The Volunteers of America, Dakotas Even Start Program is designed to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy or adult basic education and parenting education into a unified family literacy program.
Even Start is implemented through cooperative projects that build on high-quality, existing community resources, creating a new range of services for children, families and adults.
This program assists children and families to achieve academic standards set by the State of South Dakota and use instructional programs that are based on scientifically based reading research to:
- Enrich language development, extend learning, support high levels of educational success for children birth to age eight and their parent.
- Provide literacy services of sufficient hours and duration to make sustainable changes in a family.
- Provide integrated instructional services for families, where children and their parents learn together to develop habits of life-long learning; and support families committed to education and to economic independence
A Four Component Model of Family Literacy
- Adult Education
- Early Childhood Education
- Parenting Education
- Parent and Child Interactive Literacy Time
Even Start provides services both in the home and at two center-based locations, which include:
Floyd Career Learning Center
908 N. West Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD
(605) 367-4293 | | Joe Foss Alternative School
1200 E. 3rd St.
Sioux Falls, SD
(605) 367-7852 |
Hispanic Outreach Through a partnership with the Presentation Sisters Hispanic Ministry, Even Start services are offered to Hispanic families on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the fall and spring Classes are held at:
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
1220 E. 8th Street
Sioux Falls, SD
6:30-8:15 p.m.
| Contact | Location |  |
Deb Rice, BA
Family Literacy Director | 407 N. Spring Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD |
| Telephone | Fax |
| (605) 338-3461 | (605) 338-9004 |