The new Early Reading First application provided a great read for me on a plane trip last week! I am ecstatic that Secretary Duncan and his staff revised this application to include findings from the National Early Literacy Panel, "Developing Early Literacy" released January 8, 2009 in Washington, D.C. Some of my favorites I found during my ERF read are:

• support local efforts to enhance the early language, literacy, and prereading development of preschool-aged children
• provide preschool-age children with cognitive learning opportunities in high-quality and literature-rich environment
• demonstrate language and literacy activities based on scientifically based reading research to support the age-appropriate development of:
  • recognition, leading to automatic recognition, of letters of the alphabet
  • knowledge of the letter sounds, the blending of sounds, and the use of increasingly complex vocabulary
  • an understanding that written language is comprised of phonemes and letters each representing one or more speech sounds which make up syllables
  • spoken language
  • knowledge of the purposes and conventions of print
• integrated scientifically reading research-based instructional materials and literacy activities with existing programs of preschool, child care agencies, and programs, Head Start center, and family literacy centers

As you may need some assistance in sorting out some of the components listed above plus the rigorous evaluation design required, I would like to recommend a friend and former colleague of mine to you. Dr. Dale McManis has been a consultant with Hatch for the past year working closely with me on bringing research to our customers in the context of grant information and support. Dale has over 20 years experience as an educator, research coordinator, and grant contributor. Her formal training includes degrees in child development, education, and educational psychology. What she likes best is helping bring early childhood research and effective practices to programs and teachers.Contact Dale at dmcmanis@hatchearlychildhood.com.

It is my hope that America’s early childhood community will make this new grant application a "bestseller".