4600 Erie Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45227
Early Literacy Program
MEAC has served economically disadvantaged families in the Madisonville community of Cincinnati for over 30 years. The organization wanted to help tackle the reading deficits of the children at its local school, John P. Parker Elementary, to help break the cycle of poverty in the neighborhood.
MEAC’s Early Literacy Program, which is offered free of charge to children living in the Madisonville area, was established in January 2009. It provides critical early literacy intervention to pre-kindergarten through third grade students who have the greatest need for help. The program expects to close the achievement gap by providing instruction that is research-based and by providing teaching that is systematic, captivating, focused on success, and attuned to the individual needs of each student.
The Early Literacy Program consists of four components: a summer reading program, a school day program for individuals and small groups of three to four students, Family Literacy Nights throughout the year, and an after-school program. The summer reading program is designed to prevent “summer slide” by assessing, strengthening, and monitoring individual skills as well as immersing rising kindergarten through rising third grade students in memorable text and authentic text related activities.
The school day program provides students an opportunity to work on individual skills using proven research-based interventions. Progress is monitored and interventions are tweaked to provide the best possible outcome based on student response. A comprehensive program that is designed to supplement the work done in the classroom is used with small groups. This consists of guided reading, including comprehension and vocabulary instruction, guided and interactive writing, and letter/word work. These lessons are provided at the child’s reading level, based on careful assessment. This allows for the maximum amount of growth.
The after-school program provides another opportunity to assess, monitor, and build individual skills as well as improve overall reading and reading comprehension.
MEAC also hosts Family Literacy Nights throughout the year, which allow families to participate in activities that strengthen the children's reading skills and help parents learn ways in which to engage their children in reading when they are at home. Additional opportunities for families to learn together are provided through cultural events and outings.
As an organization, MEAC is moving toward more intentionally "serving the whole family" in an effort to get more families out of poverty. The Early Literacy Program plays a key role in this strategy. While working on improving the reading skills of young students, MEAC develops relationships with their parents or guardians and connects them to other crucial resources.