FEDERAL WORK-STUDY UPDATE
A MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR CAROL H. RASCO
Greetings, everyone. As the leaves change colors and the temperature begins to drop at this time of year, there is no better activity I can think of than reading! It?s not too early to begin planning holiday reading activities for tutors and children. Some suggestions include:
A reading night with the winter solstice (December 21) as the theme.
An arts and crafts activity in which kids make bookmarks, banners, posters or even books (these all make great, inexpensive gifts).
A performance celebrating the holidays that kids write and perform.
You will be excited to learn about an initiative of both Random House Children's Publishing and First Book, the nonprofit book-giveaway organization. They will honor the inspiring work of teachers, tutors, mentors, and volunteers throughout the nation through the "Reading Hero Awards". Unsung heroes who have displayed an extraordinary commitment to nurturing young readers are identified and nationally recognized through the Awards. A Reading Hero will be chosen every month (September to February) and will receive a $1,000 Random House gift certificate. I am sure many of you have your own reading heroes, and I encourage you to nominate them for this special honor. For more information on the Reading Hero awards or to nominate an individual, please complete the online questionnaire on the First Book website at www.firstbook.org OR print and return the form by fax or mail to:
First Book, Attn: Reading Hero Awards
1319 F Street, N.W., Suite 500
Washington, DC 20004
Fax: (202) 628-1258
SUBCONTRACTS FOR READING PARTNERSHIPS
As you may know, on September 15, 1998, over $3 million was awarded to sixty-one partnerships from across the country to continue their hard work helping children learn to read. The U.S. Department of Education's Regional Educational Laboratories awarded $50,000 each to partnerships that provide quality tutor training programs based on a university-school-community collaborative model. A complete list of the partnerships receiving the subcontracts has been enclosed with this UPDATE. It is also posted at http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/training.html. I encourage you to contact partnerships in your area to see how you may collaborate and/or participate in their activities.
HIGHER EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1998
The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 will provide significant opportunities for colleges and universities to employ more of their students in community service jobs. Institutions currently use at least 5% of their total Work-Study allocation for community service. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2000, colleges and universities will be required to use at least 7% of their Work-Study grant to compensate students employed in community service. Additionally, colleges and universities will have to ensure that at least one reading tutoring or family literacy project is included in meeting this requirement. Many of you are already well ahead of the game since you are already implementing reading projects on your campuses.
1999 BUDGET: WINS FOR EDUCATION
Other items included in the 1999 budget are:
Federal Work-Study. $870 million (up from $830 million in Fiscal Year 1998) has been allocated to help approximately 38,000 new students earn Work-Study funds to help pay for college, and provide additional opportunities for students to work as reading tutors.
21st Century Community Learning Centers. $200 million to provide before- and after-school programs in safe, drug-free environments for approximately 250,000 school-age children.
Gear Up. Formerly known as High Hopes, this $120 million initiative will provide more than 500,000 at-risk, middle school students with academic and support services to prepare for college. These services, such as mentoring, tutoring and college visits, aim to raise educational expectations, increase academic achievement, and eliminate the barriers in pursuing a college education.
For more comprehensive information on these and other education initiatives, please call 1-800-USA-LEARN, or visit www.ed.gov.
NATIONAL CHILDREN?S BOOK WEEK
Since 1919, educators, librarians, booksellers and families have celebrated National Children?s Book Week during the week before Thanksgiving. The theme of the 1998 Children?s Book Week, November 16-22, is Books Go Everywhere, appropriate for the twilight of the twentieth century. Check your local school, library or bookstore for events celebrating reading, or plan your own! Following are some time-tested suggestions:
Dress up as children?s book characters (tip: costumes available through 1-800-596-9357, ext. 303)
Have a poetry festival
Institute amnesty for overdue library books
Take a field trip
Invite a children?s book author to visit the kids
For more information call the Children?s Book Council at (212) 966-1990, or visit www.cbcbooks.org.
FINANCIAL AID TELECONFERENCE
"Going to College: Financial Aid Night", Tuesday, November 17, 1998, 8 - 9p.m. (EST)
In the Department of Education?s November Satellite Town Meeting, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley will present a program of the latest information on federal student aid and other forms of assistance, and will offer a panel to answer your questions. The program will include:
An overview of the major student financial assistance programs that are available at most schools, including: Federal Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, PLUS Grants (FSEOG), Federal Work Study (FWS), and Federal Perkins Loan;
Information on the most recent changes to the tax law, from tax cuts to savings incentives, that benefit students and their families;
Assistance for minority students; and,
Ideas for obtaining scholarships from companies, community organizations, and other sources.
This event is free and offers financial aid administrators the opportunity to invite high school students and their parents, counselors, organizations that offer scholarships and other community organizations to gather in one place to learn about all aspects of financial aid. For more information or to register to host a site, call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit http://www.ed.gov/inits/stm/stm-9811.html.
AN AMERICA READS SNAPSHOT
Family Reading Night at King Elementary School in Portland, Oregon on October 20, featured Miss Frizzle (of Magic School Bus fame), Winnie the Pooh and local partners from Portland State University, the Oregon Children's Foundation S.M.A.R.T. Program, the Multnomah County Library, the Northwest Service Academy and local children's book author Rosalind Wang. Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Education in town for the Improving America's Schools conference joined in with others in sharing their favorite books in this fun-filled evening to celebrate reading.
More than 30 families in the King Elementary School Neighborhood enjoyed great books and the special guests. And, new partnerships also formed as a result of the evening. King Elementary School Principal Joseph Malone would like to do more family reading nights in the future, and Portland State University and the Oregon Children's Foundation S.M.A.R.T. program may also be joining forces to support children's reading in Portland schools.
ARTS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP TELECONFERENCE
The Arts Education Partnership and the U.S. Department of Education are pleased to invite you and your colleagues to participate in a national teleconference to be held on Monday, December 1, 1998, from 7:30pm ? 8:30pm (EST). The teleconference will focus on the importance of arts literacy and the results from the 1997 NAEP Arts Assessment, and will provide an opportunity for Partnership organizations and their state and local representatives to hold meetings at downlink sites throughout the country before and/or after the teleconference. For more information and to register, please call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit http://aep-arts.org.
READING LEGISLATION
President Clinton launched the America Reads Challenge to help all children become good readers by the end of third grade. Now, the President has signed The Reading Excellence Act, the most significant law promoting child literacy in three decades. This new statute recognizes the key roles played by teachers, parents, tutors and communities in a child?s reading success.
In the first year, $260 million in federal funding will give more than 500,000 pre-kindergarten through third grade children the support they need to learn to read.
More children will benefit from effective tutoring. The Act helps schools that need it most to train and supervise community volunteers (including college Work-Study students) and professional tutors. Tutoring may take place at the school or in the community, before, during or after school, on weekends, and during the summer.
For more information, please visit www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/, or call 1-800-USA-LEARN or 202-401-8888.
RESOURCES, RESOURCES, RESOURCES!
Be a Classic Hero -- Lead a Child to Read!
Thanks to the generous support of Lyrick Studios (creators of Wishbone) and the Southland Corporation (7-Eleven), the following materials are offered for free to help you recruit tutors and raise awareness of America Reads programs:
POSTER: 17x22" full color poster featuring Wishbone, the talking dog who encourages children to read through his PBS television show. Space in bottom left corner can be used to publicize campus information.
COLLEGE BROCHURE: Color brochure with text specifically for recruitment of college tutors. Space available for individual campus information.
FLYER: 8" x 11" slick in black and white, similar to poster, can be copied and used in smaller spaces to promote local efforts. This also includes space for campus information.
ADVERTISEMENT: A black and white slick with graphics and text that can be customized for an ad in a local or campus newspaper. Campus information for tutoring programs can be added.
These materials can be ordered by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN.
Videos for Meetings or Presentations
America Reads is also pleased to provide you with two videos that can be used in recruiting and training volunteers or new community partners. The videos can be used as a conversation starter at a community meeting. Both programs are available on one tape and can be ordered by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN.
- "Breaking Through"
- "Reading Partners"
This 11 minute video tells four stories of teachers, parents and children working together to help children learn to read. All four children profiled (Emma, Kyle, Amber and Austin) encountered some difficulties in learning to read. But, with the help of committed teachers, attentive parents and extra help, all children have broken through to become readers and writers. The video ends with children sharing their thoughts on what you can do "if you can read." "Breaking Through" was shown at the U.S. Department of Education's Reading Summit.
This 15 minute program includes excerpts from the one-hour Satellite Town Meeting that aired in May, 1998. The program focuses on strategies for helping all children learn to read beginning from their earliest days. It highlights commendable programs from around the country and contains a practical segment for parents on how they can help their children read well. This video was shown at the 16 America Reads Regional Training Conferences this summer and fall in cities throughout the country.
America Reads Materials from the Corporation for National Service
The Corporation for National Service has developed colorful posters, brochures, banners, stickers and advertisements for use in recruiting volunteers for local America Reads programs. These materials feature the America Reads logo (seen below), and are available for purchase through the Corporation's distribution center, Mississippi Industries for the Blind. For more information or to request an order form, please call (601) 984-3200.
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