Literacy Council of Upper Pinellas in now partnering in our learning community with LSF Children & Head Start Services of Pinellas County. They offer Free Preschool enrolling ages from 1 to 5-years-old for the up coming school year 2015-1016!

? Eligibility ? Families must meet current Federal Poverty Guidelines in order for their children to qualify for Head Start/Early Head Start. Parents must provide the following: ? 1) Birth Certificate (Proof of Guardianship/Custody if applicable) 2) Proof of Residency in Pinellas County 3) Proof of Income for the past 52 weeks or previous calendar year (i.e. pay stubs, W-2, 1040, statement from employer, etc.) 4) Documentation of child’s disability (if applicable) 5) Photo Identification of Parent ? Applications will be accepted daily at?the?Head Start/Early Head Start offices (see?below for location). ? Contact Info For more information on the LSF Head Start Program, call 727-547-5979 or visit the office at 2210 Tall Pines Dr., Largo, FL 33771 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. ? HEAD START LOCATIONS – PINELLAS COUNTY ? ? Center ? Address ? Phone ? Director ? ? Clearwater ? 701 N. Missouri Avenue, Clearwater, Fl 33755 727-443-3575 Mary Hardy ? Connie L. Marmaro ? 3600 Fairfield Avenue S, St.Petersburg, Fl 33711 727-321-9778 Joy Williams ? Dunedin Center ? 421 Main Street, Dunedin,Fl 34698 727-733-2879 Torry Bain ? Fillmore Center ? 1900 12th Street S, St. Petersburg, Fl 33705 727-823-7491 Charlene Thomas ? Friendship ? 802 Turner Street, Clearwater, Fl 33756 727-462-8323 Nitza Vega ? Gulley ? 1045 Dr.Martin Luther King, Clearwater, Fl 33755 727-441-9801 Leedrilla Jenkins ? Good Samaritan ? 6085 Park Blvd, Pinellas Park, Fl 33781 727-544-3658 Linda Bell ? High Point Center ? 15495 58th Street North, Clearwater, Fl 33760 727-535-5009 Diana Jahovaj ? Jordan Park ? 2390 9th Avenue S, St.Petersburg, Fl 33712 727-327-4144 Marilyn Fuller ? Los Caminos ? 1435 Lakeview Road, Clearwater, Fl 33756 727-442-6383 Johanna Prieto ? Rainbow ? 12351 134th Avenue, Largo, Fl 33774 727-585-2745 Susan Thomas ? Reconciler ? 915 Drew Street, Clearwater, Fl 33755 727-441-8326 Felicity DaCosta ? Sanderlin ? 920 Palmetto Street, Clearwater, Fl 33755 727-443-7582 Linda Edwards ? Tarpon Springs ? 516 S. Huey Avenue, Tarpon Springs, Fl 34689 727-938-4919 Charlotte Williams ? Woodlawn ? 513 15th Street N.? St.Petersburg, Fl 33705 727-827-1016 Donna Butler

Close to 40 LCUP tutors, students, and board members, librarians, and other literacy leaders from all over the county met on January 9, 2015, to discuss opportunities for collaboration to promote literacy efforts in Pinellas County. Cheryl Morales, Executive Director of the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, spoke about the importance of early childhood literacy and the cooperative?s efforts to promote literacy from early childhood through adulthood.

LCUP tutors work with students with greatly varied degrees of experience and skill. One of the most challenging tasks for a tutor is teaching newcomers to speak, read, and write English who have immigrated to this country with very limited ability to communicate.

Nine-year-old Matin is helping his parents, Vilmos and Agnes Garda, learn English.

David Muething, LCUP volunteer and board member, is meeting that challenge tutoring Vilmos and Agnes Garda, who recently emigrated from Hungary to Palm Harbor. His ?assistant? is the Gardas? nine-year-old son, Matin, who is playing an instrumental role in helping his parents learn English.

The Gardas moved to the United States seeking better economic opportunities. Matin studied some English in school in Hungary and has quickly built upon his language skills being immersed in English in elementary school. He accompanies his parents to tutoring sessions with David at Palm Harbor Library and helps translate from English to Hungarian when needed. He also ?repairs? (corrects) his parents at home when they make mistakes, his mother says.

The Gardas agree the most difficult part of learning English is the sheer multitude of words (currently more than 1 million) and all the different vowel sounds (23).

David has served as a literacy tutor in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties for four years and has tutored students from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Iran. When he tutors new immigrants with limited English, said David, he begins with a handout of the alphabet.

?I recite each letter and then pronounce the sound it usually makes in a word,? he said.? ?I teach the concept of vowels versus consonants. I then teach short and long vowel sounds.? I create a handout of commonly used phrases needed for survival and use Google Translate

David Muething uses Google Translate to help his Hungarian students learn English.

(https://translate.google.com/) to provide the cross-reference in their native language.?

He then uses picture books with common everyday scenarios (grocery shopping, cleaning house, driving, walking around) and begins teaching basic vocabulary and sentences. ?Building on this base, David begins introducing simple grammar lessons and phonics lessons, always patiently repeating and reinforcing what his students have learned over and over as they begin to feel more comfortable with their newly acquired skills.

For information on how you can become an LCUP volunteer tutor or receive tutoring services, contact LCUP at (727) 298-3080 ext. 1724 or info@lcup.net.