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The Hobson Literacy Project
In 2002 Clark State Community College and Cuyahoga Community College  developed a teaching model for literacy with over $806,000 in shared funding from the United States Department of Education.

"We believe that by developing a strong literacy curriculum in our early childhood programs, we will ensure that day care teachers can teach Ohio's children to read. If we can increase the percentage of early childhood teachers trained in early literacy, it will have a direct impact on the children's proficiency scores," says Congressman Hobson.

Over the past five years the Hobson Literacy Project has enabled Clark State to emphasize literacy development in their early childhood education programs.  The project also enabled Clark State to create an early literacy option and certificate for students interested in pursuing a degree with a focus on literacy.  Benefits of the project are still being felt today as the program continues to utilize the resources provided through those valued funds.

Early Elementary Paraprofessional Degree
In 2004 Clark State Community College developed the Outreach to Instructional Aides (OIA) project to implement a degree program for teacher aides in Title I classrooms with $99,410 in funding from the United States Department of Education.

While  working with local school districts to ensure that their instructional aides are "highly qualifed"  (as stated in the No Child Left Behind Act), aides must complete at least two years of study at a higher education institution, obtain an associate's degree, or meet a rigorous standard of quality through an assessment.

Working with the instructional aides, teachers, and administrators at the Springfield City Schools, Clark State developed the curriculum for an Early Elementary Paraprofessional degree program through funding from the Ohio Department of Education.

Early Language and Literacy Specialist Project
The Early Literacy Initiative is a collaborative effort of the Ohio Department of Education's Office of Early Childhood Education and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' Bureau of Child Care and Development. The project goal is to strengthen the language and literacy outcomes of preschool children across all early education settings by providing resources, tools, services, and guidance to early childhood educators.

A network of higher education institutions will serve as regional centers, housing an early language and literacy specialist. These specialists will assist early education teachers in developing the knowledge, skills, and competence needed to ensure that our children have a strong language and early literacy foundation.

Clark State Community College will serve as one of the regional centers with funding from the Ohio Department of Education. The region that will be served by the early language and literacy specialist housed at Clark State Community College is Greene, Fayette, Clark, Champaign, Logan, Union, Hardin, and Hancock counties.

To obtain more information about this project, contact the early language and literacy specialist at Clark State.