01/30/09 - Terra Firma ends; 'Learning Link' begins

BY KATHRYN BASSETT

 

AUBURN — Sharing stories and reminiscing, a group gathered at the office of the DeKalb County Community Foundation this week to celebrate the success of TerraFirma and welcome a new initiative, DeKalb County Learning Link.

 

TerraFirma was established in 2001 using $5 million in seed money from the Lilly Endowment with the goal of improving educational attainment in DeKalb County.

 

Effective Jan. 1, Children First Center and the three DeKalb County public school districts became responsible for continuing their TerraFirma literacy programming, to the extend they desire and are able to do so, said Judy Sorg, TerraFirma executive director.

 

“At the end of 2008, the grant ended. Terra Firma, at this point, is completed,” Sorg said.

 

Since its inception, TerraFirma’s Literacy Collaborative has served about 5,500 students.

 

“Because TerraFirma funded staff development around this model, its impact continues as long as those teachers remain in our community and the model is supported by the administration,” Sorg said.

 

Sorg said all elementary teachers in the DeKalb Central and Garrett-Keyser-Butler school districts received Literacy Collaborative training funded by TerraFirma. Factoring in the DeKalb Eastern school district, 71 percent of the county’s public school elementary teachers are trained, Sorg added.

 

With TerraFirma funding drawing to a close, Sorg explained, TerraFirma asked the community to redefine its vision around raising educational attainment, with the goal of continuing to move DeKalb County forward.

 

“Our goal was to create a sustainable solution to the challenge of advancing the level of education in DeKalb County,” Sorg said. “TerraFirma programming was originally designed around spending nearly $5 million over a three-year period, definitely not sustainable over time.”

 

Nationally recognized consultant Jay Connor was hired to guide a Community Vision Committee, which presented a vision for public input at a community meeting in November. More than 100 people attended.

 

Using input gathered at the meeting, the vision has been revised to “Working together through continuous learning to improve the quality of life for all in DeKalb County,” Sorg said.

 

The new DeKalb County Community Foundation initiative is called DeKalb County Learning Link. Sorg will serve as its facilitator.

 

With the new vision at the core of the initiative, three action teams will focus on areas of early childhood education, kindergarten through grade 12 education and adult education. The initiative is designed not to create new programs, but to continue building on what has been accomplished through TerraFirma, connecting the existing resources in DeKalb County, Sorg explained.

 

Reflecting on the outcomes of TerraFirma, Sorg said she is pleased to see improvements in reading levels in kindergarten through third grade since the inception of Literacy Collaborative programming. The most significant change occurred at the kindergarten level, jumping from 74 percent reading at grade level in 2004 to 91 percent in 2008.

 

DeKalb Central school district assistant superintendent Dr. Sherry Grate said the district already has expanded its literacy instruction model to the middle and high schools.

 

“The focus at the secondary level is on thinking strategies,” Grate explained.

 

Superintendent Dennis Stockdale said the Garrett-Keyser-Butler school district will continue with TerraFirma programs and initiatives.

 

“It’s been a great experience,” Stockdale said of TerraFirma. “There’s no reason not to continue.”

 

Stockdale said Tonya Weaver originally served as the district’s literacy coach and now has assumed other responsibilities, including that of assistant principal at J.E. Ober Elementary School.

 

“We’re talking about how we can put that model (of literacy coach) back into place,” Stockdale said.

 

DeKalb Eastern Schools superintendent Dr. Jeff Stephens said initiatives begun through TerraFirma still are in place in the school district. Examples include leveled books, analysis of reading and writing components and the recognition that they are intertwined, he said. Stephens said literacy training of teachers and instructors will be done in-house.

 

The impact of the Families First program, administered by the Children First Center, also was significant, Sorg noted. Through the home-based program, early literacy mentors helped parents of children from birth to age 5 see how they could use everyday routines as learning opportunities for their children, Sorg said. Between June 2002 and December 2008, Families First served 586 children, Sorg added.

 

In June 2008, TerraFirma reported that 97 percent of former Families First participants were reading at grade level or better, compared to the county average of 91 percent.