Family Hui Hawaiʻi and Read to Me International
Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Supports Early Literacy
Over the past three years, Family Hui Hawai`i (FHH) has guided language and literacy development programming in the Wahiawa community on O`ahu as part of Hawai`i’s Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant, in collaboration with Read to Me International and the ECAS network’s Words Matter strategy.
Through this initiative, Family Hui Hawai`i offers language-development coaching to teachers and families through programs that make use of LENA (Language ENvironmental Analysis) technology. Children served through the LENA program wear small devices one day a week that count the number of adult words and conversational turns throughout the day, both in school and at home.
Young children raised in environments rich in language have the greatest chance to develop strong language and reading readiness. Across Wahiawa and Kahuku, Family Hui Hawai`i is working with both early childhood classroom teachers and family child care providers, and directly with families and parents. In tandem, Read to Me International is offering training in Dialogic Reading to early care and education professionals and families.
These efforts are designed to strengthen early childhood language development, improve child-adult interaction, and support the reading readiness of our youngest keiki. The impact of the program is seen in positive changes in child language and literacy scores, and in the number of adult words and conversational turns that young children experience.
Across families in FHH’s LENA Start program, for example, adult word counts rose from the 9th to the 21st percentile. Some FHH LENA classrooms have seen a 61% increase in conversational turns. This is markedly higher than the 9% average gain seen across LENA classrooms nationwide.
These gains are only part of the story.
In addition to supporting teachers’ efforts to create rich language environments, FHH coaching also touches on goal-setting, classroom management, lesson planning, and building daily routines. This broad approach to professional development builds closeness and trust between the teachers and coaches.
All participating teachers report that they would recommend LENA Grow to other teachers, and more than 80% of teachers report feeling more confident, increased job satisfaction, and more connected to students’ families. These results affirm the importance of coaching: when promising practices in the classroom are introduced with strong coaching support, interventions are more effective and more likely to be sustained1.
As the CLSD grant enters its fourth and final year, another positive outcome is emerging: many of the teachers involved have chosen to advance their own professional development, and are pursuing further credentials in early childhood education.
Early childhood education workforce needs are acute in Hawai`i. Fewer people are entering the field, and educators continue to leave the profession due to stress, low wages, and overwhelming workloads.
Against this tide, teachers who have received coaching through the CLSD partnership with Family Hui Hawai`i and Read to Me International are investing more fully in their careers in early childhood education.
By providing meaningful, personalized, professional development, Family Hui Hawai`i’s early literacy coaches are enriching early childhood language environments, helping literacy programming grow strong roots in early childhood education classrooms, and helping to strengthen the early childhood education workforce in Hawai`i.
Contact:
Cherilyn Shiinoki
Family Hui Hawaii,
Executive Director