Contact us for more information:

Phone: (765) 494-9750/496-2119

Fax: (765) 496-2305

Email: plnp@purdue.edu

Mail:

Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education

100 N. University Street

West Lafayette, IN  47907-2098

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If we can focus our energies on providing this generation of teachers with the kinds of knowledge and skills they need to help students succeed, we will have made an enormous contribution to America's future.

-Linda Darling-Hammond, 1996, "What Matters Most: A Competent Teacher for Every Child,"

  Phi Delta Kappan

Without question, literacy is the foundation for all learning. It is critical that children have the opportunity to develop literacy skills early because when children fail to learn to read in the lower grades, they are unable to learn effectively as they move into higher grades. This may result in their having low academic achievement, poor self-esteem, and the likelihood of dropping out of school before even considering the potential for higher education. Clearly, this has implications for a literate citizenry.

In addition, it is widely recognized that high quality, ongoing professional development for teachers is requisite to launching and maintaining successful school literacy programs. The Purdue Literacy Network Project (PLNP) in the College of Education provides such professional development for the purpose of creating a comprehensive program for children in elementary grades, assuring that all children are given the opportunity to become readers and writers early in their schooling.

The PLNP has established three component programs: Reading Recovery, Literacy Collaborative, and the Professional Development Initiative. In Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative, select teachers participate in special training through the College of Education at Purdue and then take their newly acquired knowledge and skills back to their schools, where they implement training and support programs for the other teachers.  The Professional Development Initiative offers professional development for classroom teachers in balanced literacy and effective teaching practices in three ways: through the Summer Literacy Institute, Professional Development Series workshops, and Designed Professional Development during the school year.