Roamin’ Rez Literacy Program Visiting LCO Communities

In the spring of 2012, the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School applied for and received a grant to launch a pilot preschool program through the Striving Readers Literacy Grant. A team at the LCO School discussed what would be most beneficial to our community and how we could reach the largest number of preschoolers. Some of the concerns were that the LCO Reservation is a large area and has several smaller communities. Many families may not have access to reliable transportation to enable them to get their children to preschool programs. This means that some of the 0-5 year olds living on the reservation may not be enrolled in a preschool program.

 

We decided our goal was to try to get at least one hundred books into the hands of each preschool age child before they entered kindergarten! We know children who have access to at least one hundred books before entering kindergarten are more prepared to succeed. This is the thought that inspired the Roamin’ Rez Resource Center!

Each week the Roamin’ Rez RV visits every community on the reservation to deliver learning kits to all preschool children. The children come onto the RV with their parents and receive a kit. Each kit includes a book, a Reale Book and a learning activity. We spend time reading the books and playing the activity with the family. Then the kit becomes theirs. They can play with it as often as they like and the best thing is if they lose a piece the family can still return to the RV next week with no awkward feelings.

Within the first week of using the RV, there were 80 children enrolled. The number of children and the comments about how their children loved the books and played with the activities, let us know this resource was just what the reservation needed. The number just continues to increase and currently we have over 160 children receiving kits. So if you see the van in your community stop in!
For further information on this program, feel free to contact Tonia Cody in the Family and Child Education (F.A.C.E.) Program here at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School, 634-8924 ext. 299.