(From left to right.) Carol Rasco as a 1st grade princess with "prince" Mike. Carol's great nieces Rylee Grace and Emilee.
It is almost Halloween…and I do love this time of year! My memories of Halloween as a child are some of my very fondest childhood memories. As a child, I always looked forward to my small hometown (pop. 2,000) school carnival where every homeroom mother put together a different activity: cake (or cupcake) walks, toss the bean bag, bingo, musical chairs, and then the closing ceremony when each classroom’s prince and princess marched on stage. I was so excited in the 1st grade to be a princess! Of course even with me wearing the flattest shoes my mother could find and Mike Merritt wearing the highest heeled cowboy boots his mother could find, I was still a bit taller. However, I was far more concerned about my missing tooth!
After the princess year, I always wanted to be dressed like Heidi from the book of the same name or like Beth of Little Women; my two all-time favorite books as a child. I continue to read one of the two books each year still. When I was Heidi, my mother had made me long yellow yarn braids – they were so neat! Above are my favorite costumes from last year: my great nieces Rylee Grace and Emilee are shown in their Strawberry Shortcake and Apple Dumplin’ costumes.
(From left to right.) Carol's son Hamp at 18 months old. "How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?" book cover. A pumpkin patch in Virginia.
In mid-September I was reading a blog entry by my friend and RIF’s friend, Maria Salvadore, who blogs for Reading Rockets. Her entry “Apple-picking time” brought back wonderful memories of picking apples and selecting pumpkins in the fall with my own children who are now 35 (Hamp) and 28 (Mary-Margaret). I decided I had to go apple and pumpkin picking in the hills of Virginia and took off one recent Sunday afternoon; it was a picture perfect fall day. It was so much fun listening to children who were exclaiming that the apples on the trees were “just like the apples they have at the grocery store.” Children were also having a good time looking, feeling, and attempting to pick up the various pumpkins as they sought to find the “very most perfect” one!
My son, when only about 18 months old, loved his big 60-pound pumpkin that year. He wanted to sit on the porch every day waving to the neighbors and hoping Halloween would come in a hurry! And yes, he wore the clown outfit each day as well.
Pumpkins bring to mind a great book I discovered a year ago: How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara. As many of you know, RIF was founded by Margaret McNamara, but this book’s author is another Margaret McNamara; we at RIF look forward to meeting this “Margaret” someday soon. The book is beautifully illustrated by G. Brian Karas and shows such diversity among the children portrayed in the class. And the text is so interesting, I myself couldn’t wait to turn the page and learn the next set of facts about pumpkins and their seeds! What fall-related books are your favorites or special to your students and children?
(From left to right.) Diane Riehs, development director for BookSpring; Lynn Croneberger, vice president of development for RIF, Scott Ryder-Lombel of Macy’s; and Mindy Gomillion, executive director of BookSpring, join in the celebration of this new literacy nonprofit.
RIF was proud to be in Austin, Texas on Tuesday evening for the launch of BookSpring, a new literacy nonprofit organization created through the merger of RIF of Austin (founded in 1974) and Capital Area Reach Out and Read (founded in 1999). Together now as BookSpring, they serve 45,500 of the neediest children and their families in greater Austin through the RIF and ROR models. In addition, the organization provides further programming through Family Literacy Nights and Parent Book Clubs. RIF Vice President of Development Lynn Croneberger was among the 100 people on hand, bringing well wishes for our old friends and their new endeavor.
Earlier this month, I participated in a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) roundtable on adolescent reading. This forum was another in a series of follow up activities hosted by the NEA in response to its 2007 report To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence. This report is a comprehensive analysis of reading patterns of children, teenagers, and adults in the United States. It reveals recent declines in voluntary reading and test scores alike and exposes trends that have potentially serious consequences for American society. I was honored to present on two RIF programs that focus on adolescents either as mentors/leaders themselves—Club RIF—or as new parents receiving training in Shared Beginnings. I hope you will let me know if you have questions about these programs or if you have comments to share about your program using one of these models.
(From left to right.) Carol Rasco, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, and Club RIF Coordinator Pat Heck meet before the rally. Club RIF members prepare to go on stage. Salk Elementary School second graders sing for country and reading.
Club RIF is celebrating more than 20 years of tremendous success at Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Ariz. One of many annual highlights for Club RIF is the fall assembly which is a motivational activity unto itself! From the moment the curtain rose on the second graders in front of the huge American flag with their hands over their hearts, this fall’s show was impressive in its creativity, high energy, and fun focus on literacy. The second graders from nearby Salk Elementary School, in their yellow shirts singing the Star-Spangled Banner, are the students for whom the high school Club RIF members operate a RIF book distribution and weekly reading buddies program. Club RIF was honored as one of 25 Program Excellence Honors programs by RIF national in D.C. earlier this year. Seeing Club RIF in action is truly a sight to behold and serves as a shining example of how young people can positively influence children in their communities through reading.
(From left to right.) Students at Joseph A. Gascon Elementary School gather to hear from author/educator Amada Irma Pérez. Amada answers a students question. Students at Joseph A. Gascon Elementary School.
Hi!
I’m Marcus Lee. I work on RIF’s marketing team and was asked by Carol to tell you about the RIF read-aloud I attended last week in Los Angeles.
The event focused on famed Hispanic-American author/educator Amada Irma Pérez. She is the author of three popular, bilingual, award-winning children’s books: Nana’s Big Surprise/Nana, Que Sorpresa!, My Diary from Here to There/Mi Diario de aqui hasta alla, and My Very Own Room/Mi propio cuartito. Her books are described as works of autobiographical fiction and focus on culturally relevant Hispanic-American family themes.
On October 9, 2008, the RIF read-aloud was hosted by the staff and students of Joseph A. Gascon Elementary School located in the heart of East L.A.
The event was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive, a RIF corporate partner. Colgate-Palmolive has donated 24 book collections, tailored to the needs of Hispanic children and their families, to RIF programs across the country. Since 2004, Colgate-Palmolive has donated more than $1 million to RIF. Denise Reynaud, a representative from Colgate-Palmolive was invited to the event as an honoree.
I and my coworkers (Matthew and Pati) were there to videotape the event and interview Amada and other attendees. (Visit RIF’s flickr profile to see more photos from this event and keep an eye out for the finished videos on RIF.org and RIF’s YouTube channel.)
The moment we arrived at Joseph A. Gascon I knew the event was going to be amazing! Walking onto the school grounds, I saw that there was a lot of excitement and an anticipatory buzz about our visit was building among the students. Signs and decorations were displayed welcoming Amada, RIF, and Colgate-Palmolive.
At the entrance of the school we were greeted by three young girls. “Hello.” said one student. “Are you the author?” she asked with a big smile on her face. “No,” I said, “I’m here to videotape the event.” I then turned and pointed behind me to Amada. The girls quickly shifted their focus and ran to greet her.
Moments later, Monica Rojas, RIF coordinator for the school, led us to the school courtyard where all the students would be gathered to welcome Amada.
The event was wonderful! Mrs. Hardaway, the school principal introduced Amada and Denise to the attentive crowd of nearly 1,000 students, teachers, and parents. Addressing the eager audience, Amada spoke about the importance of reading and early education. She also told the students about her experiences as a young Latina having emigrated from Mexico with her family. “I’m just like you and you’re just like me.” she said.
Later Amada read her book My Very Own Room/Mi Propio Cuartito to two groups of lucky first graders. At the end of each reading, she took a few questions from the star-struck students. One young boy asked if she had any pets. Amada said “Yes, I have a little dog named Amanda, but I call her Mandy, because everybody calls me Amanda!” Another boy asked if she ever walked with a “bed on her head” (referring to a scene from her book where the main character is proudly carrying a stack of library books on her head.) Everyone laughed including Amada, who answered “No, I have never walked with a bed on my head.” As the boy returned to his seat, Amada remarked “You reminded me of Dr. Seuss when you said that.” Everyone laughed again.
After the questions, Amada handed out signed copies of her book to each student. Before leaving, the students thanked Amada, RIF, and Colgate-Palmolive for the special day with a huge cheer “THANK YOU RIF AND COLGATE-PALMOLIVE!” And although it took a few tries, I was able to record the students’ cheer.
We wrapped up the event with interviews with Amada, Monica, Denise, Mrs. Hardaway, and two students. Although the event lasted only a few hours, I’m sure the impressions Amada and RIF made on the students of Joseph A. Gascon will last a lifetime.
I was pleased to read Jason Fitzpatrick’s blog entry yesterday Attack Poverty Through Literacy and his strong endorsement of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF). The mission we pursue is to instill a love of reading in children through book distributions, parent and caregiver training, and other literacy activities. Often the need to motivate children to want to read more is forgotten in the race to have children learn to read. However, until children read often, they will not read well and therefore not build their comprehension skills. Enter RIF. Our job is to motivate and help all children obtain a love of reading. Thirty-seven percent of American fourth graders read below the “basic” level according to the latest data from the National Assessment of Education Progress. The ongoing list of statistics regarding literacy for our nation’s children is alarming.
As Mr. Fitzpatrick so clearly outlines, the literacy levels of our adult population in the United States is a serious problem. Earlier this year, the National Commission on Adult Literacy released Reach Higher, America, a report calling for an adult literacy program “on the scale of a ‘domestic’ Marshall Plan” to achieve the goals outlined to bring the U.S. into a competitive stance. The report reminds each of us:
“The U.S. is the only country among 30 OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development] free-market countries where the current generation is less well educated than the previous one. The U.S. is also losing ground in international comparisons in terms of high school diplomas and college degrees awarded. Further, while we score as one of the highest countries in numbers of well educated people we also score near the top in the largest number of people at the lowest education levels.”
And this report also calls for all of us to recognize the critical importance of these adults helping their own children be prepared to enter school, to have the necessary language and literacy exposure to learn to read.
Adults—parents, caregivers, and teachers—are key to children’s literacy. Adults and older youth can read aloud to children from the earliest age, parents can read themselves to show through example all the ways reading is carried out daily, and parents can make sure children are well acquainted with the library, a lifelong source of free literacy materials.
RIF really benefits from individuals like Jason Fitzpatrick who supports our mission through his blog. You too can help by donating, volunteering, and making sure your community is dedicated to creating a culture of literacy for every child!
(From right to left) A RIF staff member takes his turn trying to hit a piñata. RIF staff learn to Merengue. RIF staff enjoying various Latin American foods.
RIF national staff closed National Hispanic Heritage Month today with a festival of great food, music, games and dancing lessons!
Carol Rasco and Martine Reardon, Executive Vice President of Macy's Corporate Marketing. Books from the RIF Multicultural Book Collection.
What an exciting celebration for RIF it was Friday afternoon, October 10! Macy’s and RIF toasted the monumental success of the recent Book A Brighter Future campaign sponsored by Macy’s to raise funds for RIF. Martine Reardon, Executive Vice President of Macy’s Corporate Marketing presented RIF a check for $3,152,766! Joining us were other Macy’s officials, local RIF program volunteers, RIF Board members, and staff as well as many friends of RIF from the area. These funds will assist RIF in further promoting the Multicultural Literacy Campaign by placing book collections in schools, educating parents and children about the wonderful array of cultures we can see and feel through books, and providing many RIF programs the funds needed to meet the growing lists of children who need new books to call their own.
This RIF campaign is very important because national assessments show children’s reading levels have been somewhat flat for 20 years; but more alarming, despite some small gains, are the great discrepancies in reading between Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native children and their White and Asian peers. Our business at RIF is motivating children to read, and it is hard to be motivated to read as a young child if your books have no pictures of people like you and do not mirror your culture. At RIF, the multicultural books provided not only reflect the diversity of our country but also provide a window to the world.
We are grateful to Macy’s for the opportunities these funds will give RIF to share culturally appropriate books with children throughout the United States. Big thank you’s and hearty rounds of applause go to Macy’s and to so many of you who helped to make this campaign a great success!
Last week I had the honor of opening the ProLiteracy annual conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. This nonprofit champions the power of literacy to improve the lives of adults and their families, communities, and societies. In all 50 states and the District of Columbia, ProLiteracy’s network of organizational and individual members offer adults instruction in basic literacy, GED preparation, math, and English as a second language. Visit the website www.proliteracy.org to read more about ProLiteracy and review some basic statistics about adult literacy.
I encourage each RIF program to become familiar with the ProLiteracy affiliate in your area; together our voices can advocate even more effectively for strong, adequately funded literacy programming for all citizens in need, children and adults.
Through comments to this blog, I hope you will share with me the ways you have worked with adult literacy programs in your area.
I also learned more about ProLiteracy’s New Readers Press. I was particularly interested in its flagship publication, the weekly newspaper News for You, which now delivers articles online with audio.
Peabody Hotel Ducks
Finally, I want to mention my Little Rock accommodations: the Peabody Hotel. There are three hotels (Memphis, Orlando, and Little Rock) and they are known for their “ducks,” which march into the lobby, swim in a pool area from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and then march back to their duck castle for the evening. Gather your children and read more about the march at the Peabody hotel website, and I’m sure you’d enjoy Patricia Polacco’s delightful John Philip Duck, which is based on the Peabody ducks.
I look forward to hearing from you, Happy Reading!
Hello from RIF! This new blog—Rasco from RIF is designed to give me a chance to directly visit with you—the RIF coordinator, volunteer, friend (parents, alumnae, and more!)—about the work of RIF which includes what YOU are doing as well as news from D.C. I hope you will actively enter into this dialogue with me on the various topics that will be shared with you. And let me know what you would like to hear from the world of RIF in Washington.
Washington, D.C. over the past weekend was the site of the eighth annual National Book Festival on the Mall; and despite threats of rain and wind, the festival took place on a grand scale. RIF was proud to be presenting in a booth with our good friends and corporate sponsor US Airways. One special book featured at the National Book Festival was Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out written by more than 100 individuals sharing memories and thoughts about the “people’s house”. Founding RIF board member Lynda Johnson Robb is one of the contributing authors; you can see more about the book at the site of the organization that sponsored the book, The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance (NCBLA). The book itself is a great gift to all of us by NCBLA and will be an equally great book to give many on your gift lists, both young and old. It would be fun to have your young RIF students and families write their own entries whether they have visited the White House in person or virtually. Let me know if you have some interesting pieces written along these lines by those in your RIF programs.
I know many communities and organizations are sponsoring book fairs and festivals in various sizes and formats. Has your RIF program participated in a community book fair or helped to organize one? I would like to hear about your experiences and know how RIF might consider helping with these book fairs in line with our mission.
Coming up: Teen Read Week with a theme of “Books with Bite @ your library!”
