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CONTACT: Benita Somerfield
(202) 955-6183
April 24, 2008
BARBARA BUSH FOUNDATION
ANNOUNCES 2008 GRANT WINNERS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy announced today that it has awarded a total of $647,029 to develop or expand ten programs that will improve the literacy skills of parents and their children. Since its inception in 1989, the Foundation has awarded over $30 million to almost 700 family literacy programs in 50 states including our nation’s capital.
"I truly believe that being able to read, write, and comprehend are the keys to a successful and happy life," said Barbara Bush. "And a literate society is important to keeping our country strong and safe. Our goal and what these grants provide for, is to send children reading ready to their first day of school, and to equip parents with the literacy tools they need for success. There is no greater opportunity for quality time between parent and child than reading together."
Ranging in size from $63,432 to $65,000, the ten winning grant applications were chosen from over 300 proposals, submitted by a wide variety of private non-profit and public organizations including libraries, correctional institutions, universities, housing projects, and public schools. This year's grant recipients will be announced at the Foundation's fourteenth annual fundraiser, A Celebration of Reading, which will be held today at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston. The evening will be hosted by George and Barbara Bush and stars authors: Jill Conner Browne, Amy Grant, Immaculee Ilibagiza, Jim Nantz, as well as other surprise guests.
In addition to its national program, the Foundation also has 4 statewide family literacy initiatives in Maine, Texas, Florida and Maryland. These four initiatives are currently completing their respective grant competitions, and will announce their 2008 grants by June.
For more information about the work of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, see our website: www.barbarabushfoundation.com
The 2008 grants were awarded to the following organizations:
Operation Bootstrap
Lynn, MA
The Connery Families Learn Together program will increase the chance of educational success for at-risk children. The program will provide twenty families from the Connery School ,a Title I school in Lynn,with comprehensive services including ESL classes for parents, early childhood classes for children, parenting classes, interactive literacy activities, and home visits.
Unitah School District
Vernal, UT
The Unitah School District Family Literacy Project focuses on : early childhood education, adult education, parent education, and daily literacy activities in the home. This program will operate for 20 hours per week and include additional evening classes in order to meet the needs of the working population.
Jefferson Parish Public Schools Systems
Marrero, LA
The Westbank Family Literacy Center program is an expansion of the Jefferson Parish Public Schools 16 year Even Start program. This program will serve between 15 to 20 Latino families who need ESL family literacy services as they transition into the Westbank community.
Central Vermont Community Action Council, Inc.
Barre, VT
The Central Vermont Family Literacy Center is a multi-agency collaboration that will expand its adult and early education programs for parents with low literacy levels and their young children.. Families will receive services at the Center as well as home visits provided by qualified educators.
Little Wound School Family and Child Education Program
Kyle, SD
The Keeping the Circle Strong program will provide families at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with a take- home library of 100 books and two magazine subscriptions, as well as information and training to encourage parents to help their children become readers.
Anchorage School District
Anchorage, AK
The Child in Transition/Homeless Family Literacy Project, a program of the Anchorage School District, will establish a culture of family literacy among homeless families. A Family Literacy Tutor/Specialist will provide weekly adult literacy instruction and intergenerational activities for families within the walls of a homeless shelter.
Clay Community Schools
Brazil, IN
The Clay County Family Literacy Program will continue their successful Even Start Program for low literacy parents with children ages six weeks to 5 years. The program includes ABE/GED and high school classes for the parents, quality early childhood education for the children, interactive literacy activities for the families, and parent education.
Lauderdale County School District
Meridian, MS
The Barbara Bush Literacy Connection program is an expansion of the Lauderdale County School District’s Family Resource Center. The program will serve 10-30 low income families that are in need of literacy skills, GED, high school diplomas, ABE and parenting classes .
Township High School District 214 Community Education Foundation
Arlington Heights, IL
The Women’s and Children Center will serve 30 Latinas with very limited English and basic skills, as well as 35 pre-school children. The goal of this program is to educate these women to become economically independent, and to help them become their children’s first and most important teachers.
Advocacy Outreach
Elgin, TX
The Advocacy Outreach Family Literacy Program will implement a project that integrates the components of adult education, early childhood education, and intergenerational literacy activities. The goals of the project are to increase the English language and literacy skills of parents; to prepare parents to be their children’s first teachers; and to help children develop the academic skills needed to succeed as life-long learners.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 29, 2008
CONTACT: Laura DiSerio, Manager, Marketing and Communications
202.362.3606 x120 or ldiserio@washingtonballet.org
THE WASHINGTON BALLET
TO CLOSE ITS 2007.2008 SEASON WITH
CINDERELLA, MAY 7-11
TWB TO RECOGNIZE CINDERELLA ESSAY CONTEST WINNER
AT SEASON CLOSING PERFORMANCE
(WASHINGTON, DC) – The Washington Ballet (TWB) will close its 2007.2008 Season with TWB Artistic Director Septime Webre’s blockbuster adaptation of Cinderella, May 7-11 at DC’s historic Warner Theatre. This classic fairy tale gets a fresh makeover with vibrant dancing by the full force of the TWB organization, ravishing costumes and new sets by Jim Kronzer. At the final performance of this production on May 11, TWB will honor the winner of its Cinderella Essay Contest administered in partnership with The Maryland Family Literacy Initiative of The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy (BBFFL).
The essay contest was open to all second grade DC public schools students who participate in TWB’s DanceDC program, which uses dance to enhance literacy and education. Students were asked to tell their “Cinderella stories” and to answer the question, “Have you ever made a dream come true?” The BBFFL staff judged submissions based on grammar, punctuation, creativity and organization and chose Breonna Chase, a student at Malcolm X Elementary School as the winner. As a special surprise treat, Breonna’s class will tour the White House, and Breonna will also receive the following:
- Recognition at TWB’s 2008 spring gala, Cinderella Ball, on April 25 at the Mellon Auditorium
- Tickets to Cinderella for up to four family members
- Recognition from the stage at TWB’s closing performance of Cinderella on May 11 at 2:00 p.m.
- A special backstage tour of Cinderella and the opportunity to meet the stars of the production.
“The work by the children who participate in DanceDC showed how personal and real their hopes and dreams for the future really are,” adds Katrina Toews who oversees the DanceDC program. “Their writings moved me.”
Speaking on behalf of the Maryland Initiative of The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, Founder Doro Bush Koch adds, “Breonna showed great creativity with her story about moving into a new home. We applaud her work, as well as the work of all the students who participated in this wonderful project.”
To learn more about The Washington Ballet, please visit www.washingtonballet.org. To learn more about The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, please visit www.barbarabushfoundation.com.
BARBARA BUSH INTERVIEW
Please click HERE to view a recent interview that Mrs. Bush had with Kathleen Shannon of Portland's WCSH 6 news station. Mrs. Bush discusses her reasons for starting her foundation, the state initiatives, and her views on literacy. She also reflects upon her role as a president's wife and a president's mother.
April 24, 2008
Three Education Doctoral Students Selected as TCALL Barbara Bush Fellows
Writer: Jenna Kujawski, 979.845.7917, jkujawski@tamu.edu
Contact: Harriet Vardiman Smith, 979.862.6519, hsmith@tamu.edu
Marla Rea, Renata Russo and Megan Terry were announced as the 2008-2009 Barbara Bush Fellows by The Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL). Each will receive $33,333 in fellowship funding made possible by the generous support of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
The Barbara Bush Fellowships at TCALL gives Ph.D. candidates the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research in the field of family literacy. These generous fellowships consist of a one-year award, which may be used to offset the cost of travel expenses to conferences, dissertation research, and/or tuition, fees, and maintenance while a student is enrolled at Texas A&M University. During their fellowship year, students will have the opportunity to present their work at national family literacy conferences and publish their research in peer-reviewed journals.
Rea, a doctoral student in bilingual education, is currently dean of instruction for English Language Learners for Bryan High School and has taught in public schools from Pre-K through high school. She is interested in researching how immigrant families’ access to continuing education opportunities affects their children’s success in school.
Russo, an adult education doctoral student, is following up on a year of research as a TCALL Fellow in adult literacy, and is interested in the impact of the four components of a family literacy program on parents’ literacy development in obtaining their GED.
Terry, a doctoral student in school psychology and a 2007-2008 Barbara Bush Fellow, will retest and analyze the measures she created for the Home Literacy Environment Test that was administered to Head Start parents in Brazos County so that it can soundly be used by a variety of researchers and professionals to improve literacy in the home.
The fellows were formally introduced as the Barbara Bush Fellows by former First Lady Barbara Bush at the Celebration of Reading Program April 24 in Houston.
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