Parent Support Meeting Rescheduled for March 30th

Does your child have a special need? Would you like to meet other parents who can relate to your situation? Do you ever feel like you are the only parent who has a child with special needs?

If you can answer yes to any of these questions the Alexander County Partnership for Children would like to invite you to join other parents of children with specials needs at the Alexander County Partnership for Children, 1565 NC Highway 90 West, Taylorsville on Tuesday, March 30th at 6pm. Parents like you will join together to form a group that has endless possibilities. This group can provide support for each other, provide educational programs and/or be an advocacy group among other things.

The sky is the limit for this Exceptional Group of Parents! You will not want to miss this exciting meeting! Email us at infor@alexanderchildren.org or call 632-3799. Child care will be made available upon request.

Reading Event Coming Soon

Preschoolers across Alexander County will have the opportunity to participate in a county-wide reading event on March 1st sponsored by the Alexander County Partnership for Children- MARCH READING MADNESS.

Volunteers will gather at the Alexander County Partnership to kick off the event with a special reading by Ms. Mel, the Children’s Librarian at the Alexander County Public Library. Community volunteers will then travel to local child care centers to read a favorite book of children of all ages “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” by Laura Numeroff. Children will be mesmerized by the zany tale of the events that happen when a moose is given a muffin! Volunteers will then invite children to join in a muffin snack.

The partnership is pleased to offer this activity as literacy event that joins community partners in providing a collaborative reading effort as a means to increase interest in reading. Volunteers are still needed for this event. Please call the partnership at 632-3799 to be a part of this exciting event!

Child Care Health Consultant Begins Work

Alexander County Partnership for Children announces the employment of Charity Reese, RN as the Child Care Health Consultant to serve child care providers and families in Alexander County. Charity brings over 10 years of experience in health care including her most recent position serving as a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Gaston Memorial Hospital, Gastonia.

As a Child Care Health Consultant, Charity will provide a vital link between the children in child care and preschools, parents, providers, and community resources. Charity will assist child care providers and preschool teachers in addressing health and safety environmental needs as well as specific health needs of young children. Services will include: on-site consultations, immunization record reviews, and health and safety related educational opportunities for child care providers. Assistance with referrals to the children’s medical home and other services including Children's Developmental Services Agency (CDSA) or Exceptional Children’s Program may occur as needed.

Susan Cogdill, Executive Director of the Alexander County Partnership for Children expressed excitement in Charity joining the staff of the Partnership. “Charity brings a wealth of nursing experience. I am extremely excited to have someone with Charity's experience join our staff. Charity will be an asset to the Partnership.” The Child Care Health Consultant’s office is located at the Partnership for Children, 1565 NC Highway 90 West, Taylorsville.

Raising A Reader Introduced

Imagine children spending hours each week sitting in their parent’s lap as they read a favorite storybook together. Then imagine these same children arriving at Kindergarten already in love with reading. Children in Alexander County enrolled in More at Four classrooms are going to make this vision a reality through a literacy initiative- Raising A Reader!

As a Raising a Reader affiliate, Alexander County Partnership is pleased to announce the introduction of this critically acclaimed reading program for ten More at Four classrooms and 159 preschoolers. The purpose of Raising A Reader is to foster healthy brain development, parent-child bonding and early literacy skills critical for school success by engaging parents in a routine of daily “book cuddling” with their children. One in three children entering kindergarten lacks basic pre-reading skills, which is proven to be a key factor in determining high-school graduation and lifelong success. There is a need at the national, state, and local level for effective early literacy programs.

Each week, bright red book bags filled with beautiful picture books will be rotated into homes. The book bag and its contents quickly will become a child's favorite toy resulting in an irresistible request: “Please read to me!” Raising a reader will instill a love of reading in children that lasts a lifetime. Based on a proven theory of change, Raising A Reader is a child-driven program encompassing early childhood educators, parents and librarians in a coordinated “read-aloud” effort.
Alexander County early childhood professionals attended and afternoon training at the Partnership for Children on the Raising a Reader program. Ashley Benfield, Provider Support Specialist and Raising a Reader Coordinator taught ways to engage parents in “read-aloud” strategies anchored to language development research and storytelling traditions. These approaches will help inspire families to share books with their children. The program and its materials are age-appropriate and tailored to suit the diverse cultural traditions, ethnic and linguistic demographics present in Alexander County today.

Funding for this literacy initiative is provided by More at Four. Alexander County Partnership for Children is a United Way agency.