A new program serving North Idaho families of pre-kindergarten children is launching in early spring 2024.
Encompassing townships in Latah, Benewah, and Kootenai Counties, the effort is based in Potlatch and funded by a two-year Ready to Learn grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Idaho Public Television’s family and community education arm.
Partnering with Idaho Public Television’s education team are several local organizations, including The Garden and Lil Moe's childcare centers, the Harvard Homeschool Co-op, Potlatch Public Library, and the Potlatch Historical Society; Moscow-based organizations IdahoSTARS, Gritman Medical Center, and the Latah County Library system; Woodbridge Real Estate; as well as Parents as Teachers and Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children.
The goal of the North Idaho project is to build a Learning Neighborhood, a network of partners and material supports that enhance the education of young children and their families.
According to the PBS KIDS Ready to Learn 2023-2024 Update "Learn Together: Connecting Children's Media and Learning Environments to Build Key Skills for Success," 41 public media stations across the country are creating Learning Neighborhoods by "working with community partners in low-income neighborhoods to identify local assets and needs and develop learning opportunities to support children, families, and educators. Building upon the extensive reach of PBS KIDS content across digital platforms, Learning Neighborhoods foster a community-wide culture of learning together at home, in the neighborhood, and at schools, libraries, museums, and local businesses. These collaborations empower parents and families through direct engagement with educational resources from PBS KIDS and experiences that have a measurable impact on learning." The report highlights the work being done in North Idaho (read the report online).
“The work focuses on building family relationships,” says program manager Lenea Pierzchanowski, an education specialist at Idaho Public Television. “And the skills and resources created by the grant will be sustainable long after the program is complete.” Through a combination of community engagement, family involvement, and professional development, the North Idaho Learning Neighborhood will create learning priorities of functional literacy, critical and computational thinking, executive functioning, and career readiness.
Some of the planned activities include family and community learning workshops, a pint-sized career fair, a Parent University family experience, and mini camps for children and families throughout the spring and summer of 2024.
Molly Clark, director of The Garden daycare and preschool in Potlatch, says, “I am thrilled to be part of the Learning Neighborhood project sponsored by Idaho Public Television. This initiative promises to make a significant and lasting impact on the children in our community. I believe it will bring invaluable resources, enhancing the quality of education in our small, rural town.”
For more information, contact IdahoPTV education specialist Lenea Pierzchanowski at (208) 912-4485 or lenea.pierzchanowski@idahoptv.org.