BELFAST — The University of Maine Hutchinson Center will offer a graduate literacy course this summer beginning June 24.

Literacy in the Home, School and Community (ERL 590) will run June 24 – July 24, 1 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.

By using socio-cultural and ecological perspectives, participants in this course will examine the role that families and communities play in their children’s development as well as home-school connections that promote literacy.

Through readings, discussion and guest lectures, this course is designed to challenge conventional views of parent involvement and home-school relationships.

Participants will:
 become familiar with differences among families and their literacy values.
 develop appreciation for varied forms of literacy use.
 write a parent story to more deeply investigate the literacy of a family.
 investigate a family’s Fund of Knowledge
 become familiar with successful methods of school-home relationship building.
 become familiar with some examples of community-based initiatives for supporting literacy.

Course instructor Susan Bennett-Armistead draws on 20 years as a preschool teacher, parent educator and program administrator, as well as a doctorate, with an emphasis in early literacy. She speaks nationally to parent groups and educators on the role families can play in children’s literacy learning.

Bennett-Armistead held the Correll Professorship in Early Literacy at UMaine for five years.

To register or to request reasonable accommodations, contact Nancy Bergerson, Coordinator of Student Success, 338-8049; nancy.bergerson@maine.edu.

For more information, contact Susan Bennett-Armistead, 581-2418, susan.bennett-armistead@maine.edu.