Supports for Literacy in Maine

The following is a list of organizations and agencies that are dedicated to promoting literacy in the State of Maine.  A brief description of the organization or agency, address and phone number, and the website link are included.

Raising Readers

P.O. Box 17826

Portland, ME 04112

1-800-397-3263

http://www.raisingreaders.net

Raising Readers is an initiative to promote the health and literacy of all young children in Maine.  As part of a young child’s regular well child visits between the ages of birth and five years, Raising Readers gives each child a new book.  This translates into a dozen books for every child in the state by age five.  Raising Readers also works with health care providers to provide training in the areas of early childhood literacy and adult literacy.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension

Human Development

5717 Corbett Hall, Room 314

Orono, ME 04469-5717

1-800-287-0274 (in Maine) or 581-3448 or 581-3104

http://www.umext.maine.edu/topics/families.htm

Cooperative Extension, based at the University of Maine, has developed several programs, events, activities, and publications to promote and support strong and healthy child and family development.  There are many resources available through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.  Some examples include parent education programs (“The Mothers Project” and “Parents-To-Be”), developmental fact sheets (“The Growing Years”), and a research newsletter (“Family Issues”).

Maine Parent Federation

P.O. Box 2067
Augusta, ME 04338

1-800-870-7746 (in Maine) or 623-2144

http://www.mpf.org

The Maine Parent Federation is a non-profit organization that provides information, training, and support for parents and professionals in an effort to improve the lives of children in Maine.  The Maine Parent Federation offers an extensive lending library which offers valuable resources (books, children’s books, and videos) which families and professionals can borrow.  The most updated list of resources in the lending library is available on the website.  The Maine Parent Federation also publishes a free quarterly newsletter, “Parent Connection” which offers articles on topics of interest to parents and educators.  The Maine Parent Federation also serves as the Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC) for the State of Maine which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.  Some of the initiatives which PIRC is involved include:  increasing partnerships between homes and schools by providing support to schools in developing their parent involvement programs (including the “First Day” celebration), presenting workshops, helping parents and educators understand the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and providing home visits through the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program.  All of the services through Maine Parent Federation are offered at no cost.

Maine Public Broadcasting Network

Offices in Bangor, Lewiston, and Portland

1-800-884-1717

http://www.mpbn.net/educators/index.html

Maine Public Broadcasting Network offers many educational programs and resources which engage the minds of children and families.  The website offers links to resources for teachers, including access to “PBS Teacher Source” which includes over 3000 free lesson plans and activities.

Maine Reads!

c/o Verizon Maine

28 Winter Street

Portland, ME 04102

1-866-ME READS or 871-9100

http://www.mainereads.org

Maine Reads is a non-profit organization which was founded under the guidelines of the national Verizon Reads program.  The two main programs maintained by Maine Reads are “Read with ME” and “Maine Reads Community Literacy Project”.  “Read with ME” is a statewide initiative that delivers a book to every Kindergarten student in Maine schools.  “Maine Reads Community Literacy Project” is designed to provide funds which libraries can access through grant awards in an effort to strengthen the connection of the library with its community.

Literacy Volunteers of Maine

142 High Street, Suite 632
Portland, ME 04102

1-800-322-5455 or 773-3191

http://www.lvmaine.org

Literacy Volunteers of Maine is a network of literacy providers which provides the skills necessary for adults and families to become more effective as members of a family, community, and workplace.

Maine Humanities Council

674 Brighton Avenue
Portland, ME 04102

773-2416

http://www.mainehumanities.com

Maine Humanities Council is a non-profit organization that strives to make Maine a “more thoughtful, literate, and humane place in which to live”.  Many of its programs encourage conversations about books.  Two of the literacy initiatives maintained by the Maine Humanities Council are “Born to Read” and “New Books, New Readers”.  Born to Read provides books, training, and support to parents, child care providers, and volunteers in an effort to insure that young children (ages 0-5) enjoy read alouds on a regular basis.  New Books, New Readers is a program that introduces adults who are new to reading to the world of literature by using theme-related children’s literature selections.

Maine Libraries

http://www.mainelibraries.com

There are an abundance of libraries in Maine—public, school, hospital, museum, university, and other specialized libraries—that offer a wide assortment of materials.  The “Maine Libraries” website is a tool to easily locate a library in a community.

Family Literacy

National Center for Family Literacy http://www.famlit.org

Maine Family Literacy Initiative (MEFLI)

Contact Rebecca Dyer

Maine Department of Education

23 State House Station

Augusta, ME 04333

624-6755

The Maine Family Literacy Initiative (MEFLI) is a partnership between the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and the Maine Department of Education whose belief is that the “parent is a child’s first teacher, the home is a child’s first school, and reading is a child’s first subject”.  Family literacy services are available for “low-income families where one parent or primary caregiver and at least one child between the ages of birth and 8 would benefit from literacy instruction.”  Family literacy programs involve the following four components:

·        adult literacy,

·        early childhood literacy,

·        parent education, and

·        intergenerational literacy activities.