The Jumpstart program at UW-Eau Claire will get a financial boost, as it will receive just under $100,000 from the U.S. Congress for expansion.
Jumpstart is a national literacy program that began in 1993. The Eau Claire program started three years ago and has steadily grown, said Donna Lehmkuhl, the Jumpstart Eau Claire site manager.
The Eau Claire program learned Monday that a U.S. House of Appropriations bill, through the efforts of U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., had awarded it around $100,000 in appropriations.
| “Getting to see the huge leap in improvement with their language and social skills is great.” –Crystal Jackson Senior |
Jumpstart recruits, trains and supervises university students to work with early childhood programs. They share their time for the length of the school year, working one-on-one with children struggling in preschool.
Senior Crystal Jackson has been involved with the program since its first year at Eau Claire.
“The most rewarding part is seeing how much they improve throughout the year,” she said. “Getting to see the huge leap in improvement with their language and social skills is great.”
When the program began, 40 university students provided individual Jumpstart sessions for 36 children in one-on-one sessions. They also helped 260 children through centers served by Jumpstart.
This year, Lehmkuhl said there are 54 Eau Claire students helping 48 children one-on-one. They still are assisting around 260 children in the different centers.
“The money will help expand our program and expand it to another university in Wisconsin,” Lehmkuhl said.
The funding is multifaceted. It will be used to expand the current program and to help teach pre-literacy methods to parents of preschool children.
The funding is included in the 2005 fiscal year budget, which Congress approved on Nov. 22.
Lehmkuhl said the goal of the program is for children to enter school prepared to succeed.
More funding will allow Jumpstart to help a greater number of children throughout Wisconsin.
“It’s vital that children enter school with basic readiness tools, which is why I have always been a strong supporter of early childhood education programs,” Kohl said in a press release. “We need to invest in programs – like this one – that serve preschool children in our communities and encourage more college students to enter early childhood education careers. I’m proud to work with Congressman Kind on securing this funding.”
