BIDDEFORD — The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy’s Maine Family Literacy Initiative has awarded $5,000 to the Auburn School Department through the program School Comes to You.

Auburn teacher Linda Leiva accepted the award from Barbara Bush at a ceremony held at the J. Richard Martin Community Center on Thursday. The grant will be used to design a virtual classroom where families can access high quality literacy support in their homes, libraries, etc.

The planning process will start with a daylong summer workshop, which introduces the virtual classroom concept. An expert in family literacy will describe the need for strong family literacy programs, successful strategies for engaging families and outlining the critical components that will empower families to be first teachers.

The participants will discuss strategies to attract, engage and keep families in the program. The participants also will be given an opportunity to explore virtual classrooms on the web.

“The abilities to read, write and comprehend enable people to create brighter and more prosperous futures for themselves, their families and their communities,” Bush said. “The staff and volunteers with the MEFLI programs are making a wonderful difference in many lives, and I am grateful for their work to make Maine a more literate state.”

A total of eight grants of $25, 000 and one grant for $15,000 was awarded this year from applications submitted by libraries, adult education and public schools across the state. Programs receiving support provide family literacy services, including adult and early childhood instruction, and time for parents and children to read together. An additional eight planning grants of $5,000 each will help communities develop the partnerships and resources needed to implement a family literacy program in 2010.

Five “Lighthouse Grants” of $25,000 each have also been awarded.

Since 1996, The Maine Family Literacy Initiative has awarded 226 grants totaling $3,957,090.

For more information, visit www.mainefamilyliteracy.com