Teacher Spotlight

$50,000 Grants Available
from the Barbara Bush Texas Fund for Family Literacy

The First Lady’s Family Literacy Initiative for Texas, a program of The Barbara Bush Texas Fund for Family Literacy, announces the 2008 grant competition. Laura Bush, who founded this Initiative when she was first lady of Texas, continues to serve as Honorary Chair. The Texas Center for Adult Literacy and Learning at Texas A&M University provides technical assistance to the family literacy programs funded each year. As of July, 2007, the Initiative had awarded over $3 million to 118 programs in 65 cities across the state. This year will mark the 12th annual competition.

The grants of up to $50,000 each are given to help create family literacy programs by building on existing literacy programs that work with only one generation, i.e. children or adults, so that complete family literacy programs can be created. The grant program also funds innovative projects within existing family literacy programs, as well as replication of successful family literacy programs with new populations or in new locations. Partnerships with other community groups are strongly encouraged.

Past grantees include community-based organizations, libraries, school districts, community colleges, universities, charter schools, pediatric medical clinics, prison programs, Head Start and Even Start programs, as well as other organizations.

Successful family literacy programs must provide reading instruction for parents or primary caregivers, reading or pre-reading activities for their children, and parent/child reading time and interactions. A successful grant application includes clearly stated objectives, along with a solid
assessment plan to measure whether or not those objectives have been achieved.

The deadline for submitting applications will be Friday, March 7, 2008

For more information about these grants please contact Pat Peebler at ppeebler@mcnairgrp.com or phone 713.336.7889.  For more information
about the work of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and the Barbara Bush Texas Fund, go to the Foundation’s website at
http://www.barbarabushfoundation.com. Please feel free to share this information with other organizations that might be interested in the grant.