Families with children 8 and younger are invited to join Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs next week at Pellissippi State Community College’s Family Literacy Night.
The free event will be held 6-8 p.m. Thursday, April 7, on the college’s Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville.
Hosted by Pellissippi State’s Early Childhood Education program, the evening will include hands-on parent and child learning in fun play-based ways, door prizes and a book walk, during which Mayor Jacobs will read to children. Friends of Literacy will also be on hand with books for children to take home.
“The foundation for reading begins at birth and families play a critical role in literacy development,” said Associate Professor Hope Denny, Pellissippi State’s program coordinator for Early Childhood Education. “With third-grade reading proficiency scores in Knox County on the decline, it is imperative that we support families and young children’s literacy experiences.”
Family Literacy Night is made possible by support from United Way of Greater Knoxville and East Tennessee Child Care Resource and Referral Network. Educational activities will be provided by Pellissippi State Early Childhood Education students as well as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Knoxville Association for Children’s Early Education, East Tennessee PBS and Parents as Teachers.
For more information about Family Literacy Night or Pellissippi State’s Early Childhood Education program, contact eced@pstcc.edu or 865.539.7034.
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