Federal Offices or Federally Funded Clearinghouses That Provide Information on Literacy and Learning
U.S. Department of Education (ED)
ACCESS ERIC
Toll Free: 1-800-LET-ERIC
http://www.eric.ed.gov/resources/parent/parent.html
Provides referrals to all ERIC clearinghouses. ERIC—the Educational Resources Information Center—is a national education information system supported by ED. ACCESS ERIC is the source for ERIC Parent Brochures series, including “How Can I Encourage My Young Child To Read?” Two ERIC Clearinghouses that deal specially with early childhood and literacy and language development are:
ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education and the National Parent Information Network (NPIN) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (http://npin.org); and
ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication at Indiana University at Bloomington (http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec).
Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA)
University of Michigan School of Education
610 East University Avenue, Room 1600 SEB
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259
Phone: 734-647-6940
CIERA is the national research and development center on early childhood reading. It is funded by ED. CIERA’s mission is to improve the reading achievement of America’s children by developing and offering solutions to persistent problems in the learning and teaching of beginning reading.
Even Start Family Literacy Program
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202
Toll Free: 1-800-USA-LEARN
http://www.ed.gov/programs/evenstartformula/index.html
Even Start provides support for family-centered education projects to help parents learn the literacy and parenting skills they need to help their young children reach their full potential as learners. It makes grants to local education agencies, community-based organizations, and other nonprofit organizations. To find out about programs in your state, contact your state department of education or your local school district office.
National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)
800 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20006
Toll Free: 1-800-228-8813
Jointly administered by the Secretaries of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, NIFL is an independent federal institute. The NIFL Hotline is available 24 hours a day to provide free referrals for potential students and volunteers to outstanding programs in their area. Also provides free copies of current publications on literacy.
National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
555 New Jersey Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20208
Phone: 202-219-1935
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/ECI/
Sponsors research that focuses on early childhood development and education, especially school readiness, child/adult relationships, and children’s resilience.
No Child Left Behind Parents Tool Box
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202
Toll Free: 1-888-814-NCLB
http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/parents/index.html
Provides information of particular interest to parents about the No Child Left Behind legislation.
Parenting viewpoints from parents in the trenches, because parenting doesn’t come with a manual. In addition to