A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

U.S. Department of Education President's Coalition Update Newsletters

Update and Information Newsletter

November 4, 1997

[ A Message from Director Carol Rasco | A Warm Welcome to Our Newest Members | Update on America Reads Challenge Legislation | Federal Work-Study Meeting the Challenge | Spotlight on Coalition Members Meeting the Challenge | Let Us Share America reads Challenge Activities | You Can Also Reach Us At... ]

HAPPY FAMILY LITERACY DAY!

A MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR CAROL RASCO
First of all, I'm taking this opportunity to wish each of you a Happy Family Literacy Day on November 1. I encourage you to think of SOMEONE who is very directly contributing to family literacy, and call or write them to say thank you!

What a good turnout we had for the President's Coalition regional meeting in San Diego. I had the opportunity to hear from many new and potential members who shared their plans for supporting literacy. Also, Loni Hancock, the Secretary's Regional Representative, talked about an exciting new partnership she's helped launch called the California Reads Roundtable, which is meeting quarterly and helping bring the America Reads Challenge down to the local level. Among other activities, the Roundtable is developing a website that will help parents, volunteers, teachers and community leaders access more information about state and local reading resources and offer suggestions about how to participate in reading activities in their communities. I encourage President's Coalition members in California to contact Loni at (415) 437-7520 for more information.

I am excited about the remaining regional meetings - one in Dallas on November 17th, followed by the final meeting in Washington, DC, on December 15th. These meetings provide such a terrific networking opportunity. I hope those of you in the Southern region will be able to attend the Dallas meeting so I can learn more about how your organization is working to support the initiative, and how you're partnering with other organizations to help ensure every child reads well and independently by the end of third grade. A sign-up form is attached to this update as well as a letter of invitation. Please share this information and the letter with your regional members and any potential members you think might be interested in learning more about the President's Coalition and the America Reads Challenge, and encourage them to join us.

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A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS

Good news! More than 100 organizations have made commitments to support the goals of the America Reads Challenge by joining the President's Coalition, and we receive new commitment forms every day. A warm welcome to our newest members:

  • Vermont Council on the Humanities
  • Rolling Reader USA
  • Weston Woods Institute
  • Greenport Elementary School
  • Highland Elementary School
  • Project Parents, Inc.
  • All For One, Inc.
  • Explore, Inc.
  • Byrns Darden Elementary School
  • Sherwood Elementary School
  • Watson Elementary School
  • Leicester Central School
  • Village Elementary School
  • Green Valley Elementary School
  • Show Low Primary School
  • Worthington Elementary School
  • Saugus Union School District
  • Massachusetts Campus Compact
  • National Community Education Association
  • General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church
  • Humanities Council of Washington, DC, Books for Kids Program
  • The Latino Educational Advancement and Research Now Research Center and Foundation
  • National Association for the Advanced of Colored People (NAACP)
  • National Association for State Directors of Special Education
  • Central Branch of Womens League of Conservative Judaism
  • Bethel Zedeck Sisterhood of the Women's League of Conservative Judaism

    • Please encourage other organizations to join the America Reads Challenge effort by recruiting them to become members of the President's Coalition. Call (202) 401-3069 to let us know about prospective members you'd like us to contact.

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    UPDATE ON AMERICA READS CHALLENGE LEGISLATION

    We continue to work with the Committee for Education and the Workforce to develop a bi-partisan agreement on children's literacy. A vote on the Reading Excellence Act is anticipated for the week of November 3rd, but no final date has been set.

    For an overview of the Reading Excellence Act, please refer to the October 23rd Update, or visit the website at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/overview.html.

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    FEDERAL WORK-STUDY MEETING THE CHALLENGE

    October 21st was a banner day for the Federal Work-Study program. Fifteen college and university presidents representing the more than 800 institutions signed on to the America Reads Challenge were hosted by President Clinton and Secretary Riley in the East Room of the White House. Press coverage was outstanding as newspapers across the country picked up the story over the wires, spreading the news about the benefits of the program. And speaking of benefits, a new publication -- Samples of Federal Work-Study and National Service Initiative Programs -- will serve as a good resource for you in your efforts to partner with colleges and universities in your communities. While this is just a small sampling of the tutoring programs linking college students with young readers, it provides President's Coalition members with information they can use to support these programs as well as encourage other colleges and universities to join the America Reads Challenge. The publication will be available on the America Reads Challenge web site at http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/arc-fwsi.html in approximately two weeks.

    Now, a look at two universities providing federal work-study tutoring opportunities for their students:

    From Postmarks, a campus publication mailed to the parents of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana undergraduate students, the following..."More than 250 University of Illinois undergraduates have answered the call of their president to wage war. Their weapons are books and pencils. The enemy is illiteracy; the front lines; Champaign elementary schools." University federal work-study students are partnering with students in 17 schools; graduate students serve as coordinators. A noted plus is that many of the undergraduate students are fluent in languages other than English, a situation that is creating strong partnerships and role modeling opportunities for children whose first language is not English. Students were recruited at an America Reads Information Fair in September, with some 300 applying for the open positions.

    The University of Minnesota has developed a coordinated approach using community-based non-profit service agencies and schools that includes federal work-study students tutoring at 13 libraries, 14 recreation centers, elementary schools and at other after-school community organizations. The Alumni Association is recruiting members for training and placement as tutors, or to work with parents of students, and the Minnesota Literacy Council is developing a corps of adults who will be trained through the University to provide parents of children in the program with supportive literacy techniques. VISTA, RSVP and AmeriCorps members will provide additional supportive services.

    Remember...every community can benefit from partnerships like those established through the Federal Work-Study program. President's Coalition members can reach out within their communities to colleges and universities already participating in the America Reads Challenge through Federal Work-Study to support and enhance their efforts. If there are institutes of higher education in your area not currently signed up for the America Reads Challenge Federal-work Study program, please recruit them and/or have them call the America Reads Challenge staff at (202) 401-3069 for further information.

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    SPOTLIGHT ON COALITION MEMBERS MEETING THE CHALLENGE

    One of the benefits of membership in the President's Coalition is finding out how other member organizations are supporting the challenge. An important component to forming successful community partnerships is to link with corporate sponsors whenever possible. I encourage you to talk with corporations in your community to find out what they're doing to support literacy, and how your organization can partner with them. Two examples of corporate partnerships are showcased below.

    Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) has partnered with VISA U.S.A.'s "Read Me A Story" program. Now in its second year, "Read Me A Story" is designed to share the joy of reading with parents and children, and help children learn to read. VISA U.S.A. will donate at least $1 million to support this effort. In addition, RIF has developed the "Read Me A Story" Reading Checkup Guide which covers six stages of early reading development (birth to age ten), and is designed to give parents and caregivers practical, research-based information about how to help their children become readers. The America Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has endorsed the guide and will distribute it through AAP member offices. The "Read Me A Story" program reaches thousands of children through a cross-country musical performance tour of ten popular children's storybook characters performing a fun and educational program that includes original songs and special story reading. To learn more about the program, or to find out if the "Read Me A Story" tour will be coming to your area, call 1-888- 703-READ. For more information about RIF, call 202-287-3220.

    Rolling Readers USA, California's largest nonprofit children's literacy organization, recruits and trains volunteer readers and tutors who read aloud or tutor weekly in schools, pre-schools and community centers. As part of their programs, volunteers give new books to their children three times a year. Rolling Readers recently kicked off its statewide recruitment program with concurrent events taking place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Kern, Sacramento and Alameda counties. Their goal is to be serving 400,000 children by next fall. They have several corporate sponsors including Scholastic, Inc., (who has pledged to donate 50,000 books with a promise to supply another 1,000 books for every 1,000 volunteer hours pledged by any corporation), Southern California Edison, and American Honda. For more information about Rolling Readers USA, call 1-800-390-READ.

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    LET US SHARE YOUR AMERICA READS CHALLENGE ACTIVITIES

    One of our goals is to share how our members are meeting the goals of the America Reads Challenge. Help us tell your story by mailing or faxing a brief synopsis of your activities to:

    Billie Rollins
    Coordinator for the President's Coalition for the America Reads Challenge
    600 Independence Ave., SW, Room 6123, Washington, DC 20202
    Fax 202-401-0596
    e-mail via Internet to America.Reads.Challenge@ed.gov

    YOU CAN ALSO REACH US AT...

    The America Reads Challenge
    (202) 401-8888 (phone) -- (202) 401-0596 (fax)
    Toll free number for comments or ordering publications:
    1-800-USA-LEARN or TDD 1-800-437-0833
    Web site: http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/
    List Server at majordomo@etr-associates.org
    then type: subscribe americareads


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