The Hill Early Literacy Program (HELP)A Preschool Program for Three- and Four-Year Olds

The Hill Early Literacy Program (HELP) is an innovative program, designed to help three- and four-year old preschool children develop specific pre-reading skills that will increase their chances for becoming successful readers.

With funding provided by the Mebane Charitable Foundation, The Hill Center developed a research-based “best practices” early literacy curriculum that brings together critical pre-reading research and creates a model for the successful development of reading skills in young children. The HELP curriculum serves as both a prevention and an intervention model for children at risk for failure to develop critical literacy skills.

Research-based Early Literacy Program

The HELP curriculum is based on several decades of evidence-based research on how children learn to read and write. Studies reveal that early literacy experiences are highly correlated with school achievement and enhanced productivity in adult life. The development of early literacy skills is important for all children, but especially important for children who do not have the advantage of literacy-rich experiences. Becoming a skilled reader develops over time and requires many opportunities for children to:

• Build spoken language by talking and listening.

• Recognize print in books.

• Manipulate the sounds of spoken language (called phonological awareness).

• Learn about the letters of the alphabet.

• Experience books through reading aloud and engage in conversations about the books.

With start-up in 2005, HELP was implemented in 11 childcare programs in Davie County. The program provided an early literacy curriculum and materials for three- and four-year old children, professional development training for 73 childcare providers and directors, and a reference training video for each childcare center. Follow-up teacher support and observations by Hill Center staff supported effective implementation of the program.

The HELP curriculum links what is known from research in early learning and literacy with classroom practices and creates an explicit model for improving children’s chances of academic success. Each of the daily, scripted lessons builds literacy skills in five skill areas that help children later become proficient readers and writers.

We transform students with learning differences into confident, independent learners.

What Educators are Saying About HELP

“As I used the curriculum with the children, I noticed that it really does help the children learn the sounds of the letters, recognize the letters, and I noticed that their ability to rhyme has improved. Besides, they just love it! Now I am sold on the curriculum.”

Megan Grubb, More at Four TeacherKountry Kids Learning Center

“I am excited about what the Hill project does for the use of language in the classroom. The classrooms who are participating in the project now have a structured process to assist them in using language more appropriately and more often in the classroom… The HELP curriculum helps teachers who might not be comfortable in their skills to expand on children’s ideas or language…”

Paula BurtonChild Development Specialist

Davie County Partnership for Children

The Hill Center • 3200 Pickett Road • Durham, NC 27705 • 919-489-7464 • www.hillcenter.org

• Older three- and all four-year olds ended the school year with literacy skill assessment scores comparable to or higher than national norms in two or more areas tested.

• Across all age groups, gender, race, and attendance levels, most of the preschool children’s performance on the receptive vocabulary assessment improved significantly. The preschoolers demonstrated improved ability to listen and understand the meaning of what they hear.

• The Hill Early Literacy Program training continues to be offered by The Hill Center. For more information, contact Pam Hoggard at 919-719-7551 or phoggard@hillcenter.org.

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Changes in Davie County Definitional Vocabulary

Raw Scores Compared to National Norms on TOPEL

(SY 2005-2006)n=166

HELP Results in Davie County

Preschool children in the Hill Early Literacy Program made significant increases in their early literacy skills during a two-year project. The HELP project, implemented in Davie County, NC preschools from September 2005 to May 2007, was independently evaluated by RTI International and demonstrated very significant results.

Preschool children in the study were assessed in four areas of early literacy skills: phonological awareness, print knowledge, definitional vocabulary, and receptive vocabu-lary.

While almost half the households in Davie County are headed by women who live in poverty, the preschoolers improved their early literacy skills at a rate expected for or faster than children of their age. This is an unexpected and positive finding, since children living in a county with such a high poverty level would be expected to improve their skills at rates lower than expected for children their age. In addition,

• Preschool students whose teachers participated in the HELP training significantly increased their skills in four areas of early literacy (phonological awareness, print knowledge, definitional vocabulary, and receptive vocabulary).

• During both project years, Davie County preschoolers improved their literacy skills in three of four areas tested (phonological awareness, print knowledge, and definitional vocabulary) at the rate expected for, or faster than, average children of their age.

Figure 2-2. Changes in Davie County Phonological Awareness Raw Scores (SY 2005-2006) Compared to National Norms

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End of Year Raw Score Davie County PreschoolStudents (age is beginning of year age plus 8months)National Average Raw Score at Beginning ofYear

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Changes in Davie County Phonological Awareness

Raw Scores Compared to National Norms on TOPEL

(SY 2005-2006)n=166

*Data results for SY 2006-2007 were very similar.

Figure 2-2. Changes in Davie County Phonological Awareness Raw Scores (SY 2005-2006) Compared to National Norms

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