Story hours are Tuesdays 11 am and 4 pm; Wednesdays at 10 am; and Thursdays at 10 am. Childcare centers should call in advance to reserve a special time. For more information call CSC’s Family Library at 610-437-6000, extension 3140.

 This free summer reading program is made possible by a generous grant from the Julius and Katheryn Hommer Foundation.

 CSC is a regional leader in early childhood education affecting the lives of 40,000 young children annually. CSC believes that every child deserves a chance to succeed in school which begins in early childhood within a nurturing family. CSC: Where Early Education Works!

 The Liberty Bell Award was established more than 40 years ago to acknowledge outstanding community service. Each group presenting the award is free to establish its own criteria. Many groups present it to a layperson, a man or woman who has promoted better understanding of the rule of law, encouraged greater respect for law and the courts, stimulated a sense of civic responsibility, or contributed to good government in the community. It is often presented to an individual lawyer or judge or to an entire community organization.

CSC’s Head Start program created the Literacy Lab in 2009 to test new methods for improving early literacy among preschoolers. The first Literacy Lab was started at the Head Start/Pre-K Counts Preschool at 12^th & Linden in Allentown. Having proven to be effective, a second Literacy Lab opened at the Donley Children’s Campus in 2011. Approximately 240 children have weekly access to the lab.

Outcomes among the Head Start children indicate that those using the Literacy Lab had higher literacy scores than those children without the Literacy Lab.

CSC’s Literacy Lab is a public-private partnership, supported entirely by local businesses, many of whom belong to Education 2020! The return on investment of this unique approach of incorporating technology in early learning has proven to be a compelling case to the business. The Literacy Lab qualifies as an Educational Innovation under PA’s Dept of Economic Development program “Educational Investment Tax Credit.” Many of the contributing businesses to the Literacy Lab have taken advantage of this EITC program, including Air Products and PPL.

Also attending the May 3^rd tour are Russ Mayo, Superintendent, Allentown School District, Peter Mayes, Principal, Mosser Elementary School, ASD, and Tony Salvaggio, CEO, Computer Aid, who has been a major supporter of the Literacy Lab.                       

Giving presentations are Paula Margraf, Executive Vice President and Director Head Start of the Lehigh Valley; Deidra Vachier, Director of Early Education; and Lora Lesak, Director of Developmental Health Services.

Tour includes Literacy Lab located on the Donley Children’s Campus as well as the new Infant, Toddler Center for the Early Head Start program called SafeStart. SafeStart features a unique therapeutic nursery approach to helping children born affected by prenatal alcohol and drug exposure.

The bus driver and assistant teacher Missi Kupetz, also riding on the bus and responsible for child safety, ensured the children were safe and remained calm. Head Start dispatched a second bus to pick up the children and assistant teacher. They were delivered to their Head Start classroom on the Donley Children’s Campus, 1520 Hanover Avenue.

 The bus driver was injured in the accident and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The assistant teacher has been driven to the hospital as a precaution. Parents of the children were called and a letter will be sent home as well.

Driver undergoes surgery at St Luke’s BethlehemThe Head Start of the Lehigh Valley bus driver Argentina Cordero broke her arm in several places as a consequence of the collision between the police cruiser and bus the morning of March 27^th. She is undergoing surgery at St. Luke’s Bethlehem.

         Ms. Wiseman is an internationally recognized expert on children, teens, parenting, bullying, social justice, and ethical leadership. She’s well known for her best-seller Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and the New Realities of Girl World. It became the basis for the movie Mean Girls.  She writes the monthly “Ask Rosalind” column in Family Circle magazine. She has written the “Owning Up Curriculum,” a comprehensive social justice program for grades 6-12, which is in widespread use throughout the country.

           Seating is limited. Tickets are $25 available by visiting www.cscinc.org/events or calling 610-437-6000, x 2113.

          Community Services for Children (CSC) is a regional leader in early education affecting the lives of 40,000 children annually.

 Mrs. Gorton recently retired from Northampton Community College after 32 years where she leaves an impressive legacy of service, dedication and achievements in advocating for children and developing programs in early childhood education.

 Brother and sister Tony and Rosann Salvaggio have combined their expertise to advocate and support research in technology and methodology to improve the reading skills of pre-school aged children. They have long believed that children should start using technology early in life because it can enhance their ability to learn the basic of early reading skills. They have been principal drivers behind the development of CSC’s highly successful early literacy program called the Literacy Laboratory, which demonstrates the effectiveness of such technology tools in early literacy development.

 For additional information, call Community Services for Children at 610-437-6000, x2113, or log onto www.cscinc.org/events.

 Community Services for Children is a regional leader in early childhood education and family development, affecting the lives of 40,000 children annually.

 Tickets are $20 for an afternoon of 20 bingo games and tricky tray raffles.

 Featuring high quality purses as prizes including Coach, Michael Kor and Vera Bradley among others. Tricky Tray prizes include Disney Hopper passes, Hotel stays in Antigua & St. Lucia, Pocono SPA, 2 tickets to Godspel on Broadway, NY City Day Trip Package, Restaurants, Amusements parks, and much more.

 SafeStart is a program of Head Start/Early Head Start of the Lehigh Valley, administered by Community Services for Children (CSC). CSC believes that all children deserve a chance to succeed in school, which begins in early childhood within a nurturing family. CSC is an expert in early childhood education and family development promoting quality and innovative practices that affect the lives of 40,000 children annually in 13 counties of Pennsylvania.

For tickets, go to www.cscinc.org/events or call 610-437-6000, x 2113.

       High achievement and accolades marked the conclusion of a three-year Early Reading First grant from the US Department of Education. Community Services for Children’s program, called LEARN, incorporated research-based methods to assist preschool children in Head Start for whom English is a second language to improve their language and early literacy development. Lehigh University partnered with CSC to evaluate the effectiveness of the program during preschool and followed the children through kindergarten and first grade.

           The Head Start children in seven LEARN classrooms outperformed their peers in matched classrooms in numerous key measures including naming letters, knowing letter sounds, rhyming, and understanding syllables. Parents attended special literacy activities in which children and adults read together and learned fun activities to support and promote lite4acy, such as reading together, telling and acting out stories, and creating related crafts. Parents noted significant changes in their home literacy: increased reading at home between parent and child, increased adult reading, parents helping children learn to write letters, increased visits to the library and bookstore, and parents helping children to rhyme.

   The Lehigh University assessment of students during elementary school found that the LEARN students began kindergarten with higher skills and with less overall risk than students who did not participate. The research found that LEARN students began first grade also at a higher level than the non LEARN students having remained level in skills over the summer.

 Literacy by third grade is considered the benchmark for school achievement. In some states, literacy rate in third grade is used to project the number of prison beds that will be needed in future years.

  Head Start/Early Head Start of the Lehigh Valley are programs of Community Services for Children (CSC), a regional leader in early education, touching the lives of 40,000 children annually.  ###

Proceeds will benefit the new infant and toddler center for the SafeStart program, which helps babies and toddlers who have been exposed to drugs and alcohol and subsequent neglect.

To purchase tickets go to www.cscinc.org/events or call 610-437-6000, x 2113.