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A MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR CAROL H. RASCO

Hello and Happy New Year, America Reads friends!  I imagine many of you on college campuses are starting to get really busy again as new semesters begin, and I hope you will continue to spread the joy of reading.  Personally, now that the novelty of taking a stroll on a sheet of ice has worn off, there is nothing I look forward to more than curling up with a good book.  For those of you in warmer climates, I am sure that nothing beats reading on the beach!

I am excited to share with you a hidden treasure I recently discovered.  Last month I attended the National Reading Conference (NRC) in Austin, Texas, and was amazed by the amount of research and writing that is being conducted on America Reads.  Many researchers across the country are really starting to focus on college partnerships and tutoring as a new and important field of study.  Some of the same faculty from NRC will be presenting in a symposium at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) meeting in April in Toronto. 

The symposium is entitled "America Reads, A Volunteer Tutoring Session: Children's Achievement, Participants' Perceptions, and Tutors' Learning."  The moderators are Richard Venezky, University of Delaware and U.S. Department of Education and Robert C. Calfee, University of California-Riverside.  Presentations include: 

"The Effect of an America Reads Volunteer Tutoring Program on Student Achievement and Attitudes," Lesley Mandel Morrow and Deborah Woo, Rutgers University;

"An Exploratory Close-Up Look of Tutors Performance," Jill Fitzgerald and Ruth Wolery, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill;

"Tutor Success and Frustrations," Linda Gambrell and Ann Dromsky, University of Maryland.

For more information on the AERA conference, please visit http://www.aera.net/index.html.

READING VIA SATELLITE!

One way communities are sharing ideas and keeping up-to-date with the latest information on education is through a unique service from the U.S. Department of Education: the Satellite Town Meeting.  On the third Tuesday of each month during the school year, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley hosts the Satellite Town Meeting, a free, live, interactive teleconference about community efforts to improve teaching and learning. 

On Tuesday, February 16, 1999, the Department is hosting a Meeting in Los Angeles, CA entitled "Teaching Reading: Success Stories from School & Home," from 8:00-9:00p.m. EST (5:00-6:00 p.m. PST) which will bring together experts and practitioners who have all made reading a top priority in their schools and communities.  The Meeting provides a great opportunity to build partnerships at the local level by gathering a town meeting in your community to view the program, call in with questions, and discuss what can be done to make your community's efforts more successful. 

For information on how to host or attend a downlink, call 1-800-USA-LEARN. 

FEDERAL WORK-STUDY ROUNDTABLES

In November and December, four roundtable discussions on America Reads and Work-Study were held in Boston, Denver, New York, and Washington, DC.  Facilitated by Marsha Adler of San Francisco State University, they were attended by representatives of the Department of Education, the Corporation for National Service, colleges and universities in the four areas, and national and community based organizations.  The main topics of discussion included recruitment and retention, training, and evaluation.  Many college and university representatives expressed interest in learning more about programs' evaluation methods.  Another series of roundtables is being planned for 1999, and all are welcome to attend:

For more information or to sign up to attend, please call Marsha Adler at (415) 338-6879 or e-mail her at mnadler@sfsu.edu.  More detailed information will also be posted to the listserv (find out how to join the listserv at the end of this UPDATE).

READ ACROSS AMERICA IS COMING UP!

The National Education Association (NEA) is calling for every child in every school in every community to read with a caring adult on March 2, 1999, Dr. Seuss's 95th birthday.

Last year, a million teachers, parents and community leaders put on their Cat in the Hat hats and shared favorite stories with ten million children, sending the crystal clear message that reading is important. In fact, it was this country's largest celebration of reading ever.

You are all invited to join the NEA in building an even bigger and better celebration this year.  FWS tutors and tutees definitely have a role to play in this exciting day!  Examples of activities from last year's celebration include:

In Arkansas, the state NEA association organized read-ins at 10 sites around Little Rock.  Local television anchors participated and wrote colorful Seuss-like verses to describe their experiences including:

It is the birthday of him who created the Who, Green eggs and ham and starred sneetches too.
So to celebrate the birthday of such a great man Kids packed the library to hear Sam I am.

In Chicago, IL, Will Clinger, the host of the popular children's program "Wild Chicago," read with children at a local Barnes and Noble bookstore in an event sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.

In Haverhill, MA gourmet chefs cooked green eggs and ham for students and local businessmen. The businessmen read in every first grade classroom and donated books. Their effort was featured in a report on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and won the Exchange Club's honor as National Service Project of the Year.

In Eugene, OR, retiree Lorna Hellbronner and 40 of her senior citizen neighbors at a local trailer park invited Head Start children in for reading and refreshments.

For further ideas and information on Read Across America please visit the NEA's website at http://www.nea.org/readacross/.

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL SERVICE

Many America Reads/FWS programs are closely linked with programs of the Corporation for National Service, such as AmeriCorps*VISTA, Learn and Serve America, and more.  For example, the Corporation's Education Award Program has expanded the network of AmeriCorps programs and strategies, and has created opportunities for more than 20,000 additional individuals to serve their communities as AmeriCorps members, many of them as America Reads tutors.  These "Ed-Only" AmeriCorps Members receive a national service education award but no additional Corporation-funded benefits.  For this program year there are two competitive deadlines to establish Education Award Programs, February 1 and April 30, 1999.  For more information on this and other programs of the Corporation for National Service:

AmeriCorps: (800) 942-2677, http://www.americorps.org

Learn and Serve America: (202) 606-5000, ext. 117, http://learnandserv.org

National Senior Service Corps: (800) 424-8867, http://seniorcorps.org

NEW HIGHER EDUCATION TAX CREDITS

Attention 1998 tax filers!  New higher education tax credits could almost have parents of college students looking forward to April 15.  The 1998 tax year is the first year that the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits proposed by President Clinton - which indirectly reduce the amount of federal income tax owed - are available to help families meet the cost of postsecondary education, whether for a bachelor's degree, graduate or professional study, or vocational or job-related training.  Both tax credits are phased out for joint filers who have between $80,000 and $100,000 of adjusted gross income, and for single filers who have between $40,000 and $50,000 of adjusted gross income.  To take advantage of the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits, taxpayers must complete and submit IRS form 8863 with their federal tax return.  For more information, call the IRS Help line at 1-800-829-1040, read IRS publication 970 or visit the Treasury Department's website at www.irs.ustreas.gov. 

CAL STATE-LONG BEACH TO HOST SECRETARY RILEY 

Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley will deliver his 6th annual State of American Education Address at California State University, Long Beach, on February 16, 1999, at 11:00a.m. PST (2:00p.m. EST).  Riley's remarks will present his view of the nation's schools and colleges as the year 2000 approaches, with a focus on the critical role of teachers in preparing students for the 21st Century. 

The California State System has made a significant contribution to commitment to the America Reads Challenge, with all of its campuses employing FWS students as reading tutors.  The System's Chancellor, Charles B. Reed, and the President of Cal State-Los Angeles, James M. Rosser, both serve on the America Reads*America Counts Steering Committee of College and University Presidents.

Secretary Riley's address will be broadcast live via satellite and available on the Internet through the Department of Education's website.  A limited number of tickets will be available to the public free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis after February 1.  Those interested in obtaining tickets or hosting a downlink site should call 1-800-USA-LEARN for more information. 

COALITION CORNER

Not Just Cookies

Girl Scouts USA and the Kappa Delta Sorority have teamed up to focus on literacy and mentoring using the twin themes of "Lending Hearts and Hands" and "Together preparing girls for college, for life, for all they hope to become."  Kappa Delta Sorority, with over 155,000 collegiate and alumnae members, and Girl Scouts USA, with 3.5 million members and over 223,000 troops, recently signed a formal collaborative agreement.  Kappa Deltas have served as Girl Scout volunteers and on the boards of Girl Scout councils, and will be helping troops even more directly by: helping girls to earn a merit badge, offering college campus tours, and serving as reading tutors and as mentors to Girl Scouts across the nation.  Kappa Deltas will help Girl Scouts to "think college early" and will encourage girls to become caring and concerned citizens and community leaders.  For more information, contact your local Kappa Delta sorority or Girl Scout Council (under "G" in your local phone book).

Children's Books Support Family Literacy

The number one children's clothing line in the country, in conjunction with National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), has launched a learning series of books. The OshKosh B'Gosh Children's Book Program has made a series of books available now in OshKosh B'gosh stores everywhere.

Based upon feedback from parents across the country, the OshKosh B'Gosh Children's Book Program is comprised of 15 titles geared toward children from birth to age six. It includes such classics as The Velveteen Rabbit as well as original works like Meet Josh and the Doctor, featuring OshKosh B'Gosh's bear mascot, Josh B'Gosh. All of the titles are designed to promote literacy and the joy of reading while educating young readers. The three classic series books feature interactive parent and child activities developed by NCFL to enhance and stimulate the reading experience.

With a first printing of almost 400,000, the series will be available in all 120 OshKosh B'Gosh outlet and specialty stores across the U.S. as well as in Toys 'R' Us, Babies 'R' Us and Kids 'R' Us nationwide. A portion of the proceeds from the OshKosh B'Gosh Children's Book Program will be donated to NCFL.

To find out more about all the books available in the OshKosh B'Gosh Children's Book Program, visit the OshKosh B'Gosh Web site at www.oshkoshbgosh.com.

MORE UPCOMING EVENTS

1999 Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 18-21, 1999, www.COOL2serve.org, (801) 581-8352.

10th Annual National Service Learning Conference, sponsored by the National Youth Leadership Council, San Jose, California, April 18-21, 1999, www.nylc.org.

8th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy, sponsored by the National Center for Family Literacy, Louisville, Kentucky, April 18- 20, 1999, www.famlit.org.

Phi Theta Kappa, International Honor Society of the Two Year College 81st International Convention, April 29-May 1, 1999, Anaheim, California, www.ptk.org.

RESOURCES!

A new tutoring manual has just been published, entitled "The Howard Street Tutoring Manual: Teaching At-Risk Readers in the Primary Grades," by Darrell Morris, EdD, Director of the Reading Clinic at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.  This book prepares professionals and students to conduct one-to-one instruction with struggling readers and to conceptualize and develop tutorial programs.  Written by the developer of Chicago's Howard Street tutorial program, the manual is grounded in theory and research and incorporates a range of new findings on emergent and at-risk readers in grades one through three.  Readers learn procedures for assessing such literacy skills as word recognition, oral reading, and spelling.  Case studies feature detailed descriptions of teaching plans, lessons and informal assessments, as well as word lists, reading lists, and illustrative figures.   To order, call Guilford Publications, Inc. at (800) 365-7006, or write to 72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012.

The new and enhanced LEARNS (Linking Education and America Reads through National Service) website is chock full of content and resources for America Reads programs.  The site can help you:

• Discover ways to put research to use through activities that help children read.

• Assess where and how to begin if you are coordinating a new America Reads program.

• Find resources and tutoring frameworks for various ages, from pre-school to adults.

• Find resources for specific populations or contexts such as family literacy, English language learners, or learning differences.

• Learn how to structure tutoring sessions.

• Download the latest edition of The Tutor, the quarterly newsletter packed with news and tips from the field. (A hard copy is enclosed with this UPDATE)

• Link to an array of resources: training calendar, publishers lists, on-line tutoring manuals, research articles, and much, much more.

Here's the link, and happy surfing! http://www.nwrel.org/learns

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
 

Carol H. Rasco, Director, America Reads Challenge 
Laura Wood, Coordinator, FWS/ARC Program
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202-0107
Ph: (202) 401-8888, Fax: (202) 260-8114
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) 565-2789
E-mail: Jgale@cns.gov

Toll free number for comments or ordering publications: 1-800-USA-LEARN or TDD 1-800-437-0833