FEDERAL WORK-STUDY UPDATE
August 1998
A MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR CAROL H. RASCO
Greetings America Reads friends! I hope you are all having good summers and getting excited about the coming school year. The back-to-school period is very important to Secretary Riley and others here at the Department of Education. The Department's America Goes Back to Scees, artists, religious leaders, and every caring adult to become more actively invohool initiative encourages parents, grandparents, community leaders, employers and employlved in improving education in their communities. The initiative focuses attention on improving American education during the back-to-school period of August through October. Recognizing that the back-to-school time period is crucial for children and families who may have put reading on a back burner over the summer months, the America Reads Challenge encourages colleges and universities to become involved.For those of you interested in learning more about how to get involved in America Goes Back to School, please call 1-800-USA-LEARN. Of course, you don't need to call anyone to come up with ideas for exciting and fun activities to get folks back into the school spirit. Parties or other types of gatherings for returning tutors, new tutors, children, and parents can be a way to reacquaint people who may have spent some months apart and "psych" them up for the start of the school year.
Speaking of the coming school year, Cynthia Wong, who I am sure many of you are acquainted with, will be entering the Yale School of Management this September. As sad as I am to have Cynthia leave, I am pleased to announce that Laura Wood will be replacing her as the Coordinator of the Federal Work Study/America Reads Challenge Program. Laura has worked on the America Reads Challenge staff as my special assistant since April 1997 and we are all excited about her new role.
Others who are gearing up for the coming academic year are members of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society of the Two-Year College. I was honored to speak at Phi Theta Kappa's 80th International Convention in Nashville, Tennessee last spring where they announced their 1998-2000 service project: all of their chapters will be taking on the America Reads Challenge!
Thank you for all that you do to support the Challenge, and keep reading!
AMERICA READS TRAINING CONFERENCES
Our America Reads Training Conferences are now well underway, and we have had some extremely positive reports from them. Presenters have been well-received and according to evaluations, most people have come away from the conferences feeling satisfied. The biggest hits have been the resource materials and networking opportunities.If you have not yet attended a training conference, do not fret! There are remaining conferences in the end of August through mid-September. An on-line brochure and pre-registration form are available. A pre-registration form can also be obtained by calling the 24-hour Flash Fax system at (202) 205-3279. The document number is 001522.
LEGISLATION UPDATE
This year the Congress and the Administration agreed to reserve $210 million to improve child literacy pending the passage of legislation. If, however, the Congress failed to send a bill to the President by July 1, 1998, the $210 million would be forfeited. As many of you know, legislation was not passed by the July 1 deadline.We have received many calls regarding the status of this legislation, and we wanted to be sure you were aware that the Administration remains deeply committed to fight for a child literacy bill and the $210 million for child literacy programs. We are continuing to work with Congress to pass a child literacy bill by October 1, 1998. We feel optimistic that the Congress and the Administration will be able to achieve this goal.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call the America Reads Challenge at (202) 401-8888.
RESOURCES FOR TUTORING PROGRAMS
We are pleased to announce that there are a number of resources available to you to support your tutoring efforts. First of all, the Department of Education's popular READ*WRITE*NOW! and Ready Set Read kits are available, free of charge, in English and Spanish. An order form for these publications is enclosed. Quantities of the materials are somewhat limited, so please be aware that they are also available for downloading on the publication page of our website.In addition, over the past year, America Reads has heard many requests from our college and university partners for recruitment and promotional materials. Thanks to the generous support of Lyrick Studios (creators of Wishbone) and the Southland Corporation (7-Eleven), we are pleased to offer you a series of new tools including posters and brochures to raise awareness of your America Reads program this fall. Samples and description of the products are enclosed in this mailing as well as a more detailed cover letter. We welcome any feedback and questions you may have at (202) 401-8888.
FAMILY LITERACY WAIVER
The Department is thrilled to announce that as of July 1, 1998, the new family literacy waiver went into effect. This waiver will allow 100 percent of the wages of FWS students tutoring children and/or their parents or caregivers in family literacy programs to be paid from federal dollars. Research shows that children whose parents work with them on literacy skills during early childhood have a better chance of reading well and independently. The new waiver will provide additional flexibility to respond to the President's America Reads Challenge. Colleges and universities have received detailed information about family literacy and FWS. If you have not received this or would like additional information, please call (202) 401-8888.And remember: November 2 is National Family Literacy Day!
AN AMERICA READS SNAPSHOT
This summer, a special coalition is working to help children read in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland READS has partnered with the public library and Cleveland State University - Cleveland READS conducted the training, CSU provided FWS students and the tutoring is occurring at the libraries throughout town. America Reads Director Carol Rasco was fortunate to attend their celebration day of reading. The coalition gathered at a branch library with children from a Salvation Army sponsored summer day camp who are receiving tutoring. Reading to the children on that day were the two gubernatorial candidates and representatives of the Mayor's office, City Council, school administration, Congressional offices and a local TV celebrity.Closing the program were several of the FWS tutors who spoke about what tutoring has meant to them. One tutor later shared with Carol a touching story. The tutor was doing sentence completions with one child recently and the sentence read:
I dream I had _______________.
The child finished the sentence thus: "someone to read a bedtime story to me." The tutor was so overcome with this she told the child that while she would be across town and unable to come read a story to her, she would be happy to get on the phone and read it to her. Now this tutor reads bedtime stories by phone almost every night to three children who have never had anyone read a good night story to them. The tutor makes sure the children have the books she will be reading so they can follow along.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT AMERICA READS
The America Reads Listserv is a forum for interested parties to discuss questions and best practices regarding America Reads programs. To subscribe:Address an e-mail to: majordomo@etr-associates.org
Type (in the text): subscribe americareads
The America Reads website contains extensive information about the Challenge, including tutoring materials and the "Expanding FWS and Community Service Opportunities" Guide.
Carol H. Rasco, Director, America Reads Challenge
Laura Wood, Coordinator, FWS/ARC Program
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 6100, Washington, D.C. 20202
Ph: (202) 401-8888, Fax: (202) 401-0596, E-mail: Laura.Wood@ed.gov
Dr. Marsha Adler, Office of the President, San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132
Ph: (415) 338-6879, Fax: (415) 338-6885, E-mail mnadler@sfsu.edu
Jeff Gale, Corporation for National Service
1201 New York Avenue, N.W., 9th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20525
Ph: (202) 606-5000 ext. 280, Fax: (202), E-mail: Jgale@cns.gov
Toll free number for comments or ordering publications:
1-800-USA-LEARN or TDD 1-800-437-0833
