Clinton Global Initiative Announces Partnership with U of A Literacy Project

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University of Arkansas childhood education students read to children at a Rogers laundromat last year.

The Clinton Global Initiative announced at its fifth annual meeting in June a new commitment to help families in Northwest Arkansas through the University of Arkansas "Wash Time is Talk Time" initiative at local laundromats.

Vicki S. Collet, assistant professor of childhood education, serves as adviser and evaluator for this project.

As part of this commitment called "Too Small to Fail," volunteers will distribute "Talking is Teaching" posters in more than 20 Northwest Arkansas laundromats. The posters suggest language for talking with children while at the laundromat. Because the average laundromat visit takes over two hours, laundry time offers a valuable yet often overlooked opportunity for parents to engage in language-rich conversation, Collet said.

The posters help parents make the most of these everyday moments, suggesting, for example, conversations about clothing, sorting and color. Collet will conduct a pilot evaluation of the "Talking is Teaching" posters to determine any shifts in attitudes, knowledge and behavior related to children's early language development as a result of integrating these materials into family outreach programs in laundromats.

"We're eager to supply these posters to laundromats in Northwest Arkansas," Collet said. "Recent studies suggests that, in low income areas, signs that prompt conversation make children and their caregivers more likely to engage in vocabulary-rich talk. This is important given the word gap between children in lower- and middle-income families."

Studies have found that, by age 4, children in middle- and upper-income families hear 30 million more words than their lower-income peers, she said. This disparity in hearing words from parents and caregivers puts children born with the fewest advantages even further behind.

The Clinton Global Initiative partnership is an addition to the ongoing "Laundry & Literacy" project Collet and Conra Gist began in October 2012. Gist is also an assistant professor of childhood education in the College of Education and Health Professions.

"Laundry & Literacy" provides literacy experiences for low-income families while they are at local laundromats. Free laundry service, a meal and story time are provided each month through a partnership with other community organizations. The project also includes distribution of free books to laundromat patrons.

The next book distribution will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, July 3, at the Westwood Laundromat, 112 N. 13th St. in Rogers.

"Research suggests that providing children with books to read during summer break reduces the summer reading loss typical of low SES (socioeconomic status) students," Collet said. "Letting kids choose their own books makes the biggest difference, so we'll be offering a wide variety of books for our summer giveaway."

New books will also be added to the lending library bookshelf provided at the laundromat by Laundry & Literacy.

For more information about Laundry & Literacy, contact Collet at collet@uark.edu or Gist at gist@uark.edu. For more information about the Clinton Global Initiative, visit clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative/.