SDE Awards $1.88 Million for Even Start Family Literacy

(Santa Fe, NM)—The New Mexico State Department of Education (SDE) announced today $1,889,992 have been awarded to 10 programs in New Mexico from the federal William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Program. The programs will support integrated family literacy services for parents and their preschool children, encouraging and demonstrating to them practices that promote literacy, language-learning and reading within homes and preschool settings. Of the 10 programs, eight are continuing projects and two are starting new four-year cycles.

“Through the Even Start Family Literacy Program we are working to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy in New Mexico. Foremost, we are improving the educational opportunities of low-income families through early childhood education, adult literacy or adult basic education and parenting education. This is one more way New Mexico is improving the academic achievement of children and adults,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael J. Davis.

The funded programs are as follows:

Bernalillo Public Schools (previously funded; starting a new four-year cycle) $296,000
Central Consolidated Schools $194,612
Espanola Public Schools $218,552
Gadsden Independent Schools $223,957
Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools (new program) $221,970
Las Cruces Public Schools $203,736
Regional Education Cooperative #8 (Artesia and Carlsbad) $111,000
Socorro Consolidated Schools $185,000
The Gathering Place, Thoreau, New Mexico $108,225
Zuni Public Schools $126,940

One goal of the program is to prepare children to meet the state’s content standards and benchmarks. Programs must base instructional programs on scientifically based reading research and build on high-quality community resources.