Bilingual Books for Literacy & Learning Across US

Dear Friend,

Across the nation, many nonprofits have put their communities' needs at the forefront of what they do throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and Raising A Reader is no exception. We have hit the ground running and listened to our beloved Affiliates and their families to pivot our offerings to keep families at the core of what we do. This time of listening and learning has resulted in an expansion of Raising A Readers model and offerings, and we continue to work with our 300 diverse Affiliates toward a network-wide re-launch to offer materials complementary to our Super Summer Book Bags. Raising A Reader's new Family Shared Reading Program was introduced as a new quarterly offering, which includes resources for families in the home that have alignment with materials teachers can use in the virtual classroom. This program, which provides both caregivers and educators tools to be successful throughout virtual learning, is a shining example of collaboration that represents a shared commitment to families and underscores the strength of our model that is designed to complement a variety of learning interventions.

Besides this offering, Raising A Reader has been working hard on a variety of other projects, including supporting our Affiliates with rotating their Red Book Bags in addition to strengthening our partnerships with coalitions, funders, school districts, Head Start sites, and other service providers across the country. Besides this, we have spent time internally working on our Racial and Equity Plan to reaffirm our commitment to BIPOC communities. As we navigate the shifts in our education system, we look forward to a continued collective effort that empowers families and creates successful learning environments for all children. Your support of our mission has helped us tremendously– and from all of us, thank you.

Raising A Reader

• Family Shared Reading Program (PDF)
  
• Shared Family Reading Guide Preview (PDF)
  

Dear Friend,

Throughout the past few months, we have been inspired by our community who have come together in support of families across the country. This time of listening and learning has resulted in an expansion of Raising A Reader’s model and offerings, and we are working with our 300 Affiliates toward a network-wide re-launch in the fall – however that may look. We know that the strengths of families are at the core of what we do, and your donation has helped forwarded our mission and strengthen our impact.

We have been modified our work to adjust to a “new normal” – including supporting at-home learning through our Super Summer Book Bags. These bilingual kits were designed to address learning loss due and support school readiness, and are available to Affiliates as well as non-Affiliates; homeschool groups, and community centers across the country. Including 5 weeks of at-home learning, these kits are designed to help address the “COVID” slide for incoming kindergartners and 1^st-grade students and their families. Our Super Summer Book Bags are a shining example of collaboration that represents a shared commitment to families and underscores the strength of our model that is designed to complement a variety of learning interventions.

As we navigate the shifts in our education system, we look forward to a continued collective effort that empowers families and creates successful learning environments for all children. Your support of our mission has helped us tremendously– and from all of us, thank you.

Raising A Reader

Links:

• Additional Information on Super Summer

• Super Summer Book Bag (PDF)
  

Raising A Reader's evidence-based program aims to level the playing field of the children living in poverty by helping them develop, practice, and maintain the literacy skills needed for sustained academic success. We strive to close the growing divide between the lowest-performing and the highest-performing students due to the increasing income gap in students enrolled in public schools. In Monterey County, where 54% of families with children do not earn wages adequate to meet their basic needs, (University of Washington, 2019), Raising A Reader has scaled our impact to reach the children and families who most need our program.

Thanks to generous donors like you, Raising A Reader has expanded our reach in Monterey County to serve over 6,000 children across the county. As we reach more schools and children, we continue to receive more success stories like this one from Salinas City schools:

"At first the teachers were a little hesitant about the work that goes into implementing the program, but once they started to see the excitement from the kids, and the positive feedback from parents about how much the families love reading books at home, they were sold on the benefits of the program." - Denise Noel, Preschool Coordinator, Salinas City Schools 

Your support makes these success stories possible! Thank you for supporting Raising A Reader and younger readers across the country! 

Links:

• Like Raising A Reader on Facebook

Raising A Reader began its partnership with Judy Centers (more formally known as The Judith P. Hoyer Center Early Learning Hubs) throughout the state of Maryland several years ago.  Since the inception of this partnership, the model has continued to grow and thrive over time.  Raising A Reader quickly learned that Judy Centers offer robust programming and varied opportunities and experiences for their families through the collaboration of various partners.  Working closely with the Judy Centers over the past few years has broadened the age range and settings of children served by Raising A Reader.  Children who may not have otherwise had access to high quality reading materials are now being provided with them through play groups, babysitters clubs and other programming efforts that the Judy Centers implement.

Judy Center staff have shared that Raising A Reader is an anchor program offering because of three essential benefits:

• children and their families are continually exposed to excellent literature in many genres 
• the simple act of sharing books encourages strong parent-child relationships and increases the time families spend with their children – both aspects foster children’s healthy brain development
• ongoing book-reading experiences support young children’s oral language development, vocabulary understanding, listening comprehension, etc., and build a strong foundation for later reading

Providing high-quality programming for infants, toddlers, preschool-aged children and their families would not be possible without the continued endorsement and encouragement of supporters like you! We are thankful for your continued support and excited to be able to serve our youngest learners!

2019 marks Raising A Reader’s 20th year of service to children and families across the country! We launched our celebratory anniversary campaign, 20 Years of Changing Children’s Lives Through Literacy, in the Spring 2019.

Over the past 20 years, our early childhood movement has accomplished so much. Together we have:

• Served more than 1.7 million children and families
• Partnered with more than 500 host organizations in 40 states and territories across the United States
• Earned numerous awards and prestigious recognition
• Collected 39 independent evaluations

These accomplishments are in a large way a result of the tremendous support we have received from generous donors, as yourselves, throughout the years. We are grateful for your support to our organization and to the early childhood literacy field!

Over the course of the campaign, we will reflect on the critical impact we have had on children throughout the country. An aspect of your campaign is a call out to our affiliates for “great stories”. One such “great story” coming to us from El Monte, California is shared below:

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As we end the school year at both Miramonte and Payne School, we had the opportunity to meet with families and talk about the benefits of using Raising a Reader. We reviewed the power of having a strong nourished brain and went over the importance of habits.

One parent said, “I really liked the books that my child brought home. They were bilingual and at their reading level. Some books I remember reading as a child. They were very good and interesting stories. We read together, especially the ones that were songs. We sang together. Thank you very much for this opportunity and awesome experience.”

Another parent said, “Raising A Reader has several benefits; I had the books at home and didn’t have to go to the library, and my son was more interested in the books and wanted me to read to him. My child looked forward to getting the new book every week.”