Rasco From RIF

Teachers, parents, volunteers, and children celebrate with their new books under a bright parachute at a recent RIF event.

Mid-Cumberland (Tenn.) Head Start is a federally funded RIF program, going into their ninth year as a Family of Readers program. They serve 1,174 diverse preschoolers across 17 different sites in middle Tennessee. This past year, the program demonstrated their commitment to children’s literacy by excelling in many aspects of the Family of Readers program. They successfully engaged 319 parents and 421 volunteers to participate in their RIF program, including partnerships with Kohl’s and Sam’s Club! They completed all seven of the literacy workshops, well above the required four! Not surprisingly, 100 percent of their RIF children met their reading challenge goal, and they had 100 percent participation from families accessing the lending libraries!

A RIF Reading Challenge family event, which parents and staff planned together, featured a multicultural theme and children “traveled” to Africa, Mexico, China, and Hawaii where they were exposed to different food, words, clothing, print, pictures, music, and dance. They even had an African dancer perform!

Dedicated and enthusiastic RIF Coordinator Sone-Serae Batten says, “Each year I am excited to see how our program staff will work with families to create an unparalleled Family of Readers program! I have witnessed the excitement on children’s faces when they are able to choose their own book, and am so glad that RIF funds allow us to provide positive and meaningful literacy experiences that will impact how a child feels about reading for the rest of their life!” 

Happy Reading!
RIF Programs Unit II