Innovative

Family Literacy
Since the early 1990s, LIFT has pioneered efforts to promote family literacy in Missouri. Family literacy programs bring together low-literate adults and their young children for a family-focused educational experience. Parents learn parenting skills, as well as life and work readiness skills, while their children build a solid foundation for entering kindergarten ready to read and learn.

Professional Development
LIFT's professional development activities for literacy providers promote continuous improvement by crafting training sessions linked with ongoing technical assistance and continuous evaluation. LIFT fulfills training needs not otherwise provided in Missouri.

Web-Based Resources
LIFT's web site allows access to on-line literacy resources, on-line discussion groups, links to state and national literacy organizations, and LIFT eNews, a free electronic newsletter. LIFT also provides an on-line newspaper, called Youngsaintlouis.com, with current stories backed with easy-to-use lesson plans. It is an interactive tool that parents, tutors, and teachers can use to help students become better readers.

Early Literacy Training
By utilizing on-line resources, LIFT helps teachers practice strategies to promote early literacy in parents and their young children. These resources include activities that address phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, word recognition, listening, vocabulary, and comprehension.