Early Literacy and closing the GAPJazmine BrownleeWalden U

Early Literacy and closing the GAP
Jazmine Brownlee
Walden University
EDDD 8085/EDSD 7085: Inspired Leadership, Informed
Advocacy, and Improved Policy
Dr. Beryl Watnick
August 1, 2022
1
Outline
As you go through the presentation, you all will understand my
purpose for conducting this professional development. I will
provide a general overview of why following each step is
imperative to closing the literacy gap. I will discuss how
teaching resilience, building relationships, building culturally
responsive classrooms, and RTI supports closing the literacy
gap among young children. Finally, resources will be provided
in order to support educators in closing the gap.
2
Purpose

General Overview
Teaching Resilience
Closing the Literacy Gap
Building Relationships
Resources
Building Culturally Responsive Classrooms
My Purpose
Advocating for young children should be a leader’s main
priority to ensure that they become lifelong learners beyond the
classroom. There are a plethora of ways to ensure success
amongst young learners. Many leaders advocate for change in
ways that they see as best or are passionate about. When
someone is passionate about a particular change, they will do
what is needed to promote change. I have always been
passionate about closing the literacy gap amongst young
readers. I have noticed that there is a major gap in literacy,

especially in low economically challenged communities. I have
taught second-grade EIP self-contained classrooms for years.
Every year, I have heard from the administration that I should
expect little to no growth from these students because they are
too far behind or not capable of making real growth. I couldn’t
believe what I heard because all children are capable of learning
if given the necessary tools to succeed. Therefore, I am
providing this professional development to give teachers tools
for advocating for young children and supporting closing the
literacy gap. This will hopefully change the mindset of all
educators as well as administrators who believe children are just
too far behind to catch up or able to learn.
3
Advocating for Young Children
All Children are Capable of Learning
Changing the Mindset of Educators
Overview of Closing the literacy gap!
Building Relationships
Advocating for closing the literacy gaps amongst all children is
important for children, families, professionals, and the field of

early childhood education. By aiding in closing the literacy gap,
it can support more children in becoming lifelong learners
beyond the classroom and minimize the number of high school
dropouts. It also teaches the students how to be resilient and
bounce back from adversity. Furthermore, it can also provide
families with peace of mind that their child is getting the best
possible education and support needed to help their child at
home. Having a home-school relationship can also help bridge
the literacy gap in primary-aged children. Creating those
relationships supports families in trusting the school system and
they would want to do more to be involved. Aiding in closing
the literacy gap benefits the field of education because more
funding for resources is provided when children are growing
and developing healthily. Therefore, I believe implementing
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a great start to closing the
literacy Gap as well as building a culturally responsive
classroom.
4
Series 1 Building Relationships Teaching Resilience Closing
Literacy Gap 4.5 4.5 4.5
ability to stand firm and strong
ability to bounce back from adversity (Music, 2017)
promote resilience in our children
developing protective factors that can shield negative effects
Overcoming adversity with courage, skills, and faith
Being Resilience
Resilience is a topic that many find hard to define and discuss.
This term is used widely throughout the early childhood
education field. The question that remains is what resilience is
and how does resilience play a role in children’s lives? Many

researchers believed it means either the ability to stand firm and
strong in the face of stressors and/or the ability to bounce back
from adversity (Music, 2017). Our children are facing many
stressors and traumas in their lives in which they are exposed to
crises such as natural disasters, community violence, abuse,
neglect, separation from or death of loved ones, and now the
pandemic (Pizzolongo & Hunter, 2011). As adults, we try to
keep our children from facing adversity but that is impossible
sometimes. However, it is our job as parents and/or caregivers
to promote resilience in our children. This can be done by
developing protective factors that can shield against the
negative effects of stress and trauma. Resilience helps children
to overcome adversity with courage, skills, and faith
(Pizzolongo & Hunter, 2011). We like to think children already
have it in them but being resilient is something that needs to be
taught to children.
5
Being Resilience
Have supportive relationships
Living in poverty had many challenges
Traumatic experiences can change a child’s outlook on life
Parents, community and teachers reinsured purpose in life
Overcome experiences through Posttraumatic Growth (Weber, et
al., 2020)
Resilience matters! To build resilience, children must have
supportive relationships with parents, coaches, teachers,
caregivers, and other adults in the community (Center on the
Developing Child, 2015). This has a major impact on a child’s
life. For example, growing up living in poverty had many
challenges that children face each day. The many joys of just
being a child have been stripped away from them. Traumatic

experiences such as being caught in a crossfire at a playground
and being shot four times can change a child’s outlook on life.
However, having adults foster protective factors and having the
courage to not question faith is what gets you through those
traumatic experiences. I can personally speak on this because I
was that child who was at the playground and caught in the
crossfire. Adults in my life helped me to stand strong in facing
this trauma and bouncing back from it to continue living life.
My parents, community, and teachers assure me that I had a
purpose in life and I needed to start walking in it. Therefore, it
is important to teach children how to be resilient and overcome
traumatic experiences. Research has shown that these
experiences can be overcome through Posttraumatic Growth
(PTG). The five main aspects of (PTG) are Spiritual Change,
Relating to Others, Appreciation of Life, New Possibilities, and
Personal Strength (Weber, et al., 2020).
6
Building relationships
When children perceive their environment as a dangerous place,
they can become hypervigilant, experiencing everyone and
everything as a potential threat to their safety (Terrasi & de
Galarce, 2017). Psychologically, they have a fragmented sense
of self and are vulnerable to anxiety and depression (Terrasi &
de Galarce, 2017). Behaviorally, they are prone to the extremes
of withdrawal or serious acting-out behaviors. For example, one
student lost her mother to cancer a week before second grade
started. She didn’t know how to process her feeling and
misbehaved every day. It got to a point where nothing was
helping her. Every day she came to class, she was greeted with
an overly excessive hug and good morning. Also, she was

greeted with, “I’m glad you are here today because I couldn’t
teach without you.” Finally, her behavior started to improve
because she was provided with a loving and caring environment.
She felt better about opening up and saying how a lot of things
were reminding her of her mom. All she wanted was that love
again she felt from her mom.
7
Advocating for Young Children
All Children are Capable of Learning
Changing the Mindset of Educators
Building Relationships by feeling valued and respected
Building positive relationships with your students, and their
families can have different impacts on the workplace. It is
imperative that your workplace feels safe, warm, and welcoming
to all. Relationships are the determining factor of how your day-
to-day interactions will be with your students. It will impact
your students by deciding if they will love coming to school or
hate it which will affect how you teach them. Building positive
relationships with your students is very important. Students
know when teachers care and are there for them because they

are not afraid to voice their opinion about anything. “African
American students reported uncaring treatment and low
academic expectations from teachers with whom they behaved
more defiantly and less cooperatively,” (Jones and Jones, 2016
p.53). I hold this to be true because you have to earn the respect
of your students and they will forever treat you as such.
8
Imperative to have a Loving and inviting Classroom
Safe and Risk-free
Defiant behaviors in less inviting classroom
CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENT
Challenges for teachers
Parents’ Expectations
Differences in beliefs
Discipline is essential to learning, but in culturally diverse
groups it could become a challenge for teachers (Prins, et al.,
2019). Positive discipline, respect for human rights, and the

creation of a sense of belonging promote culturally responsive
and disciplined learners (Prins, et al., 2019). Diversity is a
challenge due to external factors such as parent expectations, as
well as internal factors such as the management of differences
between the teachers' beliefs and those of the learners (Prins, et
al., 2019). This is held to be true because some parents send
their children to school without any previous education and
expect them to be reading at a second-grade level in the first
grade. Their expectations don’t always match what they are
contributing to their child’s success.
9
CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENT
Promoting Culturally Responsive Classrooms
Parents being held Accountable
Teachers’ Biases
Therefore, to promote a culturally responsive classroom, hold
the parents more accountable. I give my parents strategies and
activities that they can do at home with their children. Lastly, to
create a more culturally responsive classroom, teachers must put
aside their biases to teach all students. Sometimes, educators let
their cultural beliefs affect how they teach. For example, as
educators, we can’t assume that the same rules apply to our
students as they did to us growing up. Their background could
be completely different. Sometimes we assume that all students

are required to do homework as soon as they get home from
school before doing anything else. That was how we were raised
but not our students. Some are home alone with no one to assist
with homework. Some have parents who don’t know how to
assist with homework. Then, you have some parents that don’t
care and feel homework is a waste of time. Furthermore,
students’ cultural backgrounds should be incorporated into
teachers’ daily lessons. This will support as well with closing
the literacy gap among young children.
10
Three-tiered process
It provides effective interventions for struggling learners
(Nilvius, et al., 2021)
Tier one is evidence-based teaching foe all students
Tier two is more intensive and individualized support
Tier three is where interventions is provided in even smaller
groups
Closing the Literacy Gap Through Response to Intervention
(RTI)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a three-tiered process to
observe children and understand how they develop. RTI also is
an educational approach designed to provide effective
interventions for struggling students in reading and mathematics
(Nilvius, et al., 2021). It is characterized by a systematic
recurring assessment and monitoring data that determines
students' response to interventions in tiers (Nilvius, et al.,
2021). Tier one is evidence-based teaching for all pupils in
classroom-based activities and is when the students receive the
core curriculum and differentiated instruction (Nilvius, et al.,

2021). The students who do not develop adequate skill s receive
more intensive and individualized support through teaching in
smaller groups which is the next tier, tier 2 in the model -
(Nilvius, et al., 2021). The intention of tier 2 is to close the gap
between current and age-expected performance (Nilvius, et al.,
2021). The third tier consists of even more individualized and
intensive efforts where intervention is provided in even smaller
groups or through one-to-one tutoring, and intervention time is
increased (Nilvius, et al., 2021).
11
Alex Quigley’s six steps to Closing the Reading gap is a great
resource to reference when trying to support educators in
understanding how to close the gap. Step one is to train teachers
to be experts in how pupils learn to read and go on to read to
learn. Step two is to develop and teach a coherent and
cumulative reading-rich curriculum. Step three is to teach with
a focus on reading access, practice, and enhancing reading
ability. Step four is to teach, model, and scaffold pupils’
reading so that they become strategic and knowledgeable
readers. Step five is to nurture pupils’ motivation to read with
purpose and for pleasure. Lastly, step six is to foster a reading
culture within, and beyond the school gates. These six steps can
support educators in being intentional with their teaching
targeting the students’ area of deficit.
12

The resource “Every Child Deserves a Head Start in Life” from
Save the Children Network explains that children start learning
the moment they’re born and nearly 90% of brain development
occurs by age five (Save the Children Action Network, 2016b).
The resource also states that without access to high-quality
early learning programs, children can’t climb the ladder out of
poverty and into the bright futures they deserve (Save the
Children Action Network, 2016b). The last point that I believe
will support my advocacy topic is “For over 50 years, Head
Start has proved that education is the key to disrupting
poverty.” The three main points support my advocacy goals
because they can support closing the literacy gap among all
children but most importantly, children from low economically
challenged neighborhoods.
13
The resource “Early Literacy” from the Zero to Three websites
provides information on how adults, parents, grandparents, and
teachers play a very important role in prepping children for
future success and helping them become self-confident and
motivated learners (Zero to Three, 2022). Children need to have
self-confidence and become motivated learners because it builds
their confidence to learn. They put in more effort when they
believe that they are capable and can complete the assignments.
The second main point of this resource is developing language
and literacy skills that begin at birth through everyday
interactions that include sharing books, telling stories, singing
songs, and talking to one another (Zero to Three, 2022). This is
imperative because it supports children developing language
skills. The last main point is how reading to your baby starting
at birth can help foster strong reading skills and a growing

vocabulary (Zero to Three, 2022). Therefore, the information
presented will be helpful to my advocacy topic because it
promotes closing the literacy gaps by fostering strong reading
skills starting at birth.
14
how leadership capacity will be cultivated within training
activities
Practice discipline.
Take on more projects or more responsibility.
Learn to follow.
Develop situational awareness.
Inspire others.
Keep learning.
Resolve conflicts.
Be a discerning listener.
Reference
16
Reference
17

Advocacy Action Plan: The Importance of Early Literacy
Angie Nalls
Early Childhood Specialist, Walden University
EDDD 8085/EDSD 7085: Inspired Leadership, Informed
Advocacy, and Improved Policy
Dr. Beryl Watnick
August 1, 2022
The Importance of Early Literacy
Literacy is essential to all other forms of learning, and it begins
even before a child begins formal schooling. When parents talk
to their child as a baby, that is the beginnings of literacy.
Toddlers and preschoolers that are read to, exposed to letters
and sounds, and participate in conversations are all adding to
their understanding of literacy. Examples of this would be a
child connecting a picture of a cup in a book to an actual cup
nearby or hearing new words that are then explained by an adult
(NAEYC, n.d.-b). These are text to world connections that are
part of the learning process. It is therefore imperative that
children receive a firm literacy foundation, from babies through
primary grades.
2

3 Organizations Focused on Advocating for the Education of
Children
The National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) is a “leading voice in high-quality early childhood
education supported by a diverse, dynamic early childhood
profession” (NAEYC, n.d.-a). This complements my advocacy
goal of literacy because the NAEYC is focused on providing
information on high-quality learning for all aspects of the
beginning stages of a child’s life and learning. They not only
support the involvement of teachers, but parents and community
partners alike. Their goal is to provide information to others on
the importance of brain development and investing in quality
education for early childhood students. Their advocacy group,
America for Early Ed, works together in various areas of the
country, learning about national policies and sharing them with
those interested in making a change for our youngest students.
Being a part of the NAEYC keeps one abreast on many topics
and changes being made at the national level. This is important
to know about because these changes affect what educators are
required or expected to teach in the classroom. Being on the
“front lines” would keep me informed of the early childhood
updates to literacy. I would then be able to share my knowledge
with others, voicing my opinion and concerns through
discussion boards or panels, making sure others know the

changes to policy as well.
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
(ASCD) has worked with educators across the country and even
the world for over 75 years to empower people to find their
voice and put their ideas into practice. This, in turn, create
leaders in education that thrive personally and help their
students to do the same (ASCD, 2022a). This organization
provides opportunities for educators to write for their
publications through articles, specific content in their
newsletter, and even submit book proposals. You can also
become a member which allows one to access learning and
collaboration through webinars, books, articles, and conferences
(ASCD, 2022b). Literacy is one of the many categories
discussed and written about for this group. Becoming involved
in the ASCD would help me to connect with other educators that
have the same vision and focus for enriching the lives of
students through literacy.
The Global Family Research Project, formerly known as the
Harvard Family Research Project until 2016, provides research
and resources on a number of varying subject areas such as
community engagement programs, professional development,
and equitable learning for all. They work with policymakers,
nonprofits, and educators to help families understand more
about their child’s learning and how to stay engaged. There are
opportunities to become part of this work through what they call
the Ecology of Learning, which is elevating “the benefits of
family engagement and the connections across educational
organizations, nationally and globally” (Global Family Research
Project, 2021). Using their accessible resources and
professional learning, I can connect with other teachers that are
also invested in advocating for the importance of early
childhood literacy. We can all benefit from collaboration,
learning more about the policies, research, and even ways to get
grants to reach our advocacy goals.
3

National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC)
Association for Supervision and Curriculum (ASCD)
The Global Family Research Project
Federal & Legislative Policies that Affect Literacy
The importance of literacy has been a hot topic in education for
over fifty years. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson enacted the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) which
established Head Start and the Title I programs. These were put
into place to break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty. The idea
was to educate children before entering elementary school and
helping to train and educate parents as well. Since then, more
legislation and policies have been put into place to support
literacy and families such as:
1988 – Congress re-enacts ESEA and renames Title I, Part B to
the William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Programs
1994 – President Clinton gets the Improving America's Schools
Act of 1994 passed
2001 – President George W. Bush gets the No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) Act passed (Nicholas, 2021)
While these legislative policies affected our nation, states also
have their own policies with specific requirements for literacy.

For example, North Carolina recently put out a report
recognizing the challenges created by COVID-19 regarding
childcare, education, and specifically literacy. They plan to
increase compensation for early childhood workers to retain
high quality educators, improve their childcare subsidy rates so
that all counties share adequate and equitable rates, and will be
prioritizing reading interventions and resources to improve
literacy rates (Wolf, Wagner, & Public School Forum of North
Carolina). In my state of Georgia, Senate Bill 48 was passed to
support schools in the training, identification, and instruction of
students with dyslexia. By the 2024 school year, all schools will
be required to screen and provide reading intervention for
students with this disability, recognizing that it has a profound
impact on a student’s education and must be addressed (IMSE,
2019).
4
How can we change policy?
There are many reasons people might want to change policy. In
this case, of course, it would be to improve education. There is
a huge variation of schools in the United States. Schools are
different sizes, have different specializations, some are
independent while others are public, etc., so the way they are
run varies as well. Most of the time, polices that affect the
whole system have a chain of command that must be followed to
get a policy changed. “In the U.S., the links in that chain are
usually (from the top down):
School Committee
Superintendent

Assistant Superintendents
Other system-wide administrators (coordinators of curriculum,
athletics, special education, business, physical plant)
Principals
Teachers and other professional employees (nurses, guidance
counselors and school psychologists, coaches)
Support and custodial staff” (Community Tool Box, 2014)
Once a person or group knows the steps to follow, they must be
prepared for meeting and stating their case. Providing a
rationale, finding alternatives to the current policy, and
garnering support are just a few ideas to get started on creating
or writing new policy. Once your policy is drafted, you must
share your proposal at School Committee meeting. If rejected,
you can regroup and try again. If accepted, work on tackling the
next issue of implementation. If a collaborative effort between
all groups involved is possible, it will create a smoother process
for the change to take place.
5
Why Educators Should Advocate for Literacy
As an early childhood educator, I feel accountable and
responsible for giving the students in my classroom the best
education I can provide to lay a firm foundation for future
positive outcomes. So why is literacy advocacy important for
our students? To start, it is tied to everything we do for our
entire lives. It is not always just about reading a book. In
today’s world, you must be able to have good literacy skills for
research, navigating the internet, complex problem-solving, etc.
Literacy continues to evolve. It is tied to being intellectually,

culturally, and electronically capable. Studies show that
children with strong literacy skills do better in school, have
better self-confidence, and are often life-long learners.
Unfortunately, many children living in poverty may not have
consistent access to books or supports to encourage literacy, so
it is up to teachers to fill in that space with personal interaction
and positive language stimulation to promote development
(Panneton, 2015). It all starts at birth and builds throughout
childhood, but the most formative years are through age eight.
Therefore, we must give our students the tools they need and
deserve for a firm literacy foundation.
6
Stakeholders & Other Collaborators Important for Literacy
Advocacy
The stakeholders that can influence and are influenced by
literacy is everyone! Students, teachers, administration,
families, community members, district officials, and
policymakers are all affected by literacy successes and failures.
Literacy is not just for one person, race, socio-economic group,
state, or country. All people throughout the world, even those in
third world countries, can be influenced and can benefit from a
good literacy foundation as it is tied to all learning and
everything we do. Particularly in the U.S., statistics of illiteracy
are linked to incarceration rates, with 70% of inmates not able
to read or write above a fourth-grade level. Research has also

shown that being able to read can teach empathy. This helps
students to become more accepting and kind towards others.
These are the reasons stakeholders must work together to
provide children with a good literacy base, finding the right
resources to aid students and teachers and allocating them for
early identification and support (Institute for Multi-sensory
Education, 2022).
One non-profit organization that has used their platform to
improve student literacy outcomes for over 30 years is the
Children’s Literacy Initiative, or CLI. They provide early
literacy support and instruction to support Black and Latinx
children. This includes training and coaching teachers, as well
as providing resources such as classroom books, to help
students achieve reading proficiency at or even above grade
level. They believe quality literacy instruction is critical for a
student’s reading development, so they have worked to educate
teachers with high-impact instructional strategies, building
capacity, so that literacy is being taught in a high-quality and
culturally sustainable way. The American Institutes of Research
found that their impacts of student learning and teacher
practices were statistically significant. Their data suggests
schools that implemented CLI scored higher on reading
assessments compared to those that did not. CLI won a $21.7
million grant in 2010 to place their program in 38 schools
through the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in
Innovation Fund. They also receive funds through individual
donors, employer match gifts, and other foundation/corporate
giving. 85% of their expenses go back into educating teachers
and providing the resources needed in each classroom to create
successful literacy learning (Children’s Literacy Initiative,
2020).
Room to Read is another nonprofit organization that began in
2000 to work towards illiteracy and gender inequality. They
believe that by developing literacy skills and good reading
habits, positive outcomes can happen. They want all children to
get a quality education that will prepare them to make a positive

impact on their families, community, and the world. Room to
Read hires local nationals to lead the program in the 21
countries where it is available. 28 million children have
benefitted from their literacy program, 200,000 teachers and
librarians have been trained, 34 million books have been given
away, and much more! They use data to improve their programs
at 3,500 sites annually, tracking their results and informing
stakeholders through reports for transparency. They receive
support through independent donations, fundraisers, and
corporate matching. The funds are used to focus on specific
needs for the country they are funneled to. For example, in
South Africa they are used for teacher training and instruction,
assessments, and reading materials. In Laos, they are improving
the infrastructure, providing quality learning materials, and
support children at risk of dropping out of school. Room to
Read’s company quote “world change starts with educated
children” shows that they are on a mission to provide quality
literacy instruction for all students (Room to Read, 2022).
7
If one wanted to implement a program for high-quality literacy
instruction and resources to students in early childhood
classrooms, the process and effects through data collection will
take time. Most, if not all, educators would agree that this is an
important and necessary part of a child’s learning based on the
research that has linked positive literacy outcomes with
successful adults later in life. However, not all schools, areas,
or countries have the resources or know how to make the
changes necessary for this to happen. Once a viable program has

been decided on, research would be needed to find similar
studies, their outcomes, and how improvements can be made or
changed to fit the particular area(s) that need support. Using a
study from Rwanda on their implementation of emergent
literacy and maths as a guide, one can estimate the time it might
take to reach the advocacy goal that began the need for change.
In the study, they completed an analysis to find gaps in early
literacy. Once the data was collected and compared with
previous research, a program was enacted and part one of the
qualitative study began. Then two years later, the research team
started the second part of the study. One study focused on the
affects of teacher training and the other study focused on home
training and how each of these helped provide teaching
strategies for emergent literacy and math skills. While the
research found that the interventions worked, the lack of
support for teachers in terms of teacher training and monetary
provision, as well as a policy for ensuring quality standards, left
large gaps that could present many issues in the future (Dusabe
et al., 2019).
Using the guidance of the Rwanda research, if a group
wanted to carry out a program in support of early literacy, it
would be reasonable to suggest that in six months, research
could be completed and (hopefully) the program would be
accepted by the School Committee so that the change could take
place. Within two years, program implementation and data
collection would be well on its way. Data should be collected
quarterly, and successes will be tracked as forward progress
toward the goal(s) set in place at the beginning of the program
change. Teachers would be responsible for data collection, and
this would be compiled for participating schools by
administration and shared with county officials. After each
year, feedback should be compiled, analyzed, and tweaks made
as needed for positive outcomes. After five years, the program
should have been vetted as to whether or not is has been a
valuable asset to the literacy achievement of students in early
childhood classrooms. District officials would then determine if

the program change was a quality investment and should be
continued, or if there is something more current that may better
fit the district’s goals for academic achievement in early
literacy.
8
References
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
(ASCD). (2022a). About us. https://www.ascd.org/about
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
(ASCD). (2022b). Write for ASCD. https://www.ascd.org/write-
for-ascd#writeForAccordion
Children’s Literacy Initiative. (2020). About us.
https://cli.org/about-us/
Community Tool Box. (2014). Changing policies in schools.
Chapter 25, Section 9. Center for Community Health &
Development. University of Kansas. https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-
of-contents/implement/changing-policies/school-
policies/powerpoint
Dusabe, C., Pisani, L., Abimpaye, M., & Honeyman, C. (2019).
Using evidence and implementation experience for advocacy
and policy influence: The Rwanda Emergent Literacy and Maths
Initiative (ELMI) case study. Early Years: An International
Journal of Research and Development, 39(3), 243–259.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2019.1628008
References
Global Family Research Project. (2021). Our work.
https://globalfrp.org/Our-Work
Institute for Multi-sensory Education (ISME). (2022). 3

Reasons literacy is important
in a child's development. https://imse.com/
Institute for Multi-sensory Education (ISME). (2019, November
28). Literacy policies: Where your state stands (Part 2).
https://journal.imse.com/literacy-policies-part-2/
(NAEYC). (n.d.-a). Public policy
and advocacy. https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/public-policy-
advocacy
(NAEYC). (n.d.-b). Read together to support early literacy.
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/read-together-support-
early-literacy
References
Nicholas, S. (2021). Family Literacy Programs. Salem Press
Encyclopedia.
Panneton, K. (2015, January 21). The importance of literacy in
a child’s development. Albany Business Review.
https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2015/01/21/the-
importance-of-literacy-in-a-child-s.html
Room to Read. (2022). About us.
https://www.roomtoread.org/about-us/
Wolf, M. A., Fox, L., Wagner, L., & Public School Forum of
North Carolina. (2021). Top Education Issues 2021. In Public
School Forum of North Carolina. Public School Forum of North
Carolina.
Discussion 3: Sharing Your Advocacy Action Plan and Sharing

Feedback
Effective advocacy requires working in collaboration with
others—sharing your vision for what can be, engendering
passions, and empowering others to share your journey and
work toward a common cause. Throughout this course, you have
refined your leadership knowledge and skills, which has
included a refinement of your abilities to advocate. In this
Discussion, you will share the media piece you developed for
your advocacy action plan with your colleagues and provide
them with feedback.
By Day 4 of Week 10
Post the media piece you developed during your Advocacy
Action Plan Assignment.
By Day 3 of Week 11
View your colleagues’ media pieces.
Respond to two of the media pieces posted by your course
colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
· Provide feedback regarding overview and rationale, context,
partners and actions, or their overall plan.
· Support your colleagues in identifying intended and
unintended consequences.
· Identify leadership opportunities that you see as essential in
making their Advocacy Action Plan a reality.
· Share kudos and suggestions for further development.
Cite related literature and other resources as appropriate.
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/waldenu.edu?url=https://dx.
doi.org/10.1177/0013161X13514440
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/waldenu.edu?url= https://dx.

doi.org/10.1177/0013161X11427394
https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/498-deconstructing-
leadership
https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/494-you-have-what-it-
takes-advocacy-tool

Early Literacy and closing the GAPJazmine BrownleeWalden U

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