Bilingual Books for Literacy & Learning Across US

Dear GlobalGiving Community,

Thank you for helping Raising a Reader reach over 170,000 families across the nation in 2022!  Together we are creating a world where all children have the family support and reading skills they need to thrive in school and beyond.

Don’t let the headlines get you down!

Despite recent reports of pandemic-related drops in reading and math scores
among students nationwide, the children 0-8 and their families who we support
at Raising a Reader are engaged and reading together longer and more often.

Family engagement is at the core of what we do. Our evidence-based
programs help caring adults set their children up for success by creating shared
reading routines, fostering social emotional learning, building healthy family
relationships, and learning skills needed to thrive in school and beyond.

Through easy-to-use, multilingual materials and multicultural stories, we meet
families where they are and make shared reading more engaging and
accessible for all children.

The research is clear: strong, engaged families make a major difference
to children’s educational and life outcomes. When families read together,
they share more than stories. Reading together strengthens bonds between
children and the caring adults in their lives. It becomes a consistent, shared
positive experience that improves communication and creates stronger
attachment. Shared reading benefits adults as well. Studies have found that
those who read with their children experience reduced parental stress and
more positive parenting behavior.

“Que este programa de los libros es un buen programa para el desarrollo mental de los niños y también nos ayuda a pasar más tiempo en familia.” (This book program is a good program for the mental development of children and also it helps us spend more time with family.)

~ Parent

THANK YOU for helping Raising a Reader improve the early literacy skills of children and families with the greatest need!

Links:

• I'm Going to Read Until I Can't No More!
• All About Raising a Reader
• Story time with Raising a Reader

Dear Friends of Raising A Reader,

I have good news and I have bad news. I will start with the bad news...

This year, for the first time since the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests began tracking student achievement in the 1970s, children lost ground in math, and scores in reading fell by the largest margin in more than 30 years. Children from vulnerable backgrounds like those we serve, had the greatest declines.

Now more than ever, children and families need extra support like Raising A Reader provides to address pandemic related learning loss. Covid-19 continues to disrupt learning and teacher shortages are wide-spread. Children, caregivers, and educators report feeling burned out and stressed out.

We know that 90% of brain development occurs by age 5 and studies show that children who develop early literacy skills before starting school by reading books with caregivers, progress in school more easily and quickly.

Here's the good news…

Raising A Reader’s family engagement and early literacy programs offer proven, cost-effective, and easy-to-implement solutions. Thirty-nine independent program evaluations have shown that our programming provides statistically significant positive impacts on family home literacy environments and early reading skills. Bottom line, our programs help prepare children to become successful learners.

Raising A Reader is a national organization that partners with schools and community-based organizations across the country to prepare vulnerable young children to succeed in school and beyond. This past year, Oklahoma City Public School (OKCPS), expanded Raising A Reader from 3 to 34 schools. Now our program will be in place at every OKCPS school with Pre-K through 2nd grade.

“It’s just a really great program,” said Dr. Stephanie Hinton, Director of Early Childhood Education for OKCPS district.

“We’re creating routines and habits in the home that encourage lifelong learning. As educators, we’re always thinking about the ways that we can engage families in the academic process. With Raising a Reader, we’re going to be able to provide an ongoing connection around literacy development with the families. There is something very different and very unique about sitting down with a child and reading a story with them or to them. It nurtures that relationship and fosters a love of learning and of reading. We are raising future adults. The habits that we’re building through reading, through creating lifelong learners, to me, that will always be more valuable than a test score.”

Together, we can help children build home libraries and home reading routines that will set them up to succeed in school and beyond.

Thank you for your commitment to children’s education and for continuing to support Raising A Reader. 

Sincerely,

Your friends at Raising A Reader

Links:

• Message from our President and CEO of Raising A Reader
• Visit Raising A Reader on Instagram
• Help build a home library for an at-risk child for just $50