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Home : Programs
and Services : Community-Based
Connections Programs
Community-Based Connections Programs
LDA's community-based programs are services offered
through partnerships with community agencies and local
schools. Currently, LDA has two community-based programs
that offer services for children and youth in the Minneapolis
area, the Learning Connections Program and the School-to-Work
Transition Program. LDA also engages in Public Education
& Outreach to help raise awareness about learning disabilities
and related learning difficulties.
Learning Connections Program
The Learning Connections Program is a collaborative
partnership with Twin Cities communities and elementary
schools with the shared goal of promoting literacy and
learning success for children at-risk for reading failure.
Working together with parents, teachers and volunteers
for over 6 years, LDA has successfully replicated this
model program with a total of 13 partners. The Learning
Connections Program provides:
- An intensive, individualized and hands-on approach
to reading instruction for children with low reading
skills and reading disabilities
- Parent education and/or involvement through parent
workshops, support groups, or family literacy activities
with their children
- Teacher and volunteer training to build their capacity
to improve reading instruction and behavior management
for children with low reading skills and reading disabilities.
LDA's current partners include: Andersen Open School,
Anishinabe School, Christ's Household of Faith, Hall
Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Jordan
Park School, North Port School in Robbinsdale, Na Way'ee
Center School, Northstar Elementary School, Richard
Greene Elementary School, Risen Christ School, Southside
Family Resource Center, St. Luke's/IHM, St. Matthew
Catholic School, Tuttle Community School, and the Minneapolis
American Indian Center's Golden Eagles Program. Click
here for more information.
Parents as Partners
Helping Families Support School
Success
Research shows that parents’ involvement
with their child’s learning is key to a child’s
academic success. The Parents as Partners Program empowers
parents to become more involved and better equipped
to support their children’s learning. Parents as
Partners will access parents’ existing strengths
by first helping parents identify what they already
do that is working to support their child. The program
builds parent confidence to use their own strategies
and then empowers them with new tools, strategies, skills,
and practical information sensitive to their culture
and life situations.
Click
here for the home/school checklist to document strategies
that work at home and school.
1. Family Fun Nights
Bring the whole family together for an evening of fun,
food, and learning. We make it easy by providing a meal
and educational activities for the whole family. Our
games and activities provide parents with fun and easy
ways to help their children build language and math
skills at home. Families can take their games home to
be used again and again.
2. Parent Workshops at Partnership Sites
Workshops are 1-2 hours and include a presentation by
an expert, discussion with parents, and referral to
resources. We will also prepare customized workshops
for other appropriate topics. Current topics include:
- Helping your child with reading
- Helping your child with homework
- How to communicate with your child’s teacher
- Tips for helping your child prepare for the MCA’s
- What is a learning disability?
3. ADHD Support Services
Workshops, support groups, and a FREE ADHD information
line especially for parents of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD). The workshops are valuable for parents
of any child who struggles with behavior at school or
at home. Workshops are held at LDA’s offices in
St. Louis Park and include the following topics:
Click here for the full program brochure.
- Homework Hassles
- Strategies for School
- Is it ADHD or Misbehavior?
- Why is My Child Always Angry?
- ADHD and Social Skills
Support groups for parents of children with ADHD and
for adults with ADHD meet monthly. A new topic opens
discussion for each group meeting, followed by group
sharing and support to learn strategies, gain new outlooks,
ask questions, and deepen understanding of ADHD concerns.
Meetings are located at LDA offices.
4. Parent-to-Parent Problem-Solving Sessions
Moderated discussions focused on issues which are identified
by parents regarding specific academic achievement or
behavior-related topics.
5. Parent Mentors
Trained providers offer peer support to other parents.
Resources include information fact sheets, LDA’s
website, and parent consultations. Consultations can
be made by phone, at home, or by e-mail. We will connect
parents to talk about a variety of topics including:
- Your child’s behavior
- Communicating with your child
- Helping your child succeed in school
Let us know if you are interested in talking to a parent
mentor, or becoming a parent mentor yourself. Please
call LDA Minnesota at 952.922.8374.
6. Parent Advisory Council
Provides guidance in development planning for parent-to-parent
problem solving, workshop activities, and networks with
local resource organizations. Serves as a clearinghouse
to find solutions to unaddressed needs or barriers to
participation. Assists in evaluation planning for program
activities. LDA is currently seeking passionate parents
to participate in the Advisory Council. Click
here for more information.
For more information and learn how you can get involved
in the Parents as Partners Program, please contact Susan
Hallam, Parents as Partners Manager, 952.922.8374 x3723
or E-mail at sh@ldaminnesota.org.
Parents as Partners activities are also offered
in Spanish
Early Literacy Program
Building Successful Readers
“The single most significant factor influencing
a child’s early educational success is an introduction
to books and being read to at home prior to beginning
school.” --National Commission on Reading
The Early Literacy program at LDA is a new initiative
that is based on early childhood research. The program
prepares parents through workshops, practical hands-on
strategies, and literacy materials to support their
child’s early reading skill development. It supports
childcare professionals through training and materials
to encourage parents’ efforts at home and incorporate
early literacy strategies throughout their program.
We also collaborate with childcare centers in the metro
area to implement the Raising A Reader take-home book
bag program to support early literacy.
The program’s major goal is to support the early
literacy development of pre-school children so they
will be better prepared to succeed in school and ready
for kindergarten.
- Provide opportunities for exposure to books and
language for children before entering elementary school.
- Empower parents with family literacy strategies
and materials to use at home.
- Serve as a community resource for early literacy
and support child care providers in implementing early
literacy activities in their programs.
- Disseminate a “Literacy Benchmarks” document
to track each child’s progress and help parents
identify targeted interventions to support each child’s
reading development.
- Reaches out to low-income families and those with
limited literacy or English proficiency.
- Strategies for parents who do not read English are
included in parent trainings.
What is Raising A Reader?
Raising A Reader is a take-home book bag program focused
on increasing children’s exposure to books and
reading before they enter Kindergarten. Each week book
bags filled with a variety of books, including multi-cultural
and multi-lingual vocabulary-building materials, go
home from school. Parents are trained in fun, interactive
ways to share books with their children, and the book
bag and its contents become a child’s favorite
toy. The result is an irresistible request: “Please
read to me!”
Access to books is essential to reading development.
In fact, the only behavioral measure that correlates
significantly with reading scores is the number of books
in the home. However, children from low-income families
have extremely limited access to books. A recent study
shows that while in middle-income neighborhoods the
ratio of age-appropriate books per child is 13 to 1,
in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 book for
every 300 children. Click
here for more information.
We are currently seeking to expand our community partnerships.
For more information on the Early Literacy program or
how to collaborate with us, please contact Sandy Ditmarsen,
Early Literacy Coordinator, at 952-922-8374 x3722 or
E-mail sd@ldaminnesota.org.
Transition Services Program
LDA has partnered with the Minneapolis Public Schools
(MPS) for more than 20 years to offer the Transition
Services Program (formerly School-to-Work Transition
Program). Designed to help middle and high school students
ages 14-21 with learning disabilities and other learning
difficulties such as ADHD gain self-awareness and increase
knowledge about their career opportunities so they can
make informed decisions about their future and increase
the likelihood of their self-sufficiency. Through personalized
vocational consultations, career explorations, and small
group meetings, LDA's Transition Counselor prepares
students for post-secondary education and/or employment
opportunities and how they can access post-secondary
options.
Transition Services include Now What? transition curriculum,
community access and resources, teacher capacity building,
parent education, and consultations. LDA can customize
a contractual agreement and create a service package
to fit your school’s needs, with special focus
on successful strategies for students with learning
disabilities, emotional behavior disorders, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD).
Participants are 8th-12th graders with an Individual
Education Plan (IEP) who have been referred by special
education or classroom teachers, counselors, and social
workers from Minneapolis Public Schools. Students with
learning disabilities may also self-select into the
program or be referred by a parent. LDA's Transition
Services Program currently serves Minneapolis Public
High Schools, Burnsville, and Edina Public Schools.
Please contact Valerie Griffin, Transition Coordinator
at 952.922.8374 or Email vg@ldaminnesota.org
for a consultation. Click
here for more information.
Public Education & Outreach
LDA's Public Education & Outreach is provided through
its communication materials, information and referral
services, educational conferences, and seminars. LDA's
goal is to provide quality information and training
to parents, teachers, professionals, and the general
public on learning disabilities (LD) or related learning
difficulties so that they become more knowledgeable
about LD and the resources available for people with
LD.
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