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literacyworldwide.org | January/February 2018 | LITERACY TODAY
LIT BITS
Supporting Bilingual Education
In October, the Cultural Services of the French
Embassy announced the inauguration of the
French Dual Language Fund. Initiated by President
Emmanuel Macron of the Republic of France,
the program will direct $2 million to French dual
language and immersion programs in U.S. public
schools between 2017 and 2022. In his speech,
President Macron underlined the importance of
bilingualism in our increasingly globalized world
as a means to bring people closer together and to
help us understand one another. More information
is available at face-foundation.org/french-dual-
language-fund.
To learn more about the value of bilingual
education and multicultural learning environments,
read ILA’s recent briefs Early Literacy Learning
for Immigrant and Refugee Children and
Second-Language Learners’ Vocabulary and
Oral Language Development, both available at
literacyworldwide.org/position-statements.
Rebuilding Libraries in Houston, TX
Organized by library media/instructional technology specialist Jennifer Gossen and reading
interventionist Laura Devine, Hemlock Elementary School in DePere, WI, hosted a book drive to
help rebuild home and school libraries affected by Hurricane Harvey. The staff partnered with
Books Between Kids, a nonprofit that provides books to at-risk youth in the Houston area, to
collect and send more than 7,000 books to local students and schools.