Learning Advances and Enhances Doddridge (L.E.A.D.) is a family literacy program that motivates parents and gives them support for reading and communicating with their children. "Reading Starts with Us" is a family literacy program developed by Scholarstic Books, Inc. L.E.A.D. purchased the program in 1999 and has used it in several workshops in Doddridge and Ritchie Counties. During FY 2005-2006, L.E.A.D. served 114 children and their families by providing them with six books each, as well as conducting informational and participatory workshops for families, covering the sic reading genres important to the development of early childhood literacy skills. Since its inception in 1999, L.E.A.D. id directly responsible for distributing over 9.000 books to children and families in Doddridge, Richie, and Pleasants counties.

L.E.A.D. offers the skills needed to select age and topic-appropriate books for the program. The organization has collaborated and trained teachers for all grades, reading specialists, librarians, and national and state literacy programs. This program design strengthens the parent-teacher relationship that is so important to a child’s success in school. It allows parents to experience quality children’s literature and learn about strategies that will help their children become good readers. This collaborative effort serves as an effective model and practical approach for programs seeking to promote youth development and family literacy within a difficult-to-reach subset of families in disadvantaged circumstances.

The Mollohan Family Foundation provided L.E.A.D. with a grant to purchase books and office supplies for the program to support family literacy. The grant money was used to purchase age-appropriate books for ages 9 to 15 dealing with cooking utensils for two six-week sessions at the North Central Regional Jail, toys for children ages 0 to 8 years old, and office supplies to support program needs.

For more information about L.E.A.D., please contact Denise McIntire at 304.873.3303.