Springfield Learning Garden receives literacy grant

The Springfield Learning Garden Inc., of Springfield, Vermont has received a grant from the Children’s Literacy Foundation.

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Tuesday, January 16, 2018 Claremont, NH 27° Cloudy Springfield Learning Garden receives literacy grant | January 16, 2018 FacebookTwitterGoogle+Share SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — The Springfield Learning Garden Inc., of Springfield, Vermont has received a grant from the Children’s Literacy Foundation. The Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) has awarded 10 organizations serving low-income and at-risk children in Vermont and New Hampshire its At-Risk Children literacy program grant for the spring 2018 cycle. The grant provides a fun and inspiring storytelling session with one of CLiF’s more than 60 Vermont and New Hampshire children’s authors/illustrators and storytellers; a new on-site children’s library for the program; an optional literacy discussion for parents and family members to emphasize the importance of developing early literacy skills and tips for helping children do so; and two new high-quality books for each child to choose and keep. The grant’s goals are to promote a love of reading and writing among children at high risk of developing low literacy skills, which is a critical early indicator of a child’s future academic and professional success. The grant is awarded biennially in fall and spring cycles. Out of more than 40 deserving applicants this cycle, CLiF selected the following organizations to receive its At-Risk Children grant in Spring 2018: the ANWSD Early Education Program of Vergennes, Vermont; the Bakersville School Title 1 Preschool at the Bishop O’Neil Center of Manchester, New Hampshire; the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region in Laconia, New Hampshire; Burlington School District Parent University of Burlington, Vermont; Concord 21st Century Community Learning at Broken Ground and Mill Brook Schools of Concord, New Hampshire; Goodwin Community Health WIC Program of Tamworth, New Hampshire; Littleton Head Start of Littleton, New Hampshire; Montgomery Elementary School Early Childhood Program and Montgomery LEAPS Afterschool of Montgomery Center, Vermont; and RuralEdge, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. CLiF’s At-Risk Children grant provides opportunities and resources for low-income and at-risk children in Vermont and New Hampshire to learn to appreciate and enjoy storytelling, reading and writing, which encourages their successful development of literacy skills. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, children who are not reading and writing at proficient levels by third grade are more likely to drop out of school before high school graduation. The Children’s Literacy Foundation aims to provide children with exposure to storytelling and a wide variety of reading materials both at home and in the locations where they spend time, such as the afterschool programs, childcare centers, and affordable housing communities that were awarded CLiF’s At-Risk Children grant