Strong Start® places a high value on evaluation of the effectiveness of both our programs and the methods through which they are implemented. Whenever a new program is planned, an assessment and evaluation component is built in from the beginning.
The following is information on the evaluations of our long standing Letters, Sounds and Wordsprogram and the newly developed Get Ready for School Program.
Letters, Sounds and Words Program
It is very important to us to know for certain that theLetters, Sounds and Words program and the service delivery model surrounding it, are effective. An assessment and evaluation component has been part of the project design from the beginning. Each year we gather both statistical data on the progress the children make in acquiring the targeted skills and anecdotal evidence of the success of the program.
The results have consistently demonstrated that the program is effective in helping children acquire the targeted skills. These test results confirm the opinions of volunteers and teachers that this is a valuable program.
Get Ready for School Program
Dr. Iuliana Baciu conducted extensive research related to development of this program. Each child in the program participates in a number of assessments prior to the program, and also at the conclusion of the program. Her results gathered over a period of several years indicate that the children who participated in the program improved substantially in their knowledge of early reading skills. They were able to identify the sounds that letters make, blend sounds together to identify simple words and many were able to read simple decidable books. Her findings also indicate that the children improved significantly in the development and use of vocabulary. There is substantial anecdotal evidence to indicate that the children also developed effective classroom learning skills. All of these skills ensure that the children in the program are better prepared for their educational journey in their early elementary years.
Dr. Baciu has also continued to monitor many children in the years following their participation in the Get Ready for School Program. Her findings indicate that the children in the program maintained the skills they had learned, and in some cases surpassed their peers by grade one. Because of the sound research practices associated with this program, there is evidence to support that the Get Ready for School Program is achieving the intended outcomes of the program.
Important to Note: Strong Start® is currently implementing the Get Ready for School Program(based on the research of Dr. Iuliana Baciu). Community Financial Support is used for implementation and program development purposes. Regular program assessment data gathered during implementation is shared between Strong Start® and Dr. Baciu. Assessment results from our 2010 program will be shared on this website as soon as they are available.
Going Beyond the Statistics
There are many great stories of how the Letters, Sounds and Words Program and the Get Ready for School Program has done more for children than just help them learn the skills involved in either of these programs. There are stories of Strong Start®’s contribution to building community. There are stories of how the community is rallying to support Strong Start®. Of great importance also, are the many wonderful testimonials of the impact volunteering in the program has on the lives of adults.
The Strong Start® Co-ordinator has begun documenting these true-life stories and some of them are shared with you here, with the permission of the people involved. The names of the children have been changed.
We wish to gather more stories and encourage anyone who has a Strong Start® story to share to contact us at 519-743-9578 or info@strongstart.ca