Read 365! Program Evaluation Proposal

Read 365! – Program Evaluation Proposal Project Initiation Checklist

Prepared By: Rashawna Chapman Date Prepared: 3-3-14 Ellyn Cowan Sara Einhorn Jessica White

Project Title Read 365!

Beginning with To: Books  Launch a public awareness and action campaign Project  Serve as a community-wide resource to inform the public Objectives about early literacy and urge everyone to get involved in the campaign in some way  Respectfully offer information, materials, and skill development to parents and other adults to encourage them to read to children for 20 minutes a day  Recruit volunteers for and promote community literacy partner programs  Get books into the hands of children

In a way that:  Increases adults’ awareness of the importance of reading to young children every day  Involves children in the literacy effort  Directs parents/caregivers to community literacy programs to enable parents and other adults to promote the literacy development of children in their care  Results in parents/caregivers reading to their children for 20 minutes a day

So that:  Significantly more children of low-income communities in Allegheny County will become capable and enthusiastic lifelong readers  More children in Allegheny County will read at grade level  The adult literacy rate will increase Background

Conceptual What aspects of the project are in the conceptual scope? Scope or Project Scope

“The opportunity to own and experience new, high-quality children’s books, that are both culturally and developmentally appropriate, fosters in both young children and the adults who care for them mutually enjoyable literacy experiences and a love of books.”

What aspects of the project are in the project scope?

There is an issue with literacy and access to books in this target population. (cite literature)

13% Illiteracy rate in state of PA

10% illiteracy rate in AC

http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/stateestimates.aspx

Put in stats on reading at grade level

Places to cite: Early Literacy Initiative; Public Library Association, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

http://www.gplc.org/faqs.cfm

1. What is the illiteracy rate in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County? The National Assessment of Adult Literacy indicates that 13 percent of adults are in the lowest of four literacy levels, called Below Basic. Those adults struggle with everyday tasks such as understanding the instructions on a medicine bottle or adding up the amounts on a bank deposit slip. 13 percent of the adult population of Allegheny County equates to 135,000 adults. 2. What is the cause of illiteracy? There are many causes. Over the years our students have shared the following reasons for their low literacy with us: 1) dropping out of school at a young age because a parent had a terminal illness; 2) undiagnosed learning disabilities; 3) belonging to a family that moved from town to town many times, and schooling was inconsistent; 4) vision and/or hearing problems; 5) growing up in a foreign country where school was not universally available; 6) lack of a role model in one's life for education and literacy; 7) low expectations for education in some communities and in some homes.

Background  Literacy problems cycle through generations Justification  Reading to children every day is the surest way to help them become enthusiastic readers and capable learners for their whole lives  Reading together for as little as 20 minutes a day teaches children important language skills well before they enter school  Children who grow up with reading gain the skills and confidence to become strong students and grow into educated, successful adults  The first five years of life are crucial to fostering the skills and habits of literacy  Early literacy is the best way to make a difference in the lives of children

Project Aims 

Current Issues

Organization

Project Sponsor Beginning with Books Project administrators: Board of Directors: READ 365! Funders: The Heinz Endowments, The Grable Foundation, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Allegheny County school board directors:

Project Leads  Rashawna Chapman, Graduate School of Public & International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh will act as a Program Evaluator  Ellyn Cowan, Department of Behavioral & Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh will act as a Program Evaluator  Sara Einhorn, Department of Behavioral & Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh will act as a Program Evaluator  Jessica White, MS, MLS (ASCP)CM, DrPH Student, Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh will act as a Program Evaluator Evaluation

Start / End Date

July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015

Program  Needs assessment? (reach?) Evaluation  Determine the extent to which Allegheny County children are being Goals “touched” by READ 365! (Process evaluation)  Inform the possible revision of the existing program and outreach efforts  Determine if the program has had an effect on the children

Project  Detailed analysis of the evaluations Deliverables  Evaluation matrix  Budget Outcome Indicator Consideration Marketing and educational materials distributed to Number of materials printed and distributed as partner organizations and interested parents indicated in electronic purchasing orders and distribution records Placed advertisements in buses Number of advertisements placed in buses as indicated by advertisement contract with Port Authority Contracted with local TV stations for ad spots to Number of TV stations and times the be run weekly advertisements are run as indicated by TV station commercial logs Parents and caregivers accessed literacy materials Number of materials viewed and downloaded as on Read 365! Website indicated by electronic view and download counts on the program website Community volunteers recruited for local literacy Number of community volunteers placed at local programs literacy programs as indicated by volunteers placements logs and program logs Parents and caregivers accessed literacy materials Number of the materials distributed to parents and at partner organizations caregivers as indicated by the percent decrease in program materials at partner organizations Parents and caregivers discussed with other Percentage of 365! Advertisement viewers who parents, caregivers and children the importance of shared knowledge about literacy with a friend or early reading habits family member as measured by phone interview asking, “Have you seen 365! Advertisements? Have you shared this information about childhood literacy with a friend?” Parents and caregivers read to children at least 20 Number of parents and caregivers who read to minutes a day every day their children at least 20 minutes a day, every day as measured by phone interview. Literacy levels significantly increase among low- Out of scope of evaluation income community members Suggestion: check performance on reading section of the standardized tests Increase in the number of children in Allegheny Out of scope of evaluation County that read at grade level Suggestion: