Virginia Department of Education, the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Marshall University’s June Harless Center for the initiative.
Dr. Lisa Costello, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, has been awarded $50,000 to start the project, BORN To ACHIEVE – I Can Read.
The project is a collaboration between pediatricians, nurses, dietitians, parents, and early childhood professionals to ignite transformational change in literacy equity, positively impacting school readiness in the state of West Virginia. This campaign highlights the importance of looking beyond institutional district-level supports within primary educational settings when cultivating transformational change in literacy proficiency rates.
“This grant will help enhance literacy training and resources for health professionals and families in our community and state,” Costello said.
The WVPEC is trying to help the young learners of West Virginia strengthen their reading and writing skills. Currently, West Virginia’s third grade proficiency rate is at 44%. The WVPEC and partners are committed to improving the literacy rate by the end of third grade through innovative projects.
The partners and literacy experts have selected nine “Sparking Early Growth” projects that will target early learners in West Virginia and test innovative strategies that zero in on widening literacy disparities. While the projects range in scale, student population, grade level and region, they all aim to address alarming discrepancies in literacy proficiency rates.
According to the National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, disadvantaged children often do not have exposure to the reading and vocabulary that develops early learning and cognitive skills, with 61% possessing no children’s books at home.
“We believe caregivers who receive mentoring and coaching about literacy acquisition during well visits will be better prepared to help their child enter school with improved school readiness skills,” said Melissa Workman, WVU Laboratory School director and early childhood specialist.
Upon conclusion of well visits, the medical care provider will give the parent a prescription to read aloud daily to the child for 20 minutes. In addition, the child will receive a coin to go to the BORN To ACHIEVE – I Can Read book vending machine to select a book containing a STEAM challenge, a science, technology, engineering, arts, and math challenge associated with each specific book.
Another component of this project addresses the delivery of professional development literacy promotion training for medical residents and pediatricians within the WVU School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Cardinal Pediatrics of Wood County, nurses, and dietitians serving families receiving support within WIC clinics in Monongalia and Wood counties. In collaboration with Dr. Costello, Dr. Timothy Lefeber, Dr. Isabela Negrin, Dr. Sydney Downey, early childhood specialists from the WVU Laboratory School will offer a professional development series addressing the fundamental aspects of literacy acquisition in early childhood and how to promote those skills in clinical settings effectively.
“This family-centered clinician responsive approach supports families in setting the occasion for enjoying book reading through reciprocal caregiver-child interactions, acquiring book knowledge, and increasing vocabulary, all of which are skills vital toward school readiness,” Workman said.
This collaborative project intentionally utilizes expertise from medical professionals and early childhood educators to close the literacy gap by impacting the child’s home literacy environment while promoting meaningful engagement with books.
“The Sparking Early Literacy Growth in West Virginia Grant will provide needed resources and education for pediatric offices and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) offices in West Virginia through our BORN To ACHIEVE – I Can Read program,” Costello said. “This grant will allow pediatricians to collaborate with other child health literacy leaders to better promote literacy education and resources in our communities. We are excited to get started and think this will have tremendous impact on children, families, and our communities.”
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