Bring Bilingual Books & Materials to Children 0-8

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:

• Follow 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!