Back to News 
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (September 19, 2003) — The state of Tennessee ranks 38th in the nation in adult literacy skills, according to the National Institute for Literacy. To help address this issue, Tennessee Parents First and Milligan College’s education area are partnering with several local schools and agencies to host “Overcoming Barriers: Literacy and How it is Affected by Poverty and Parental Involvement,” a free conference for parents, educators, professionals and clergy on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Parents First, a Tennessee family learning partnership institute is one tool that Tennessee parents use to assist in educating their communities. Tennessee Parents First is a parent information resource center grant funded by NashvilleREAD and the Tennessee Department of Education. The regional office partners with the Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency, Inc. in Kingsport, to assist educators, parents, professionals and the community in developing methods enabling them to give the best possible education to children.
According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, in some Tennessee counties more than one-third of adults have only “level-one” literacy skills. 43 percent of people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty with no job or only part time work and of those parents making $20,000 or less, only a third spend time reading to their children. As salaries increase, the amount of parents that read with their children increases too. Nearly half of all parents making $60,000 read with their children.
In addition to attending the main sessions, attendees may choose three of 11 workshops to attend. The workshops include topics such as: ideas for increasing parental involvement, the No Child Left Behind Law, how to help your child succeed at school, classes on the poverty and homeless situations existing in Northeast Tennessee, literacy issues, special needs sessions and reading strategies.
The conference will be held on Saturday, September 27, from 8a.m. to 2:45p.m. in Hyder Auditorium on the campus of Milligan College. On-site child care for children two and older will be available at no cost for a limited number with pre-registration. Free lunch will be provided to the first 200 people to register.
Registration is required to attend. For registration forms or more information, contact Sherry Tysinger with Tennessee Parents First at 423-246-6180.