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State leaders are making great strides to improve reading achievement. Most state literacy efforts aim to ensure children are reading at grade level, to improve teacher performance, to provide high-quality early care and education, and to encourage parental involvement. Many are placing a premium on using the most practical and successful research-based ideas.
In 1999, many governors pledged to take strong action to improve reading achievement. Some governors used their State of the State addresses to promote their ideas for such improvement. Here are examples of some of these governors' proposals, in their own words.
Governor Don Siegelman
"We will continue teacher training with the Alabama Reading Initiative. Teachers will attend intensive seminars to learn how to identify children with reading problems and how to teach every child to read better. Since using the reading initiative, the Verner Elementary School in Tuscaloosa reports that 64 percent-nearly two-thirds-of their students are reading a full year above their grade-level. We will provide $4 million for this program, and I pledge to take this program statewide during my term as governor."
Governor Jane Dee Hull
"I propose an additional $20 million over the next two years for kindergarten through third grade for reading improvement. I want to work with you to ensure we target these resources. I do not want them eaten up by the administrative bureaucracy. I want them used to provide smaller classes and instruction for students who need additional classroom help."
Governor Gray Davis
"I am, to be specific, proposing $444 million in new spending for measures to improve the reading skills of our children, to enhance the quality of our teachers, and to institute tough standards of performance and accountability for each of our 8,000 schools. I call this program READ: Raising Expectations, Achievement, and Development. It represents a significant down payment on the future of our children."
"As you know, reading is the gateway skill for all California students. Unfortunately, our schools rank at or near the bottom of all states as measured by the results on the National Assessment for Education Progress."
"To attack this intolerable problem, I will call on you to allocate $186 million for reading improvement programs, including $75 million specifically targeted for Intensive Reading Instruction Academies for pupils. I also will create a Reading Call to Action Campaign designed to get people interested in reading, as well as special programs for English language learners to help accelerate the teaching and mastery of English. In addition, we will publish and distribute preschool reading development guidelines, and we will provide funding for elementary schools to expand classroom libraries."
"My budget also will include funds for a Governor's Reading Awards Program which will provide competitive cash grants to the top 400 schools whose students read the most books designated in the California Reading Lists. This will help us ensure that every child in California public schools is a competent reader by the end of the third grade."
"For the first time, I will ask community colleges to create teaching and reading development partnerships with elementary and secondary schools. And I intend to train more paraprofessionals to become teachers and to waive credential fees for all new teachers."
Governor Tom Carper
"In the spring of 2000, students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 will take challenging tests-called assessments-in reading, writing, and math. Students in grades 3 and 5 whose reading-comprehension tests well below our standard must attend summer school and hone their reading skills. Students whose reading skills improve sufficiently will move on to the next grade. Those who do not will repeat the same grade with a curriculum that focuses on reading."
"Similar requirements apply to both reading and math in the eighth and tenth grades. The focus on these two subjects is critical because, beginning with the class of 2002-this year's freshmen-Delaware students must demonstrate that they have mastered our rigorous standards in order to receive a high school diploma. If they fail to meet Delaware standards in reading or math by the end of the twelfth grade, they may attend commencement exercises with the class of 2002. They may even receive a certificate of completion. But let me be clear: those students will not receive a diploma from the State of Delaware."
Governor Dirk Kempthorne
"We must continue our focus on children as they reach school age. Reading is the most basic and most important skill for the education of our children and is my highest priority for our public schools. Therefore, I have identified the funds for a comprehensive reading program aimed at grades 1, 2, and 3 in the total amount of $5.5 million."
"I want to acknowledge the tremendous effort of the Legislative Interim Committee on Reading and the work they have done. Their recommendations must be a part of what you and I, in collaboration with the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, determine the final product will look like. But the funds are identified and that $5.5 million is to be utilized, and we are to get on with this, so that all children by third grade will be reading at grade-level, and no one, I repeat, no one is left behind."
"...we all have to be working together. If you cannot read by third grade, how can you be successful in the rest of your career in school? You cannot. So this is a priority."
"I have acknowledged that teaching is a calling. To some, when you suggest a financial incentive, they would say, 'That's their job. That's what they are supposed to be doing.' I appreciate that. But I also believe in the principles of good competition and reward. So, I am recommending good financial incentives for those teachers and schools that become the models of successful reading programs. I will also recommend financial incentives for teachers who attain national certification."
Governor George Ryan
"Third - reading. Back to basics. We are talking about literacy. The first step on any path to opportunity. My budget asks that we increase reading grants by $10 million and early childhood and summer bridge programs by $16 million. No child will be left behind. Our goal should be nothing less than an Illinois where, by the end of the third grade, every child can read at that level."
Governor Frank O'Bannon
"Full-day kindergarten, reading by third grade, school security, and expanded
school report cards and accountability. All necessary investments to ensure that the first generation of the new millennium is the best educated in Hoosier history."
"Now, elementary school will always pose special challenges for some students, even when they are well prepared. What happens to children who need extra help learning to read? Unfortunately, we know what happens to those who do not get help. Right now, nearly one-third of all third-graders cannot pass the ISTEP Plus reading test. That is an appalling statistic. And a poor reader at age 8 is more likely to drop out by 16. Tonight, I ask your support for a comprehensive, statewide reading assessment to find, and assist, those second-graders who need more help."
Governor Parris Glendening
"...it is just common sense that the best way to ensure our children master the basics of reading and math is to increase the amount of individual attention they receive in these core subjects. And that is why we will reduce class size for reading in first and second grade and for math in seventh grade. Our formula for continuing to improve education is simple: more classrooms, plus additional, qualified, certified teachers, equals smaller class size. And smaller class size for early reading and math means a better education for every child."
"In order to make this journey successful, we must ensure the best possible beginning. Mastering the fundamentals of reading and math is critical to success in education."
Governor John Engler
"...I propose, for all Michigan high school graduates who master reading, writing, math, and science, that we reward your achievement. Each of you will receive a Michigan Merit Award-a $2,500 scholarship that can be used for further study at a Michigan school of your choice. It is important we reward students who play by the rules, study hard, achieve on their tests, and meet high standards. And we should inspire even more to raise their performance. You are Michigan's future, and we will invest in you."
"I have a message for students in those critical middle school years. Your studies are important, too. I further propose that all of you who pass your seventh and eighth-grade MEAP tests in reading, writing, math, and science be awarded $500. Then, when you successfully complete high school, your total Michigan Merit Award will be $3,000. Every student is eligible to participate-every student-whether attending public school, private school, or home school."
"...being Michigan's number one budget priority does little good if our children still cannot read. That is why our reading readiness initiative will be expanded to include summer school. The launch of the READY (Read, Educate, and Develop Youth) program was successful. The goal this year is to make this reading readiness kit available statewide to parents of our young children. The goal of our strategy-for every child to be a good reader no later than the end of third grade. We cannot stress the importance of this enough. If you cannot read, you will not succeed. Yes, reading is fundamental."
"I am grateful to the many volunteers and mentors from all corners of Michigan who have answered the call to help our children read. Their efforts are fulfilling the dream of America's Promise, the volunteer campaign so ably led by General Colin Powell. So tonight, for putting volunteer power to work, helping our children in schools and communities, I salute our volunteers, our Michigan Community Service Commission, and its chair and my favorite appointee-First Lady Michelle Engler."
Governor Frank Keating
"Let us, more importantly of all, this was a recommendation in our summit, stop social promotion. Cathy and I last year participated with a lot of parents in teaching reading to seniors in high school here in Oklahoma City. Seniors who could not read beyond a fifth-grade level. There were 200 of them. How have we come to this point? We spend $5,000 a year for every one of those students, times 12 years-$60,000 we spend on this youngster who cannot read beyond a fifth-grade level. Stunted for life. It is going to be difficult for that individual or any of these individuals to find productive work. We have to address it."
Governor Lincoln Almond
"Reading is the gateway to the whole world of knowledge. Reading sets the foundation for academic success. For access in the workplace. For success in all of our endeavors. Tonight, I ask that we focus our energies on the goal that all children be proficient in reading by the fourth grade. We can achieve this objective by working together."
"I will be pushing an aggressive set of initiatives to make this goal a reality. First, we must give teachers the tools they need to help our students meet required reading standards. Teachers must have knowledge of the best practices and approaches to help children learn to read. That is why I am calling for $500,000 targeted to improve professional development in reading. I am also establishing a Teacher Preparation Task Force to help make recommendations on teacher training at the college level with a special emphasis on reading. I am proud to announce that Sally Dowling, who chairs the Board of Higher Education, will head up this task force. I look forward to the many positive results that will come from this effort. We must also enhance funding for reading specialists to assist local school districts with reading programs."
"Additionally, I will be asking the Board of Regents to assure that the strategic improvement plans now required of all school districts include specific plans to strengthen reading skills. The City of Pawtucket has a reading program that has been developed by the school department and the teachers. At the Baldwin School, teachers are training teachers to enhance the way children learn to read. They are focusing on the early grades, and they are also teaming up with parents. We are already seeing the positive results of their efforts. Test scores at Baldwin on reading and writing are up. That is proof positive that creating a development plan for reading has a far-reaching impact upon student performance."
"One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is having the opportunity to visit schools and read to our children. It is fun, and it is enjoyable. It also reminds me of the days when my children were young, and I would read to them. To all parents, let me just say that if you read to your children, they will excel in school. That is a proven fact. In the coming months, Marilyn and I will be promoting a public awareness campaign to encourage parents to inspire their children to become good readers."
Governor Jim Hodges
"Of all the goals I hope to realize during my term in office, nothing would give me greater personal satisfaction than to see our current kindergarten students complete the third grade as good readers. Reading skills form the foundation for all other learning. That foundation must be in place by the end of the early grades. That is why I am proposing a Governor's Institute of Reading. The Institute will bring to South Carolina the nation's leading reading experts, promote reading through grants to local schools, provide the best professional development for reading teachers, and promote a world-class collaborative reading effort. We need to teach our children that the most valuable possession a kid can have is not a new pair of Nike's or a Game Boy-it is a library card."
Governor Mike Leavitt
"...number one in that [improvement] continuum is reading. While many of our test scores are improving, reading scores in our fourth and fifth grades are declining. They are now below the national average. So we will embark on a program to reverse downward momentum, and we will put it in place early. Eighty percent of all children who have not attained the appropriate reading level by the end of the third grade never catch up. That is a sobering statistic considering that reading is the key to success in every area of learning, and reading failure is almost completely preventable. By the end of the 1999 school year, I propose that every first-, second-, and third-grader be tested. If students are not reading at grade-level, this state should provide them with an additional 30 days of school in summer classes no larger than seven students."
"I propose that every tenth-grade student, starting in the year 2001, be given a basic skills exam to test in the areas of reading, writing, math, and technology. Demonstration of these skills must become a prerequisite for receiving a high school diploma. Students who fail can take the exam again in the eleventh grade and again in the twelfth. But if their class graduates and they have not passed, they will not receive a diploma-only a certificate of completion. The door will always be open for a certificate holder to come back at any point to master the basic skills and trade up for a diploma. A diploma must be a meaningful guarantee of competence, not just a verification of attendance."
"In addition to supplementary instruction, I propose dramatic increases in the level of training we provide teachers who teach reading. I recommend age-appropriate materials be provided to assist children who lag behind. And I propose an aggressive campaign to give new parents information so they can help prepare their children for reading long before they start school... I also call upon our communities to join together in partnership. We need volunteers to go into our schools, take a child by the hand, and help him or her through this stage of critical learning. All will be worth the investment of time and money because the cost of solving our education problems is minuscule compared to the cost of doing nothing."
Governor Jim Gilmore
"My budget provides an additional $5.3 million to restore full funding for the Early Reading Initiative. The Early Reading Initiative assesses the literacy needs of children in kindergarten and the first grade and corrects reading problems immediately. This is a solid program that works."
Governor Gary Locke
"But the most important thing our schools need is us-citizens of our state. Teachers cannot do it all. They need our time, our support, and our consistent involvement. In the past six months, the Washington Reading Corps has begun to make good on the promise of greater parent and citizen involvement in schools all across our state. Today, over 9,000 volunteers have spent time helping 19,788 children master the skill of reading. But many more children who need this help are still not getting it. So I call on all parents and citizens to be more involved in our schools, to help our children learn to read, and to help our schools be the best in the nation."
"It is my passionate belief, as it was the belief of Governor Rogers 100 years ago, that a relentless focus on creating avid readers will do a 'vast and incalculable good' and that it will help to 'raise the character of the future men and women of this state to a higher plane.'"
Governor Tommy Thompson
"We started talking about education tonight with our newborns, so let us end with our adults. Join me in helping low-income adults learn to read through a new $4 million literacy initiative targeted at low-income families. In America's Education State, everyone should be able to read. Let us make it happen."
More than 20 states have enacted reading improvement laws since 1996. State timetables for results range from the 1998-99 school year through 2004. Many of these laws focus in the areas of early care and education, assessment and intervention, teacher quality, parental involvement, and extended learning time. The following section summarizes some examples of state legislative activity in reading for children in grade 3 and younger.
To provide quality early childhood services, Colorado's Early Education and School Readiness Program funds initiatives to help achieve readiness goals for at-risk children. The funds support accreditation efforts of early childhood care centers and professional development for early childhood teachers and caregivers. Utah, too, is designing programs for child care centers to work with and train volunteers to create an environment that fosters reading growth. South Carolina's First Steps initiative will provide subsidies for child care that prepares children to enter school ready to learn.
To ensure that children are reading at grade-level and that schools intervene if they are not, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Texas-to name a few-have enacted legislation to create assessment and intervention programs in the early grades. Ohio established a Fourth-Grade Guarantee to require that students read at grade-level before going on to middle school and high school.
To improve teacher performance, some states, including Mississippi, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Washington, have funded teacher development and credentialing programs. California's Commission on Teacher Credentialing is required to gauge the skills and abilities of all reading teachers in the primary grades. In June 1999, California launched professional development institutes to provide reading instruction training to 6,000 primary school teachers. Also new in 1999, South Carolina's Governor's Institute for Reading will offer research-based professional development to kindergarten through third-grade teachers.
Idaho recently required new teachers to pass an exam based on new literacy standards for certification. Idaho also requires kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers to complete three credits in state-approved reading instruction for re-certification every five years.
Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and other states are encouraging parental involvement through programs that teach parents how to help their children in reading. The Texas Reading Initiative directs information and resources to parents, in addition to schools and communities.
A 1999 California initiative offers four hours of instruction per day to children in kindergarten through fourth grade when school is not in session, including summertime. Virginia's Literacy Passport requires students who fail literacy tests to receive after-school or summer school instruction. Washington and Ohio sponsor large tutoring programs that match thousands of trained volunteers with elementary school student who need extra help and encouragement.
Many statewide programs are tackling the challenges of illiteracy in diverse and creative ways. Here are some examples from across the nation.
The Alabama Reading Initiative and Reading Alabama
The Alabama Reading Initiative is a statewide movement that aims to improve reading instruction and achieve 100 percent literacy among students. It targets reading achievement on three fronts: beginning reading, expanding reading power, and effective intervention.
The program began in the 1998-1999 school year with 600 teachers at Literacy Demonstration Sites, and will expand over a four-year period. Colleges of teacher education serve as trainers and mentors to the sites, providing advanced training to 100 teacher educators.
The school sites agreed to five criteria:
The initiative received its first state funding-$6 million-in 1999. The program also receives contributions from businesses, professional organizations, and government. Participating schools are reporting increases in the number of books read and progress among struggling readers.
Reading Alabama
Reading Alabama is a not-for-profit joint venture whose partners are the executive branch of Alabama State Government, the Alabama state and local school systems, and private industry. One hundred eighty businesses and foundations have joined the effort, contributing $5 million.
Reading Alabama raised matching funds to place Writing to Read, a computer-assisted program, in the majority of Alabama's school systems. State legislators purchased Writing to Read labs for schools in their districts. More than 3,000 teachers have been trained, and nearly 70,000 children have participated.
"Our students' test scores have clearly indicated that reading is our greatest weakness," asserts State Superintendent Ed Richardson. "Only about 23 percent of our students in grades three through eleven read above average. Writing to Read is an effective tool for helping us attack the problem at its root, in the earliest grade levels, and it's a great example of what can happen when all the stakeholders come together to solve a problem."
California Reading Initiative and California Reads
The NAEP 1998 Reading Report Card found that 52 percent of California's fourth-graders have little or no mastery of the reading skills needed for grade-level work. The California Reading Initiative, launched in 1996, aims to improve the reading performance of California students in kindergarten through grade twelve. The goals are that all students will to learn to read at grade-level by the end of third grade and will be able to read and understand grade-level materials through graduation.
The first several years focused primarily on improving the capability of teachers to provide a balanced and comprehensive reading program. More than 90 percent of California's kindergarten through third-grade teachers participated in professional development that focused on the elements of a comprehensive early reading program. Professional development offerings were expanded to teachers of grades four through eight. Training in reading instruction was also offered to primary school teachers who were new to a district, and for teachers who provide reading instruction in grades four through twelve. School and district administrators were encouraged to participate in professional development activities alongside teachers.
Two benchmark documents published by the California Department of Education continue to form the basis for the Initiative. Both documents, Every Child a Reader, the report of the Superintendent's Task Force on Reading, and Teaching Reading, the Reading Program Advisory, describe a rationale and a research base for a balanced and comprehensive approach to the teaching of early reading. This approach incorporates:
California Reads
California Reads is a partnership between the California State Department of Education, the Eisenhower State Grant program and the nonprofit group Books and Beyond. California Reads calls upon tutors, volunteers, and families to support schools and help every child read well and independently by the end of third grade. Building the Bridge: California Reads provides a model to help schools develop individual action plans so that every child becomes a reader. It can be used as a schoolwide program, as a grade-level or individual classroom program, and in after-school programs, public libraries, and tutoring programs.
Using a home-school-community approach, with the school as its core, California Reads seeks to:
California Reads focuses on both year-round and summer programs and encourages schools to build community partnerships that support strong interaction between tutors and students.
Summer Reading Challenge and Early Reading Success
Since 1996, the State of Connecticut has made reading improvement in the early grades a top priority, including a coordinated campaign to boost community involvement and the commitment of state financial resources. Connecticut fourth-graders had the highest scores in the nation on the 1998 NAEP reading assessment.
Governor John Rowland's 1998 summer reading program reported a membership of over 100,000 students. The 1999 Summer Reading Challenge is underway, with bookmarks, reading journals, posters, book lists and other tools to boost participation. Students are encouraged to use the library, read every day, and talk about what they read with friends and family members.
Early Reading Success grants are made available to schools to fund local efforts to improve reading skills at the kindergarten through third-grade level. School Readiness grants are available to targeted school districts to promote the development of quality preschools and family resource centers. About $2.5 million was invested for 1999. The rationale is simple: starting early can pay big dividends down the road.
The Connecticut Legislature also approved a law requiring each local school district to develop a three-year reading plan to improve the reading skills of students in the early grades.
As the Governor said, "This renewed emphasis on reading is one of the most targeted investments we've made in our schools, and the future of our children, in more than a decade. By emphasizing reading we are acknowledging how important it is to concentrate on the fundamentals to make sure every child in Connecticut develops a solid foundation for life-long learning. A child who can read well at an early age is a child who is prepared to succeed."
Delaware Reading Is Fundamental Initiative
Launched in 1998 by Delaware First Lady Martha S. Carper, the Delaware Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) Initiative aims to bring literacy services and free books to young children and their families. Supported by the state Department of Education, corporations, and foundations, the initiative serves every first-grader in public school and every preschool child enrolled in Head Start, Even Start, or the Parents as Teachers program. Over five years, this statewide, first-in-the-nation project will reach about 80,000 children.
The initiative serves first-graders through RIF's intensive Running Start program. Almost 100 percent of 9,000 first-graders met their reading goals as each child read (or had read to him or her) 30 books in 12 weeks. The preschool program provides reading readiness activities for the classroom and home, read-aloud modeling for parents and caregivers, and children's books to take home. More than 3,500 children received three new books in 1998.
A University of Maryland study of the project found an increase in the quality of first-grade classroom libraries, in students' motivation to read, in students' reading achievement, and in the quality and quantity of home literacy practices.
The second year was launched by Mrs. Carper with community reading rallies, reading recognition programs, public service announcements, and other motivational events.
The First Lady also will lead the spouses of the nation's governors in a national campaign for child literacy for one year.
Elyse Tipton
Reading Is Fundamental
(202) 287-3220
www.rif.org
Maryland Reading Network
During the 1996-1997 school year, a committee of classroom teachers and reading supervisors joined with representatives from institutions of higher education and created a network of professional educators from Maryland's school systems.
The purpose of The Maryland Reading Network is to extend understanding of how reading is learned and to provide models of effective reading programs. Each school system in Maryland selects three participants for their network team: a staff development specialist in reading from the central office level, a school level administrator, and a reading resource or other teacher from the same elementary school.
Each team creates a plan for a balanced reading program at participating elementary schools, which become observation sites for exemplary reading instruction. School-level administrators provide training for all members of the school community regarding the reading program in the school. Central office representatives provide system-wide staff development in reading and provide assistance and support in reading to teachers in participating schools.
Smart Start and Reading Together
North Carolina is one of only five states or jurisdictions that had significant gains in fourth-grade reading skills from 1992-1998, according to the 1998 NAEP Reading Report Card. "North Carolina's schools are making dramatic progress, and our students, our teachers, our educators and our parents deserve the credit," said Governor Jim Hunt. "We're on the right course, because we've kept our focus on what works: making sure our children get a Smart Start, supporting our teachers, making our schools safer and helping our students achieve their very best."
During his first term as governor, Hunt placed teaching assistants in primary school classrooms to provide more one-on-one instruction in reading. His class size reduction efforts in kindergarten through third grade have allowed for individual instruction in reading and other basic subjects. In 1992, the state revised its elementary and middle school reading curriculum to make it more challenging. North Carolina also implemented an accountability program, the ABCs of Public Education.
The Smart Start project uses early childhood education to enhance the literacy skills of young children before they enter kindergarten. Launched by Gov. Hunt in 1993, Smart Start targets children from birth through age five and their families. It is a locally-driven initiative supported by public and private funds. Studies by the Smart Start Evaluation Team show that children who received Smart Start services were better prepared when they entered school. Scores on kindergarten assessment tests were higher for children who received Smart Start services. Smart Start has won the Ford Foundation's Innovation in Government Award.
North Carolina also employs other programs, such as Reading Together, which trains fifth-grade students to be reading tutors for first-grade students. The North Carolina Teacher Academy offers professional development in reading and literacy to teachers each summer. The governor's after-school program, S0S (Support Our Students), provides tutoring and mentoring to middle-grade students.
Dan Farsaci
Reading Together
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
(336) 334-3480
OhioReads
Ohio's Fourth-Grade Guarantee requires all school districts to assess students' reading skills at the end of first, second, and third grades. If students fail, they are offered extra help. Beginning in 2001, fourth-graders who fail in reading will not be promoted.
Recently, the scope of the challenge was laid bare when 53 percent of all fourth-graders failed the reading section of the state proficiency test. So Governor Bob Taft does more than serve as figurehead for the new OhioReads program. He also serves as a weekly tutor for a Columbus third-grader.
Taft has called for a corps of 20,000 volunteer tutors from Ohio businesses, the public sector, service organizations, colleges and universities, senior citizens, parents, and the general community. In 1999, the Ohio legislature unanimously supported $25 million for the OhioReads initiative. In addition to tutor recruitment, funds will support public school needs, such as professional development for teachers and community grants for after-school and summer reading programs.
The private sector was quick to respond to the governor's challenge. The Limited, a clothing retailer based in Columbus, immediately offered $250,000 to help 400 employees tutor kindergarten children in local schools. OhioReads is to be launched in September 1999.
First Steps, Reading Institute, and Compact with Our Children
South Carolina was one of just 10 states or jurisdictions where fourth-graders showed improvements on the NAEP reading assessments between 1994 and 1998. In June 1999, Governor Jim Hodges secured $20 million from the legislature for South Carolina First Steps, an early childhood program. The program aims for all children to enter school healthy and ready to learn.
"Gov. Hodges' First Steps initiative is designed to provide children and their parents with access to high-quality preschool education, parenting education, and family literacy programs," said State School Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum. "It will help our students build the academic foundation they need for success."
Modeled on North Carolina's successful Smart Start program, First Steps will be community-based. It aims to unite state and local agencies, churches, parents, teachers, and businesses to identify and address children's needs.
Hodges also secured funding to continue to lower class size in primary schools so that no kindergarten through third-grade teacher has more than 17 students. The governor's proposal for a new Reading Institute was also approved by the legislature. The Institute will research the best ways to teach reading, provide extensive training for elementary school reading teachers, and monitor results annually.
Hodges is also asking the parents of every South Carolina public school child to sign a new "Compact with Our Children" in 1999 and at the beginning of each subsequent school year. This pledge calls for teachers, parents, and students to share the responsibility for children's education and to live up to high standards.
Parents pledge to:
Texas Reading Initiative
Texas has made reading a top education priority. The goal is to have all students read at grade-level by the end of third grade and continue to read at grade-level. Governor George W. Bush has laid out four steps to achieve this goal: (1) early intervention, (2) resources for help, (3) teacher academies/professional development, and (4) school accountability.
Currently, schools are required to use a reading inventory to identify whether kindergarten through second-grade students are progressing in reading. Those who fall behind are provided accelerated reading instruction, as well as possible summer school, extended-day programs, or tutorials. Up to $670 in state money is available, per student, to provide accelerated instruction.
Teachers have the opportunity to participate in summer reading seminars that will focus on the science of reading and the methods of instruction for correcting reading problems. Kindergarten teachers began training in the summer of 1999, to be followed by first-grade teachers in 2000 and second-grade teachers in 2001. The state pays participating teachers a stipend and absorbs $1,200 per teacher in professional development costs.
Third-grade students must pass the reading section of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) starting in 2003 to be promoted to fourth grade. If a student fails in his or her first attempt, there will be a second opportunity. Upon a second failure, a grade placement committee comprised of the student's parents, teacher, and principal is formed to determine the instruction needed before the third administration of the TAAS. A third failure will result in retainment.
"Children who never master reading will never master learning," said Gov. Bush. "Many will drop out of school. As uneducated adults, they face a life of frustration and failure on the fringes of society. Large numbers turn to crime and wind up in prison. Many others eventually join the welfare rolls. In study after study the empirical evidence is deafening: You cannot succeed if you cannot read."
Utah Reads and Read to Me
In 1998, Governor Michael Leavitt launched Utah Reads, a literacy campaign to ensure that all Utah students are reading at grade-level by the end of the third grade. In March 1999, the legislature approved funds for local school districts to develop personalized instruction plans for readers in first through third grades. Funds were also approved for community-based literacy efforts.
Staff development on early literacy success is available to all preschool teachers and child care providers. Professional development for elementary school teachers includes the use of informal tests to assess and monitor students' progress in reading. Utah Reads is training principals on early literacy issues and research-based classroom practices.
A community volunteer tutoring program is being developed with a link to Utah's Promise. The goal is to have 12,000 struggling readers at or above grade-level by the end of third grade. Utah communities are identifying volunteers and training them to tutor children in local schools. In some schools, older students tutor younger children. Utah Reads provides grants for purchases of new books for tutoring sessions.
The Utah reading initiative also promotes family involvement. First Lady Jacalyn Leavitt leads the Read to Me campaign, which aims to help parents understand the importance of reading aloud to their children. Public service announcements will be broadcast, and a literacy resource kit will be given to parents of newborns.
"This is the cornerstone of my budget," Leavitt said. "I've made a decision to make literacy one of my highest priorities as governor. Reading is the most fundamental skill for success in learning. Literacy is not just a school or government responsibility. It starts with parents at home."
Read to Me
(877) ALL-READ
www.governor.state.ut.us/firstlady
Vermont Parent/Child Centers
The Vermont Parent/Child Centers are a network of sixteen community-based, non-profit organizations serving all of Vermont. The focus of each Center is to provide support and education to 15,000 families with very young children. The goal is to give families a healthy start and act to prevent problems such as illiteracy. Services include home visits, early childhood services, parent education, parent support, on site services, playgroups, information and referral, and community development.
Centers work with Head Start, chambers of commerce, health care providers, state agencies, literacy programs, and others. They serve a primarily rural population. The Addison County Parent/Child Center works to build school readiness in babies, toddlers and preschoolers through playgroups, story hours, and bookmobiles. Playgroups are available to disabled children in mainstream settings.
Home visits allow Center staff to help parents learn activities to stimulate their young children's development. A focus on family literacy allows the Center to help a whole family by improving a parent's reading skills.
Washington Reading Corps
Governor Gary Locke launched the Washington Reading Corps in 1998 with an $8 million budget from the state legislature. With more than 11,000 volunteer tutors, the Washington Reading Corps has helped 22,000 elementary students improve their reading skills. Nearly 200 schools now participate. The programs also use AmeriCorps and VISTA volunteers who tutor children and work with the community.
Locke created the Reading Corps in response to the low number of students (48 percent) who met the fourth-grade reading standard on the first Washington Assessment of Student Learning in 1997. In 1998, nearly 56 percent of fourth-grade students met the reading standard. In 1999, the legislature indicated its approval by fully funding the program for the next two years.
"While the test scores are on the rise, we still have a long way to go," Locke said. "The Reading Corps is working, and we must continue to support its goal to help every student become a good reader."
"We need to bring together children who are learning to sound out words with volunteers who will listen to them and praise them when they do it right," Locke said. "That's how a lifetime of success gets started, and how a lifetime of failure and frustration is averted."
Nearly $100,000 in private donations to the Reading Corps purchased books for low-income children to practice reading at home. A private donation of $100,000 will help sponsor a statewide conference in September 1999 at the University of Washington. The conference will focus on reading and tutoring approaches, volunteerism and community involvement.
Mother Goose, Family Literacy and Library Outreach
Championed by Governor Tommy Thompson and First Lady Sue Ann Thompson, the state of Wisconsin began to widely distribute baby books in September 1998. Up to 70,000 newborns are receiving a copy of "My First Little Mother Goose" from Wisconsin publisher Golden Books. The next phase of the project will include older babies and toddlers who have been adopted.
Mrs. Thompson was instrumental in the creation of the Governor's Office for Family Literacy, a program aimed at organizing and coordinating all resources in order to reach more people and more families. An avid reader and former elementary school teacher, Mrs. Thompson promotes reading to children at least 15 minutes a day before the age of five.
Under a Wisconsin grant program, librarians are reaching out to promote a love of reading. Librarians use small grants-from $500 to $1000-to offer new literacy opportunities to preschoolers in child care. Libraries purchase new sets of books for rotation among child care homes and centers. Library outreach workers visit sites for special story hours, to engage children, and to model reading aloud for caregivers. Other libraries offer workshops for child care providers on how to read with young children and develop emergent literacy skills.
Local Efforts