FOR RELEASE: Monday, May 15, 2006
Marshallese Home Learning Literacy Project Funded
The University of Arkansas Women’s Giving Circle recently funded a multidisciplinary project to improve literacy in the area’s Marshallese community.
The philanthropic organization that grew from the Campaign for the 21st Century awarded $4,600 for a project developed by Dr. Marta Collier, associate professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education and Health Professions; Dr. Yvette Murphy, assistant professor in the School of Social Work in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Deanna Perez Williams, migrant education program coordinator for the Boston Mountain Educational Cooperative.
The project will provide children’s literacy materials that incorporate the Marshallese culture along with home-based learning activities for children of prekindergarten through fourth-grade age. The project’s goals are to improve Marshallese children’s literacy skills, support the mother’s involvement in the process and use literature to instill a sense of pride and well-being in the Marshallese community. A gap currently exists in the provision of academic support and resources to address English language needs of Marshallese students in the state, according to the grant application. The largest and fastest growing immigrant Marshallese population in the country lives in Northwest Arkansas.
The stress of migration can have a negative impact on a child’s overall well-being, the health of which is fundamental to a child’s success in school. The project will use funds from the Women’s Giving Circle for materials to develop about 30 English literacy kits that combine children’s picture books and collections of Marshallese legends and stories, primarily written in English. The kits will also include in-home learning aides – activities and resources for mothers to use with their children. For example, a recipe for a native dish along with ideas for ways in which the mother can relate the dish to a story and items to make the recipe may be included in the kit.
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Contact:
Heidi Stambuck, director of communications
College of Education and Health Professions
(575) 479-3138, stambuck@uark.edu