Normal, AL, June 2018—The Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs unit is pleased to announce a new partnership to improve child literacy with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Epsilon Gamma Omega Chapter of Madison County. The AKA Chapter has served thousands of youth in the Huntsville City and Madison County School systems as a member of the Reading is Fundamental Literacy Network, and was the recipient of a national Reading is Fundamental award by the late former first lady, Barbara Bush.
The Sorority will continue its 30-year legacy of supporting child literacy by partnering with Alabama Extension’s Parent-Child Reading Enhancement Program, better known as PCREP. PCREP is designed to teach parents reading strategies to help their child to read or to improve their reading skills. The program specifically targets children 4 to 9 years-of-age and focuses on five essential components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency.
To kick off the partnership, the AKAs were a sponsor of the PCREP Family Day of Education and Fun held at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University’s Agribition Center on Saturday, June 9. This event not only allowed youth to have fun, but to earn PCREP dollars by completing educational activities provided by exhibitors. The PCREP dollars (play money) were then used at an on-site bookstore to purchase books and other educational materials, some of which were donated by the AKAs.
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is the outreach organization of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University and Auburn University that takes research-based information and transforms it into relevant programs and services. These resources help to solve timely issues and to improve the lives of Alabama citizens across the state. Providing more than 100 years of service, Alabama Extension understands the importance of partnerships when it comes to strengthening families and communities, such as the one formed with the AKA Epsilon Gamma Omega Chapter.
For more information regarding the AKA-Alabama Extension partnership or to learn more about Urban Extension family and child development programs, please contact Extension Specialist Dr. Dorothy Brandon at (256) 372-5458.