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

On July 26, more than 160 representatives from dozens of organizations met in Washington to share their efforts to help all children read well. Corporations, national organizations, community groups, colleges and universities were all represented at this meeting of the President's Coalition for America Reads. Through discussion groups, table top displays and presentations, participants were able to share their efforts while learning of new opportunities for collaboration.

During Secretary Riley's keynote remarks he released two new publications for raising student reading achievement. "Start Early, Finish Strong" looks at what families, early care providers, teachers and schools, community leaders, policymakers, and citizens can do to help every child become a reader. And, "Ideas At Work" is a compendium of best practices and tells people where to go to get help. He also highlighted "The Compact for Reading," which helps families and schools develop written agreements on how they can work to improve student reading. Published with the support of The Los Angeles Times "Reading by 9" campaign, the 80-page compact provides 400 activities to link the family at home with the classroom curriculum.

Presentations were also shared on the Reading Excellence Program and Child Care Reads, a new initiative to improve language development and literacy skills for all children in child care from infancy through school age.