Prioritizing literacy: Raising a Reader- MA

Community Team Initiative (CTI) Early Head Start Home Visiting Program is an implementing partner of Raising a Reader- MA (RAR-MA) in the Merrimack Valley. As CTI works to intentionally integrate literacy in their home visits, RAR-MA’s mission and program were a natural fit. 

RAR-MA offers a dialogic reading refresher training to staff members and provides a one-time donation of four books per family. Additionally, families in the program are invited to join RAR-MA’s virtual parent workshops. Home visitors who utilize RAR-MA strategies in their interactions with families share their experiences.

“I’ve been focusing a lot on literacy in my visits and have noticed more parents working to engage their child in reading by asking questions and pointing out the child’s interests in the books.” -Alexis Ploss, home visitor

“Language and literacy has been a big goal for a lot of my families and we’ve been using CROWD a lot to help families engage with their kids while they read to them. Families are finding it less important and ultimately less stressful to finish the book entirely but are seeing the benefits of engaging more in depth in fewer pages especially with their younger kids!” -Yina Cordero, home visitor

“I have been really focusing on literacy and language with my families especially since most of them are bilingual.” – Home visitor

“I have one family that is primarily Burmese-speaking. The little boy is 2.5 years old and very active.  He has Early Intervention services for speech, and they have a hard time getting him to focus on Zoom. I suggested to the mom to really focus on reading with picture books (because mom does not read very well in English). I have dropped books off to her a few times. Well, he has a sister that is almost 7 years old and was remote learning until recently. Each day, after she was done with class, she would sit down and read with him. He really engaged with her and it became a daily routine for them. I was so happy with the sibling engagement! He has been speaking more and using English more. It is a win-win for everyone.” -Lynn Scanlon, home visitor