Savannah Speech and Hearing Center’s Sound Start program, Savannah’s only auditory/oral preschool program, was recently announced as an award winner for Governor Nathan Deal’s Early Language and Literacy Mini-Grant Program and will receive a $10,000 grant.

“Being recognized with this award from Governor Deal’s program is one step closer to our goal of preparing our children to be proficient readers,” said Anne K. Smith, president of the Savannah Speech and Hearing Center board of directors. “This grant will allow us to enhance our existing literacy program aimed at building the language skills of students with hearing loss, including vocabulary, reading fluency, comprehension and phonemic awareness.”

The Early Language and Literacy Mini-Grant Program is a collaborative effort between the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement and the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy at Georgia College. Organizations applied for the program by submitting a project proposal detailing how they will support a community partnership to target the language and literacy development needs of children ages zero to eight.

Projects must focus on one of the four pillars of the Get Georgia Reading Campaign: language nutrition, access, positive learning climate, and teacher preparation and effectiveness. The goal is to get all children in Georgia on a path to reading proficiently by the end of third grade. These community partnerships include child care centers, public and private pre-K programs, primary grades of elementary schools, local service agencies and local nonprofit organizations.

“The Early Language and Literacy Mini-Grant Program recognizes those leading the way in developing new, engaging programs to advance language and literacy skills for Georgia students,” said Gov. Deal. “These grants will provide communities with additional resources to put more students on track to read on grade-level by the third grade. The bright minds of Georgia’s students are the state’s most precious resource and I commend the educators and community partners working to prepare them for future success.”