Summer Learning Day 2010 was a big hit for several hundred children and families in DC on Monday, June 21…it meant being randomly selected to choose a free book or two by a team of Reading Is Fundamental staff members and Riffington! Nine teams of four or more were out knocking on doors, visiting with persons in cars at stoplights, visiting dog parks, public parks and playgrounds as well as meeting RIF’s new neighbors in the 1255 23rd Street area including personnel in our own building, nearby hotels, and the American College of Cardiology where a RIF team was invited to set up an impromptu distribution, an email was sent out and employees came to learn more about RIF and summer learning and left with books to take home or give to other children!
Tonight ABC 7 in DC covered one team’s distribution and happy children were the focal point!
After all the teams returned to the office, they capped off the warm day with ice cream cake….presented to them by Riffington!
I am proud of the RIF staff members who participated in this hot, sweaty journey around DC marking a special day, a day with a focus on the cause we work daily to promote at RIF. I’ve asked my colleagues who participated to feel free to add comments about their observations and experiences during this adventure, and we’ll also post soon a full album of photos commemorating the activities.
Families, and particularly parents, have been shown as a highly significant “ingredient” in the process of children learning to read.Research has shown for decades that children whose parents read to them will the majority of the time become more proficient readers and do better in school overall.So why do we still have the major gaps in reading achievement between children when scores are categorized in various ways?For one, we have not faced the hard, cold truth: many parents themselves are not proficient readers or are uncomfortable reading with a child. Sure, itis hard for some of us to really imagine not having been read to as a child…but many were not and are not read to and those of us in positions to assist must understand that fact and respectfully work with parents and care providers who truly want the best for their children! This is all so hard to comprehend for many people, but it is a fact and one on which we must build some of our strategies.
We also know from those same decades of research students who report more types of reading material at home ultimately have higher scores.Other studies have shown that communities ranking high in student academic achievement tend to have several factors in common including large numbers of books in public libraries and easy access to books throughout the community.
For low-income children on whom Reading Is Fundamental and numerous other literacy groups focus, the “village” needs to nurture and support both the child and the family allowing parents to maintain dignity and respect in the eyes of their children. It means indeed “many faces” need to answer the call to assist:
·by reading stories to children in child care centers or elementary schools where RIF is present and providing both books and time for motivational activities to promote the “fun’ of reading in the early years
·as doctors, nurses and volunteers in waiting rooms read, provide a book at each well child visit and share with parents practical tips through organizations like Reach Out and Read
·by taking a lunch hour to read with a child through Everybody Wins!
·through making sure organizations like First Book working hard to make books affordable and available to children are receiving the help they seek.
Learning to read is hard work, it can even be labeled ‘tedious.’ The many faces of our community organizations as well as the individuals forming those organizations must focus on nurturing each child, providing opportunities for parents to see modeling of literacy activities…we must take this “village” so many of our children have surrounding them naturally and make it a support available to all.You can start in your community with one of three simple steps TODAY:
·Visit the RIF locator map and discover if there is a RIF program site near you;if there is, start the inquiry process of whether you might serve the village in this way.
·If there is no opportunity for a RIF experience, contact one of the other children’s and/or family literacy programs in your community by looking up those I have listed or one of the many others part of the village.
·Promote the “stone soup” outcome of advocacy for children and literacy.Just as the making of Stone Soup in the various versions we have all read promoted a “sense of community and well-being for all” we can always see through RIF sites a heightened awareness of the needs of children and the natural coming together of the village to care for its own.You may not feel you fit as a reader but you can perhaps schedule volunteers, serve on a book ordering committee, help with setting up a book distribution, put on a funny hat and greet children as they arrive for the day the books will be distributed…take that first step, throw in a carrot or a stone, your contribution will multiply!
Today you are invited to become an active member of “the literacy village.”Can you start by simply pledging you will help to improve upon this statement:
Less than half our nation’s children between birth and five years of age have a story read to them daily by their parents/family members.
Please stop by today’s headquarters for Day One of Share a Story – Shape a Future Blog Tour 2010 which is found at Scrub-a-Dub-Tub and hosted by Terry Doherty;there you will learn about other postings today you do not want to miss!And be sure as wellto start each day this week with a stop by the main blog site for Share a Story, Shape a Future to learn about that day’s offerings, the questions you can answer in order to win book collections for a school or library and to see some great pictures!
On February 1, President Obama released his proposed FY2011 budget which eliminates the funding for Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and its nationwide services. Without this federal funding, over 4.4 million children and families will not receive free books or reading encouragement from RIF programs at nearly 17,000 locations throughout the U.S.
Unless Congress reinstates $25 million in funding for this program, RIF will not be able to distribute 15 million books annually to the nation’s children at greatest risk for academic failure. RIF programs in schools, community centers, hospitals, military bases, and other locations serving children from low-income families, children with disabilities, homeless children, and children without adequate access to libraries. The Inexpensive Book Distribution program is authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (SEC.5451 Inexpensive Book Distribution Program for Reading Motivation) and is not funded through earmarks. It has been funded by Congress and six Administrations without interruption since 1975.
Since its founding in 1966, RIF has played a critical role in improving literacy in this country by providing new, free books for children to keep and build home libraries. Access to books and the power of choice ignite children’s hunger for knowledge and a passion for learning. In addition, research has shown that children who have more access to books not only perform better academically, but also become productive individuals whose contributions help create strong communities. On behalf of RIF and its network of over 400,000 volunteers nationwide, I urge all Americans to contact their congressional representatives and ask them to reinstate funding for this vital program.
It’s Tuesday, so I would like to share another unexpected delight of the RIF Ambassador project. The ambassadors site allows our volunteers to upload images from their programs. Over 350 photos of RIF in action have been uploaded from across the country. Each photo tells a story and I enjoy imagining what conversation or thought process took place when the camera flashed. If you were to put a caption on one of these wonderful photos what would it be? Remember, comments enter you for more chances to win book bundles for the Rasco from RIF contest!
Students selecting books at a Beechwood Elementary RIF Multicultural Fair.
Mississippi RIF Ambassador Melissa Rouse captured that sometimes challenging moment of choice for one reader on book selection day. Melissa also led an amazing distribution last year attended by national RIF staff and Senator Thad Cochran where the theme was “Elect a Good Book.” Born and raised in Mississippi, Melissa is the lead teacher and Reading First literacy coach at Beechwood Elementary School in Vicksburg, Miss.
Judy Bee, representing West Virginia, also portrays choice among older students where chapter books require even more contemplation. Judy coordinates the RIF program through the Doddridge County Community Educational Outreach Service Council in Salem, W.Va. The RIF program has been serving youth for over 15 years through summer reading programs, Head Start, and other sites. Judy shares that, “being a RIF volunteer is a wonderful way to help nurture a common love of reading among children and their parents and caregivers.”
4-H campers in Salem, W.Va., select from a large variety of books.
A mother and her children read together in Minneapolis, Minn.
Finally, this wonderful shot of two young engaged readers comes from Barbara Kyle in Minnesota. It was taken at one of the citywide sites of the Minneapolis Public Schools Teenage Pregnancy and Parent Program. Barbara’s Shared Beginnings program supports both children and their parents. “We have found RIF to be a wonderful supplement to enhance our early literacy curriculum and activities that help promote literacy and reading,” she said. “Our young parents love to have books for their children.”
In addition to the blog posts shared by our RIF ambassadors, I encourage you to check out the discussion forum for more great ideas. The three ambassadors I am highlighting today have contributed to these meaningful discussions about motivational activities and family involvement.
Did you know that RIF kids in Alaska were taking a hike on the Appalachian trail? Alaska Ambassador Donna Morrow came up with this inventive year long project inspired by author Pam Flowers. During a visit by Flowers, “students and staff alike sat on the edge of their seats as Pam shared her adventures about a trip to the magnetic North Pole.” Flowers’ next adventure took her and her dog Ellie to the famous Appalachian Trail. Donna saw a great opportunity and accepted Flowers’ offer to have her students “walk” along and discover some states a little further south. Retiring after eight years as the Arctic Light Elementary school librarian, Donna remains the RIF coordinator at Arctic Light to stay connected with the military families stationed in the area at Fort Wainwright. The base is home to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, which is currently serving in Iraq.
North Carolina Ambassador, Christine Vande Velde is the RIF coordinator for Haw River Elementary School in Haw River, N.C. She has worked there for four years and has been teaching for 10 years. As a classroom teacher, Christine always wanted to be a part of the RIF program, believing it to be a wonderful way for the community to encourage students to read for a lifetime. And Haw River has a great way of building community around RIF. As Christine tells it: Each year they host a RIF Breakfast at the school. Parents are invited to come in and eat breakfast with their child. Books are out for the parents to sit and read with their child. Each year the number of attendees grows with 300 participating last year. The morning is followed by a distribution later that day. I imagine that there is a lot of reading going on in homes that evening. What a great way to involve families and make reading a habit!
Ambassadors also discuss the “craziest” thing they ever did for RIF and reading. Oklahoma Ambassador Gloria Lang contributed this idea for a recent reading challenge: “We held a reading challenge at our school and when the students reached (and surpassed) their goal, the principal dressed up in a hot dog costume and passed out candy while she sang the Oscar Mayer Weiner song. Later that day the students bought tickets to squirt the “hot dog” with mustard and ketchup. What a mess but the kids had a wonderful time and the excitement was the best!” And check out another creative idea from Gloria on how her school raised funds. Gloria has been library assistant at Swinney Elementary School in Lawton, Okla. for 17 years.
This summer, RIF teamed up with Verizon Foundation’s Thinkfinity and Broadway star Fantasia Barrino to READ FOR CHANGE, a campaign in support of United We Serve challenging Americans across the country to collectively log 3 million minutes of reading with children by September 11, 2009. Today, we are excited to announce that WE DID IT!!!
THANK YOU for helping us reach and surpass the goal of logging 3,059,440 minutes of reading with children at home and in our communities. This success has helped raise awareness about the impact of children’s literacy on the long-term economic health of the country. As a special thank you, five participants will be selected by random drawing to receive a children’s book collection, as well as the opportunity to select a school in their community to receive a book collection. All winners will be notified by email on or before Oct 15. Good luck and thanks again!
On the first official September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance established by President Obama and Congress to honor the victims and heroes of 9/11 through acts of community service, Reading Is Fundamental will sign a partnership agreement with the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. This new partnership will help improve literacy resources for American Indian children and families nationally. With RIF programs across the country, the event will begin with a special synchronous read-aloud for 11 minutes of the book 14 Cows for America, the moving story of the generosity of one village in response to the 9/11 attacks on America.
The tragic events of September 11, 2001 unified us as a nation. The memory of that day continues to inspire us to serve our neighbors, our communities, and our country. We are pleased to join this national effort and thank the President for making this call to service.
Carol Hampton Rasco
President
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.
I love Tuesdays and introducing you to our extraordinary RIF Ambassadors!
First up this Tuesday is Monica O’Briant of Arkansas, my home state. Monica is the Coordinator of Volunteers In Public Schools (VIPS) with the Pine Bluff School District and serves as the Reading Is Fundamental coordinator for the district’s 10 RIF sites. She has been involved with the RIF program for approximately nine years; however, the program has been in existence in the Pine Bluff School district for about 30 years. A few months ago Monica sent to our office a scrapbook detailing some of the distributions in her program…wow, the themes and the manner in which they were carried out were summed up best in all the smiles of excitement shown on children’s faces. I have posted a picture here of a day when the students were “penguins” and “chilling out with good books”:
Some of the other many themes shared were “RIF Rodeo”, “Sniffin’ Out RIF Books” and “RIF Buffet: All You Can Read!”… Clever, eh? We were all also impressed with an event last January Monica hosted for community leaders led by Pine Bluff Mayor Carl A. Redus, when she had sparkling grape juice and all the confetti, hats, and noise makers associated with a New Year’s Eve Party to ring in a new RIF year on a January work day in preparation for the second distribution of the school year. You can see more pictures, read more about the New Year’s event on Monica’s page at the ambassador’s site.
Jane Harnett of New Hampshire has been working with children and their families. As a reading tutor for 31 years. She has been involved with Reading Is Fundamental since its inception in the Effingham and Ossipee Schools in 1980. One of the events that has continued in our schools over the past 28 years with RIF has been the annual storybook characters parade. Each May or June students dress up as a favorite character from a RIF book they have received during the past school year; creativity is encouraged and they are asked to make their costumes from items found in their homes. Holding signs with the character’s name, book title, and author, the students parade down their rural community’s main street and townspeople gather along the street to watch the parade. Students parade down the street to an elderly housing complex (much to the delight of the residents) and back to the school where ice cream is served in the lobby and a read-in is held afterwards. Older students visit the primary classrooms to share appropriate books. Jane says “Every spring I find myself getting ready for this event, and am delighted that it has continued for nearly three decades!”
Jeana Stuart is the RIF ambassador from Utah where she had been involved with RIF over the past five years. We enjoyed meeting her in D.C. when she was a representative from her agency recognized in 2006 as a RIF Program Excellence Honors site. Currently Jeana is the Education Manager for Centro de la Familia de Utah where she oversees the education component (including RIF) for all migrant and seasonal Head Start sites within the state as well as two Region VIII Head Start schools. Jeana has shared a distribution with us based on giant gingerbread men. The day before the distribution each Head Start classroom made a giant gingerbread man. The following day, the classrooms met together for a literacy activity beginning with a discussion about the children’s experience in making their gingerbread men the previous day. They then read “The Gingerbread Man.” Afterward, the children were presented with a clue as to where they could find the giant gingerbread men they had made the day before. The clue was a picture of an oven; this led them to the kitchen where they found a cook who explained that all of the gingerbread men had run away, but that they had left more clues. Each class then continued to hunt for their gingerbread men by reading and following each additional clue. The hunt concluded after all the classes located and consumed their giant gingerbread men. Both parents and children were delighted with the activity and enjoyed making the story come to life!
Ball, Leach, Fergusson: GR and Community Outreach Leadership Team
Yesterday was a great day for RIF on the Hill! The House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved their version of FY10 spending bill for programs under its purview which includes RIF at the level of funding the President requested. Hurray! Thank you to all throughout the country who assisted us. And generous applause to the RIF team leading the effort: Leach, Ball and Fergusson!
(From left to right.) RIF trainers arrive in New Orleans. Training participants attending RIF's 'train-the-trainer' workshop.
The training department conducted a Care to Read training in New Orleans in early May. Thanks in part to a large grant from Capital One, the participants received extra materials and a luncheon during day one of the training.
During the two-day training, the RIF staff introduced the participants to the six workshops in the Care to Read program. Care to Read workshops cover important topics in early literacy development, and use children’s literature to actively engage childcare staff and illustrate literacy development concepts. The training is designed with a food theme in mind and caters to professionals who do or can train and support staff who work with children.
The majority of participants were from libraries in Louisiana and Mississippi. There were also several participants from local Head Start programs.
The first day consisted of participants reviewing the first three workshops in Care to Read. They participated in interactive group activities, created mock visuals for upcoming trainings, and learned about emergent literacy through lectures. Capital One sponsored a luncheon at Galitories in the French Quarter where they dined on French Creole cuisine while networking and hearing from members of Congressman Joseph Cao’s staff, John Tobler and Murray Nelson. Tobler, Cao’s director of constituent services, spoke on bridging the connection between the work of the congressman to the great services the participants provide local citizens.
The participants really enjoyed the second day of training. They used worksheets and activities from the Care to Read manual to create a mini-workshop that was presented to the rest of the group. In addition to the regular materials participants receive from the Care to Read training, the participants in New Orleans received a set of premium markers, a $20 gift certificate to Staples for materials, giveaways from the luncheon and an extended collection of over 30 high-quality children’s books.
The RIF trainers had the opportunity to tour the French Quarter and get a taste of the local flavor for which New Orleans is so famous.
Rebecca Chrystal Armstrong, Director of Literacy Services
Did you know that RIF kids in Alaska were taking a hike on the Appalachian trail? Alaska Ambassador 
North Carolina Ambassador, 
Ambassadors also discuss the “craziest” thing they ever did for RIF and reading. Oklahoma Ambassador 
