National Center for Families Learning Announces Literacy Partnership with State of Indiana

LOUISVILLE, Ky., July  21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Education is a topic that inspires passion and varied opinions, but proponents of all perspectives recognize that family is a major constant in education and that parents can make a significant impact on their child's educational success. Today, the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) and the Indiana Department of Education announce a partnership to empower families to read together and inspire hope in the face of challenging realities.

NCFL will support the already-robust offerings of the Hoosier Family of Readers program from the Indiana Department of Education. This joint effort will tailor strategies and techniques to support and encourage families to read together on an ongoing basis.

In their shared mission, Hoosier Family of Readers calls on the local community to inspire a love of reading while NCFL brings learning directly to families where they are with free resources like Camp Wonderopolis that will inspire future program elements for the state of Indiana.

Hoosier Family of Readers' visionary model emphasizes reading as an essential skill and lifelong benefit for Indiana children and adults, and NCFL enriches this approach with proven success models from its work throughout the United States.

"The nation recognizes NCFL's national leadership in assembling the best strategies around family approaches to reading and learning – which makes them a natural choice to join our efforts in bringing the strongest literacy programming to Indiana families," said Glenda Ritz, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The programs found much in common with their approach to infusing learning in everyday family moments from breakfast to bedtime. Additionally, the focus on reading comes at a crucial time, as roughly 25 percent of students throughout elementary school nationally are reading far below grade level, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

 "We've worked with all kinds of organizations on coordinated literacy efforts to take learning beyond the classroom and into communities," said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president, NCFL. "Having a state take this on in a coordinated fashion is exemplary and we look forward to continuing the momentum."

Taking this step with NCFL solidifies Indiana's place as a bellwether of forward-thinking educational leadership for the nation.

About the National Center for Families Learning

The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults and children learn together. NCFL creates and deploys innovative programs and strategies that support learning, literacy and family engagement in education. From the classroom to the community to the digital frontier, NCFL collaborates with educators, advocates and policy-makers to help families construct hotspots for learning wherever they go. For more information on NCFL's 24-year track record, visit www.familieslearning.org.
 

About Hoosier Family of Readers

The Hoosier Family of Readers is a grassroots initiative focused on building a culture of readers in Indiana.  A reading family can be any combination of caring adults and children reading together at home, at a neighborhood library, or out of school places like the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA or scouts.

SOURCE National Center for Families Learning