This version of "A Parent's Guide to Supporting Early Literacy at Home" is aligned to South Carolina's Read to Succeed Law, as written in Act 284 of 2014. In 2024, Act 114 amended the Read to Succeed Act. A revised version of this guide will be released in the fall of 2025 to reflect changes in the amended version of the law.
“Supporting Early Literacy at Home: A Parent's Guide” is a series of online, self-paced learning modules designed to provide information for parents and caregivers so that they can support their children’s early literacy development. Research shows that parent/caregiver involvement is the number one predictor of early literacy success as well as future academic success. Each learning module will provide information and tips (strategies) that will arm parents/caregivers with tools to support children from birth through the beginning years of school.
Research suggests that parental involvement in a child's learning has more of an impact on a child's educational outcomes than any other demographic measure including social class, level of parental education or income (Feinstein & Symons, 1999).
The roots of family literacy as an educational method come from the belief that “the parent is the child’s first teacher.” Reading is the gateway to learning, opening doors to faraway adventures and new possibilities and promising futures. Without strong reading skills, children will face a host of difficult challenges throughout their lives (Oregon State Department of Education).
Act 284 (the Read to Succeed Act), enacted by the legislature of South Carolina in 2013, amended with Act 114 in 2024, states in Section 59-155-110:
The South Carolina Department of Education shall implement a comprehensive, systemic approach to reading which will ensure:
- after each administration of a universal reading screener or formative assessment as defined in this chapter, each student and his parent or guardian are informed in writing of:
- specific actions that the parent or guardian can take to help the student comprehend grade-level texts;
- Each district PK-12 reading proficiency plan shall:
- include a system for helping parents understand how they can support the student as a reader at home;
and continues in Section 59-155-140:
- all programs focused on early childhood literacy development promote parental involvement in children's literacy and development of foundational literacy skills.
Each of the six modules contained in this resource provides background information and targeted activities that are designed to enable parents to support their child, as well as resources providing further understanding.
Each module is introduced by a short video and followed by various additional activities including videos, articles, and other relevant research-based resources.
“As parents, the most important thing we can do is read to our children early and often. Reading is the path to success in school and life. When children learn to love books, they learn to love learning”. (Laura Bush)
The SCDE framework defines family broadly as a network of individuals who support the social, emotional, spiritual, physical, and educational growth and development of children and students. The SCDE seeks to empower families and community members by providing capacity-building assistance and resources for effective family engagement that promotes literacy.
The SCDE framework defines literacy broadly as a lifelong process that involves creativity, understanding, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and effective communication. SCDE collaborates with the state, district, school, community and family in fostering early learning in the area of literacy.