7. Northwest Center for Media Literacy Education

Recognizing the need to find innovative ways to communicate with families and professionals, one of the Haring Center’s longest running programs is the Northwest Center for Media Literacy Education. The goal of this Center is to provide high quality training on current topics to audiences who may be difficult to research using traditional delivery techniques. Beginning in 1989 as the Early Childhood Telecommunications Project, researchers Marilyn Cohen and Barbara Johnson sought to furnish care-providers in remote communities with educational training content.

Originally disseminated to televisions over the Public Broadcast System, the Center developed training for first time teachers, childcare providers, graduate students, and professionals who could not access traditional training opportunities. Through their tireless work, the Center has provided training to thousands of students and professionals who would not have otherwise received frequent trainings on best practices.

The program has since shifted focus to media literacy for both parents and children. Haring Center trainers have partnered with community organizations to tackle the media’s influence on such topics as nutrition, violence, obesity, teen pregnancy and more. Cohen designed programs designed to empower youth to counsel their peers on subjects of healthy living and education. The Center for Media Literacy Education Staff have worked with a number of local community centers and school districts to increase media literacy.

Throughout 25 years of training, the educators at the Center for Media Literacy have received funding from a number of public and private entities including the Washington State Department of Health, Teen Futures, the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Center for Disease Control Prevention.