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

Building Community Partnerships

Effective, long-lasting community partnerships have several things in common - the individuals and groups involved demonstrate genuine respect for each other, recognize each member's desire to make a meaningful contribution to the new effort, and collaborate to build on existing capabilities. Stakeholders -- individuals and groups who can contribute to and benefit from the partnership -- must combine their resources to achieve the goals set by the group.

Community partnerships that support literacy development must bring together committed individuals representing different critical areas of expertise, experience, and knowledge about children, reading, education, and the community. The stakeholders include families, tutors, child care programs, public schools, businesses, family literacy programs such as Head Start and Even Start, and community agencies concerned with literacy. The America Reads Challenge encourages these stakeholders to combine their resources to reach a single critical goal - ensuring that all children can read well and independently by the third grade. Each community can build on the collective strengths of its citizens and institutions to implement a literacy development program that is tailored to address the reading needs of young children.

This chapter covers the following topics:

• an overview of the America Reads Challenge;
• collaborating with work-study programs; and
• examples of reading and tutoring programs.

Literacy is about reading, but it is about more. It is also about participating in the community, understanding the world around you, becoming a better citizen, and taking advantage of opportunities.  It is in the interest of all of us to do what we can to ensure the reading success of every young child by the end of the third grade.

Richard W. Riley, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
Harris P. Wofford, Chief Executive Officer,
Corporation for National Service

The America Reads Challenge

When President Clinton framed the America Reads Challenge in August 1996, he set in motion a series of events that were designed to culminate in a national commitment to a shared goal of helping children to acquire basic reading abilities by the end of third grade. This section briefly highlights three points: first, the significance of the goal as a call to action; second, ongoing activities in support of America Reads mobilizing existing resources; and third, the legislative proposal designed to attract additional resources.

The Goal

The goal that all children shall read well and independently by third grade has profound implications for the education of children in America. To a greater extent than heretofore, a benchmark goal for the schools has been set that calls for combined efforts of the total society if it is to be achieved. The challenge makes explicit the need for partnership efforts that combine the energies of parents; Head Start, child care and preschool programs; the public schools; and libraries, museums and other community groups.

Current Activities

America Reads quickly won adherents among many Americans and efforts to reach the goal began even before a formal legislative proposal was sent to the Congress. Examples of ongoing activities include:

• Work-Study. Several hundred presidents of institutions of higher education pledged their cooperation in extending the reach of the Federal Work-Study program into the community, mobilizing college student volunteer tutors on behalf of children's reading, and, in some universities, attracting volunteer support from faculty across various departments. (Work-Study is discussed more fully later in this chapter.)
• Department of Education and Corporation for National Service Support. America Reads support units were established at the Department and at CNS. Carol H. Rasco, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, is the Director, America Reads Challenge, with overall responsibility for coordinating the support effort. The Department and CNS have collaborated in providing information to support the challenge, including this Guide and other publications, such as the Ready*Set*Read Early Childhood Kit, and an America Reads web site (see Appendices B and C).
• AmeriCorps program initiatives. Several AmeriCorps programs have begun to refocus their program emphasis in support of children's reading, including the Texas Children's Literacy Corps and SLICE Corps in Kentucky -- now known as KY READS (discussed more fully below).
• Senior Corps initiatives. CNS' Senior Corps has launched an imaginative intergenerational demonstration project as part of America Reads. The Seniors for Schools Initiative mobilizes persons age 55 years and older on behalf of the reading and literacy development of children attending kindergarten through third grade in public schools (discussed more fully below in Chapter 5).
• Community projects. Growing numbers of local communities are launching their own America Reads initiatives, sometimes with the support and involvement of AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and other national service participants, sometimes on their own. For example, Houston, Texas proclaimed itself the "first" America Reads community.

America Reads Challenge Legislation

In April 1997, the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for National Service forwarded the America Reads Challenge Act to Congress. As a commitment to passing a children's literacy initiative, Congress and the Administration reserved $260 million in the bipartisan balanced budget agreement for an initiative that was in line with the goals and concepts of the America Reads Challenge. The goal of the America Reads Challenge is to ensure that all children can read well and independently by the end of the third grade. The Act proposed the first nationwide effort to supplement classroom instruction in reading with high-quality volunteer tutoring, primarily after-school, on the weekends, and during summers. This proposal led to the development of a bipartisan piece of legislation which supports reading assistance in the school, the home, and the community through increased professional development of teachers in the area of reading, through family literacy efforts, and through community volunteer tutoring programs. The legislation is now moving through the Senate and is expected to pass both Houses of Congress by July 1, 1998. For up to date information on this legislation, please refer to the U.S. Department of Education's America Reads web site.

Congress has also strengthened a number of existing Federal resources and programs already delivering services to families with young children or involved in parent education and skills training in order to better educate and assist families with early childhood development and early literacy skills. For example:

• Head Start Expansion. Head Start funding was increased by $374 million in the 1998 budget. To enable more children to improve their readiness for school, Congress provided nearly $4.4 billion for Head Start, continuing on track with the President's commitment to the goal of serving one million 3- and 4-year old children. With this increase, Head Start funding will have increased 57% since 1993.
• Even Start Expansion. The Even Start family literacy program was allocated an additional $22 million this year to further develop and expand family literacy efforts across the Nation.
• Strengthening of Title I. Title I is the largest in-school investment made by the Department of Education to improve reading instruction for children in high poverty schools and neighborhoods. This year's budget included a significant increase in funds for Title I.

Collaborating with Work-Study Programs

President Clinton's America Reads Challenge came at a time when there had just been a significant increase in the appropriation for Federal Work-Study (FWS). The President encouraged institutions of higher education to target these new resources on community service, in general, and on mobilizing literacy tutors for preschool and elementary children, in particular. Within a few months, several hundred institution presidents had pledged their cooperation in this initiative.

This section of the Guide draws freely on a FWS Resource Guide from the U.S. Department of Education, Expanding Federal Work-Study and Community Service Opportunities, written by Maryln McAdam and Ed McDermott, May 1997. The FWS Guide can be obtained by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN or from the Department of Education's web address: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/pubs/WorkStudy/index.html.

The America Reads Challenge Federal Work-Study program is a strong example of how students both give to and receive from the community. The program promotes access to college by helping students finance postsecondary education costs while offering these same students the opportunity to pursue community service. I believe this creates a win-win situation because young learners and communities gain from the services provided, and students who might not ordinarily be able to share in the community service experience can now afford to be involved.

Richard W. Riley, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
May 1997

The FWS community service initiative offers opportunities for colleges and universities, on the one hand, and community groups, on the other hand, to reach out to one another and partner on behalf of programs that pursue the goal that every child will read independently and on grade level by the time they leave the third grade. FWS programs are able to continue support for work-study students who tutor children through sixth grade, recognizing that not all children will attain basic reading skills by third grade.

FWS requirements provide that institutions must spend at least five percent of Federal dollars to support FWS to compensate students employed in community service. Community service is broadly defined and includes child care, Head Start, recreational mentoring, literacy training, and educational tutoring. The Secretary of Education has provided for a waiver of the FWS 25% matching requirement, effective July 1, 1997, allowing 100% of the wages of a work-study tutor to be paid from Federal dollars, if the student:

• is employed as a reading tutor for children who are in preschool through elementary school; and
• is employed by the institution itself, or by a Federal, State, or local public agency, or by a private nonprofit organization.

The FWS Resource Guide contains useful tips on program planning with AmeriCorps programs (under certain circumstances, FWS students can also become AmeriCorps members), and on partnering with Head Start, child care programs, and local school districts. There are also suggestions about how to use reading tutoring and other community service outreach opportunities as active service learning programs as part of the institution's academic curriculum. A Best Practices appendix includes summaries of "exemplary programs," with contact information.

Examples of Reading and Tutoring Programs

This section provides background information on reading and tutoring programs throughout the country. These programs present a variety of successful approaches to encouraging the reading skills of children from preschool through the primary grades. They demonstrate how community programs can work together to support children's literacy.

[Involving Families in Tutoring Programs]

[Developing a Tutoring Program]