A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
ED Grant Allows CPB to Fund First Weekly Series for Parents
Joe Caliguro
National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), with help from a $35 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Early Childhood and Development, recently funded two new daily series for children and, for the first time, two accompanying weekly series for parents as part of CPB's Ready To Learn (RTL) education initiative. Ready to Learn helps pre-school and early-school children and their families and caregivers--including those for whom English is a second language--move toward the realization of the first national education goal.
"How to" Series
Dragon Tales, a daily animated half-hour preschool series, is designed to help children develop life skills necessary for learning, such as the ability to cope with change, make choices, and overcome fears. Targeted to children 2-5 years of age, it is anticipated that over 10 million youngsters will view the series on a regular basis.
Show and Tell Me, the accompanying weekly half-hour parenting series, will help educate parents and other caregivers about ways in which they can help children become ready to learn. Parent-child activities using real parents and children, role-playing games, and storytelling segments will provide parents and caregivers with specific, hands-on activities to share with their children. The producers will also create "Parenting Moments," brief between-program spots for television and radio, along with an interactive Internet component for children and families. Dragon Tales and Show and Tell Me will air on public television beginning in the 1997-98 season.
New Literacy Initiative
Between the Lions, for 4- to 7-year-olds, is the first new show in decades to promote literacy and to provide young readers with the skills needed to learn how to read. The related 13-part weekly half-hour series, Kids and How to Grow Them, will help parents and other caregivers better connect with their children, safeguard their health, and spark their creativity. Both shows will air on public television beginning in the 1998-99 season.
The ED grant has also made possible the publication of a related newsletter, PTV Families and Para la Familia. The newsletter, published in both English and Spanish, will offer parents ideas for extending their children's learning when the TV set is off. Participating stations will distribute more than 1 million copies, and a version will be available on the Internet.
U.S. Department of Education funds have also been used to expand CPB's "First Book" program from three participating stations to 48 stations. These stations have distributed more than 300,000 free books to disadvantaged children who would not otherwise own them.
(Ready To Learn is not part of a competitive grant program. Congress requested that the Department of Education award the money directly to CPB. Therefore, no additional funds are available.)
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