Little Known, Big Benefits: Putnam City's Even Start Program
There is a natural tendency to think of public schools as providing education for students in kindergarten through grade 12. In Putnam City, such an assumption doesn’t begin to tell the whole story.
Thanks to a federally funded program known as Even Start, district residents from infants and toddlers to traditional school-aged students to older adults receive help in the area of literacy.
Family Focus
What makes Even Start special is not just that it educates people of different ages. Even Start educates families. It’s known as a family literacy program, and it’s families who take part. Even Start is designed to help families break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy and parenting education into a unified program.
To participate in Even Start in Putnam City, the requirements are simple. Parents must live in the district and have a child under 8 years old.
Adult Education 
The adult education element of Even Starts breaks down into three areas. Some Even Start students are recent immigrants working to learn English. Others are teen parents working toward their high school degree. Still others are people who never earned a high school degree but have decided to pursue a GED.
For those learning to speak English as their second language (ESL), Even Start classes at Putnam City Center help in many areas. In surveys, students say they are learning English so they can get better jobs or be better parents.
"I remember a student who came to class one day thrilled that she had for the first time been able to understand her child’s doctor at a recent appointment. Becoming employable, getting better jobs, improving parenting skills, even being able to ask questions at the grocery store or post office – there are a lot of ways in which this program helps people improve their lives by improving their English skills," says Even Start administrator Kay Epperson.
Adults who wish to obtain a GED also take Even Start classes at the Putnam City Center, brushing up on English, math, social studies and science to prepare for the GED test. Students also get help working on job applications and resumes.
The Even Start program also serves the parenting teen program and supports young mothers who are working toward a high school diploma. 
Early Childhood Education
While adults or teen parents attend class, children are learning, too.
Children 4 and above attend class in Putnam City elementary schools. Younger children have spots in developmentally appropriate early childhood rooms at the Putnam City Center. These classes enhance the development of infants and toddlers and support the emergent literacy of children. Young children also learn social skills to better prepare them for success when they begin school.
Parent Education
Parent education is an integral part of Even Start. The content is determined by the interests and needs of the parents. Parenting education may be integrated into the curriculum in the adult education class, or a guest may be invited to speak to the students. Typical topics include safety education, nutrition, discipline and health information.
Parent and Child Together Time
Once a week ESL and GED parents join their children in the early childhood classrooms to play and participate in circle time. Teen parents do the same thing at a different time. Parents learn how to support their children’s learning through play. A key aspect of each gathering is activities that transfer literacy activities to the home.
Personal Visits
Personal visits are the final component of this program. For families with children under 3 years old, visits are conducted with a trained "Parents as Teachers" parent educator. Older children and their parents meet regularly with an Even Start parent educator. The core of these visits is child development and literacy activities.
Program Effectiveness
Research says Even Start is effective for the adults who take part. A Texas A&M University study found that parents who participated in Even Start were more often employed than those parents in the same socio-economic group that had not participated in the program. The study also confirmed that employment jumped from 17 percent before enrollment to 51 percent after program completion. Wages increased by more than 25 percent.
Benefits for children are also substantial, research shows. A University of North Carolina longitudinal study, with a national sample of 30 sites receiving Even Start funds, showed that 60 percent of the Even Start children who accelerated their literacy growth during the program, continued to be at or above expected levels in reading, 80 percent were average or above in language and 73 percent were on level in math. In fact, Even Start students continued to have higher average test scores than other students randomly selected from the same classes, after leaving the program.
Program Funding
Even Start is for the most part a federally funded program. Federal funds are earmarked for this program and cannot be used for any other purpose. The program also receives some Title I and district funds, and the district provides space, utilities, custodial services for the program in the Putnam City Center.
For More Information
For more information about the program, please call 491-7626.