The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester is lending his support to an innovative, community-driven project designed to improve literacy outcomes in the Latrobe Valley.
Mr Chester said Rhonda Renwick, the founder of a local philanthropic organisation Kindred Spirits, was the driving force behind the Val-You Reading Program.
“Rhonda is a business and community leader in the Latrobe Valley committed to improving the lives of everyone who lives here,” Mr Chester said.
“She wants to change the lives of local families and she’s doing it with a program to boost literacy skills.”
“It’s no secret that the people of the Latrobe Valley have been going through difficult times, but our community also has solutions and opportunities. I am proud to support Rhonda and this project to empower individuals through education.”
Ms Renwick, who is the proprietor of Latrobe Valley Bus Lines, and Kindred Spirits are partnering with the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) and the community, including Berry Street, Gippsland, to implement the Early Language and Literacy (EL&L) Program.
This innovative, best practice program for early years education incorporates speech and language pathology principles expressly designed to optimise language and literacy outcomes across the community.
ALNF’s provision of EL&L will be delivered across multiple sites, with a commitment to the project for a 10-year period.
“The Val-You Reading Program aims to ensure all children who start school are familiar with books and have basic pre-reading skills,” Ms Renwick said. “To do this, we need to start with parents and families.”
“We will help parents, particularly those who are not confident in their reading abilities, to be more competent to use books in their interactions with their children before they reach school age.”
An educator and psychologist, Ms Renwick said programs like the Val-You Reading Program were creating systemic and sustainable change across disadvantaged communities in Australia.
“We want children to have the basic knowledge and skills they need to begin reading and are ready to learn when they walk into a classroom for the first time. It gives everybody a fair go. It can be really hard for kids who don’t have that early exposure to books and reading to make up that lost ground.”
Kindred Spirits is planning to establish the Val-You Reading Program in the Latrobe Valley, before expanding to other areas of need.
“Through the Val-You Reading Program, we can support and educate families and their children. By doing this, we empower them and strengthen our community as a whole,” Ms Renwick said.
“In the long term, this is a canny investment at all levels in equity and education. Education is the best equaliser.”
The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester is pictured with Latrobe Valley Bus Lines proprietor Rhonda Renwick (centre) and general manager Anna Tyben (right), all of whom are enthusiastic champions of the Valley and its people.
