PROJECT OF EASTON INC

Programs: Lifelong learning: education servicesadult basic education, ged preparation, english as a second language: the 1991 national literacy act defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write, and speak english, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential. " project's language and literacy programs embrace this definition, striving to prepare adults to achieve self-sufficiency and economic progress as they learn to carry out their roles and responsibilities as workers, citizens and parents. Family literacy: project's family literacy program recognizes that a parent's literacy and their attitudes and beliefs toward education significantly impact their children. The model addresses the intergenerational cycle of low literacy and economic disadvantage in at-risk families by providing a four component research-model that includes adult literacy education, parenting education and support, high quality pre-school and structured parent/child literacy opportunities. This "teach the parent, reach the child" model assists parents with their literacy skills while helping them to proficiently assume their roles as their child's first and most important teacher. School-age supplemental education support - sizzle! : sizzle! Is a free, summer literacy day camp for at-risk, low-income children in grades k-4. Winner of the 2005 colonial alliance for public schools excellence in education award, this six-week program is designed to prevent summer learning loss in at-risk children and provide them with an enriching summer experience. Sizzle! Focuses on measurable academic outcomes and activities aligned with the pennsylvania state education standards for reading and addresses the reading-skills gap that widens between disadvantaged elementary school readers and their more advantaged peers. The program also works to build and support parental engagement in the child's academic progress. In fy 2013 - 2014, project served 244 adult students; 80 in adult basic education, 52 in ged prep, and 112 in esl. 84% of tested students made learning gains. 92% of esl students gained citizenship skills and 4 students became citizens, 22 students earned a ged. Project's family literacy program helped 34 families and their 49 children learn to read together and break the cycle of illiteracy. 89% of tested parents made a learning gain and 73% of the tested children made learning gains. Project supported at-risk school-age children by enrolling 176 k-4 students in sizzle! . Using the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (dibels) assessment, kindergarten children showed a 2. 4 average point gain in letter naming fluency, a -2. 4 average point decline in nonsense word fluency, and a 8. 6 average point gain in phoneme segmentation fluency. Overall, 95% of students improved reading scores, avoided the "summer slide" in learning, and returned to school ready to learn.

meeting basic needsproject's emergency services program provides 24/7 safety net support to individuals and families living in poverty or facing economic crisis. Services include a food pantry and an emergency assistance voucher program that provides shelter, transportation, prescription medications, and other essential material supports. Information and referral services also connect people in need to other available community resources. In fy 2013 - 2014, project safety net programs provided: 4,346 individuals with food; 91 nights of emergency shelter to individuals; 88 senior households with emergency fuel; 26 health essential prescriptions; 31 individuals with eye care assistance; and, 30 adults and 21 children with rental assistance to prevent homelessness; 1,108 households received information and referrals.

moving to self sufficiency: community support servicesstudent success program: the student success program (ssp) is designed to increase high school graduation rates by helping students to develop positive life skills and the planning and problem solving skills needed when they face crisis. Ssp provides two services for students in grades 5-8. One is the life skills training (lst) curriculum, a prevention-focused initiative that teaches skills related to social resistance and enhancing social and personal competence. The purpose of the lst curriculum is to influence the school climate and eventually the culture by giving students the tools to make good decisions. All children are invited to participate. The second ssp service is a wraparound case management support initiative that identifies students at high risk for school failure and dropout. Wraparound is an individualized supportive planning process that addresses risks and teaches students and their families how to plan, problem solve and move out of crisis. Both initiatives are designed to work together; to build a supportive environment and support systems that help children to succeed in school and prepare for graduation. In fy 2013 - 2014, project's ssp served 353 students in lst classes. 332 or 94% of students attended 80% or more of the classes. Two decades of evaluation research has demonstrated positive behavioral effects of the lst curriculum on smoking, alcohol, marijuana use and other illicit substances with prevention effects lasting up until the end of high school (botvin & griffin, 2004). Ssp also served 17 families in the wraparound initiative. 100% of the wraparound students were fully engaged and completed phases one and two of the four-phase process. Two students completed all four phases and successfully transitioned out of the program.