The Clara Fields Multicultural  Literacy  Program is  appropriately  named  after  Mrs. Adams' grandmother. Clara Fields successfully raised nine children alone after leaving an abusive husband. Determining that her children would all have the benefit of a good education to escape the poverty and hard life that she had known, she set out to do whatever it took to realize her dreams for her children. She honored education and instilled a love and appreciation for it in them.  Working at every job from scrubbing floors to sewing, she saved money for their education. 

Clara Fields 1897-1982

The Program: Our program will give attention to the early intervention of preschoolers because statistics show that children develop much of their capacity for learning in the first three years of life. Each child will learn all the components of reading from phonics to vocabulary. By also expanding their background knowledge, their resources to speak and write well will also increase. For the K-2nd graders who may have missed a good literacy foundation, we will work with them to improve their literacy skills, giving them a better academic chance for success.

Our literacy program's curriculum will be challenging without making the child feel intimidated or overwhelmed. With an inclusive reflective curriculum, we want the child to feel comfortable and culturally connected by affording him or her a sense of familiarity in what he or she sees, hears and reads. As the program expands their background knowledge, a broader base on which to build literacy skills will be created.

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Our bright and colorful classroom is the perfect learning environment for your child. Watch your child develop into a happy, confident learner - ready for lifelong success. You can trust that our literacy program surpasses traditional pre-k and pre-school daycare programs.

Our Books on CD Listening Center has 4 headphones with volume control. This is a perfect reading tool for your child.

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There are no other preschool literacy programs that target at-risk children in low-income families and special needs children in our service areas. Agencies such as Head Start, Early Childhood Library Programs, and Title 1 schools offer great programs for all children K-12, but don't offer Literacy to preschoolers. The Clara Fields Multicultural Literacy Program is also a safe environment for illiterate parents to learn side-by-side with their children; in addition, introducing computers. Teachers children, and parents will choose software to further enrich the every-day curriculum that bridge the gaps between different literacy components, like phonemic awareness and letter blends. A power user-friendly, child-appealing internet tool that children and their parents will have a hands-on experience to help develop motor skills, independency, self confidence, research and development.

Our library is stocked with ethnic diverse children books, the environment, nature, history, governments, ethnic holidays/celebrations and customs, fun reading from dinosaurs to worms and real life to fiction.

Your child will sing-a-long and dance-a-long while learning their vowels and sight words.

Our literacy program also teaches your child with the lovely sound of music.

We pride ourselves with having a 2 to 1 student teacher ratio.

For students with special needs or teaching, we offer 1 on 1 education.

Students receives a healthy snack everyday and enjoy Pizza the last Saturday of  month.

Each day your child is read to at Story Time. They can also have their favorite book read.

Phonemic Awareness
* Identify phonemes (speech sounds)
* Learn how to segment words into sounds
* Make new words by combining or changing the sounds in words
* Identify the relationship between the letters of written language

Alphabet and Phonics Instruction
* Learn letter-sound relationships
* Solidify knowledge of the alphabet

Vocabulary Development
* Build vocabulary
* Learn words from the story
* Explore relationships between words
* Learn the most common words

Comprehension
* Build reading comprehension skills
* Learn the parts of a story (setting, character, conflict, and resolution)
* Read for meaning
* Self-monitor their comprehension

Reading Fluency
* Build their sight word vocabulary
* Increase their reading rate
* Improve their reading accuracy
* Read with greater expression

Our Clara Fields Multicultural Literacy Program is designed to reduce poverty and build sustainable prosperity for low-income families; at-risk, special needs children and all pre-k to 2nd grade children wanting a true head start.

The Program promotes and support early childhood literacy to develop prolific readers in each preschooler by the time they start kindergarten and to greatly improve the literacy skills of those children in K-2nd grade and their parents. The program expands their background knowledge creating a broader base on which to build literacy skills.

The Clara Fields Multicultural Literacy Program also supports the education, health, and wellness of the 45% of children that are at the greatest risk of educational failure in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, Winona and Fillmore Counties, Minnesota and Michigan by providing equal access to literacy opportunities and resources year-round.

Statistics: More than 38 million Americans -- 13 percent of the population -- live below the official poverty line, about $20,000 per year for a family of four. Education is the single most important factor in the determination of person's poverty status: (Source: City-data.com)

Measurement: Addressing illiteracy in pre-schoolers and special needs children is complex. We began by establishing an action plan for every student below our standard in reading. This plan outlines skill deficiencies, background knowledge, recommends corrective actions, and includes a timeline for monitoring and reassessing. These plans form a blueprint to help guide instruction.

To measure the success of teaching literacy to the students and parents, we give an assessment test on the first day of enrollment. We give a reading abilities test and evaluation at the beginning of the semester, middle of the semester and at the end of the semester.  The students and parents also keep a journal with daily entries. The Executive Director meets weekly with staff to evaluate the day-to-day progress. A questioner asking ten vital questions with a section for their comments and/or concerns is given to the parents of each child participating in the literacy   program. Mentoring is also a factor in how we teach our preschoolers; special needs children and their parents. Our students and parents have a community mentor working with them on a five-to-one ratio for a half hour each day and our special needs children have a one-to-one ratio. Technology also plays a major role, providing additional remedial hours for students and parents in need.

Our multifaceted, multi-cultural approach has helped produce significant results and funding support. In addition to donations from AAMAN Members and private individuals:

In September 2010 AAMAN's Literacy Program was awarded a $3,150.00 Grant from the Pepsi  Refresh Project.

On December 22, 2010 we received a $1,000.00 from Children's Miracle Network-(CMN), Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation.

In April 2011 Walmart's Onalaska Store presented AAMAN with a $40.00 Gift Card to purchase items on our "Wish List.

On May 27, 2011, AAMAN was awarded a $6,316.00 Grant for our Literacy Program from the La Crosse Community Foundation.

On July 1, 2011 the Great Rivers United Way awarded AAMAN a $1,000.00 Venture Grant for the purchase of a Young Explorer Computer Center. 

On July 15, 2011 we received our second $2,000.00 Grant from Target, bring their total support to $4,000.00.

On September 14, 2011 we received two Young Explorer computer centers valued at $2,600.00 each from IBM.

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