Tracy Riddle’s kindergarten students made Christmas cottages in class on Thursday, December 9, with the help of parents, grandparents and community friends. Materials included milk boxes, frosting, candy and frosted mini-wheats.
Anderson open house a success      New Anderson Principal Mary Deaton was delighted with the success of the school’s open house on September 1.      “We had a large number of pre-school parents attend – 120 out of 150,” she said. According to Deaton, it is part of the federal guidelines that parents participate in their children’s education in pre-school programs and attend parenting classes several times each year. These classes focus on ways parents can help and encourage their children in school.		Mary Deaton

     “The response from parents was overwhelmingly positive,” Deaton said. “We want to keep this program in the community.” Deaton added that research says that the effect of parental involvement in their children’s education is necessary for complete success. “Kids feel good about their parents’ participation. Open communication between parents and teachers is taking a positive approach. We come together to come up with things we can do that are most productive for a child to see longtime success,” she said.

     “After all, we have the same goals – we want the best for the children.”

     Mrs. Deaton came to Brownsville from the Jackson-Madison County School System. She has 11 years’ experience in the classroom. Scheduled Pre-K parent meetings are January 10, February 7, March 7, and April 11.

Resource Centers offers extra learning opportunities

     Young students in Haywood County have an extra opportunity to accelerate their learning experiences through the Haywood County Family Resource Centers at Anderson Early Childhood Center and Haywood Elementary School.
The Resource Centers provide for students and their parents children’s books, videos, free Internet access, and electronic learning games on-site or free for a one-week checkout. Resources for teachers, youth group leaders and community day care providers are also available. The centers are a team effort of the local office of the University of Tennessee Extension Service and the Haywood County School System.

     Parents meet monthly for education sessions and workshops, and special sessions are also available for churches, industries or other parent groups.

     In addition to the availability of these resources, the center also sponsors each six weeks the Family Reading Wall of Fame for students who have read the most books and prizes for students who visit the center five times. Another project of the centers is the Reading is Fundamental program that provides free books to every child at Anderson, Haywood Elementary, and East Side schools. Parents and other community members are encouraged to participate by volunteering to help distribute the books at the three Book Jams that are held throughout the year.

     For more information about the Family Resource Centers, call Peggy Jackson at the UT Extension Service at 772-2861, Sharon Clark at the Anderson campus at 772-2330, or Cindy Coulston at the Haywood Elementary campus at 772-3077.

Haywood County celebrates first year of Imagination Library

     Since August 2004 when Anderson Early Childhood Center adopted the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, an effective pre-K literacy program, volunteers have successfully registered almost 48 percent of the county’s 1,420 children under the age of 5, providing a free library of books to over 540 children.

     The Imagination Library was created by internationally-known country entertainer Dolly Parton in 1996 and provides a new, age-appropriate hardcover book each month to children from birth to age 5 at no cost to the family.

     “Haywood was one of the first counties in our state to jump on board the Imagination Library, and it continues to serve as a model program for neighboring West Tennessee counties, said Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation President Lady Jackson. “To reach almost 50 percent of their children in just one year is really quite remarkable.”

     Local Imagination Library board chairman Alan Callery, Insouth Bank Community President, says he and his team are thrilled with this year’s progress, but that they have their eyes fixed on a much greater prize.

     “The true goal here is to get each and every one of our 1,420 eligible children registered for this program so that they all have a chance to arrive at kindergarten with a love of reading and a desire to learn,” Callery said. He added that his group is available to speak to local groups about how they can get involved, either as volunteers or sponsors. The cost of the program is only $27 per child, per year, which includes 12 hardcover books, postage, shipping and handling, and reflects absolutely no administrative overhead costs. This cost is split equally between each county program and the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation.

     The local effort is made possible by the collective effort of Insouth Bank and many other individuals and businesses throughout the community, according to Callery.

     The Dollywood Foundation reports that the Imagination Library is now available in more than 500 communities in 40 states. Currently more than 70 percent of Tennessee’s 375,000 children under age 5 have access to the program.

Students at Anderson Early Childhood Center learned about the first Thanksgiving in class and celebrated the holiday in costume. Some dressed as Pilgrims – the hosts for the first Thanksgiving - while others donned American Indian dress.