---

A MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR CAROL H. RASCO

The Back to School season is in full swing, and I know from my travels that people all across the country are working hard to ensure that children can read well and independently by the end of third grade. As always, please do not hesitate to notify me if there is any way that we can be of more assistance to you.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the International Reading Association (IRA) for an excellent feature on America Reads which appeared in the August/September 1998 edition of their publication Reading Today. In addition to giving a thorough and informative overview of the America Reads Challenge, the piece lists a number of resources such as tutoring manuals and videos for use by America Reads programs. For more information please call the IRA at (302) 731-1600, or visit their website at http://www.reading.org.

I am pleased to report that 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. For a complete list of the partnerships receiving the subcontracts, please visit our website at http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/training.html. Abstracts of the partnerships will be posted by the end of October.

READING SUMMIT

On September 18-19, 1998, the U.S. Department of Education hosted a Reading Summit at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Fifty-seven chief state school officers were invited to send a team of seven individuals to this summit. Over 50 states and territories brought teams. Approximately 110 national organizations, the Comprehensive Centers, Regional Education Laboratories, and Secretary?s Regional Representatives were also invited to send one representative. We also invited Members of Congress, other Federal Agencies, and the National Research Council. Over 550 people participated in the summit.

The purpose of the summit was to disseminate the findings from the National Research Council report, "Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children," and to get these findings into the classroom. Secretary Riley and Harvard Professor Catherine Snow spoke at the opening plenary session. The Secretary spoke about the importance of reading while Dr. Snow gave an overview of the report.

State teams were asked to provide the Department with the following information: (1) the two key next steps they will take to follow-up work on the summit and (2) how the Department can support them in their efforts. The data we received will guide the Department in our follow-up and next steps to the summit.

For more information on the Reading Summit, including the Secretary's remarks and team reports, please see the new Reading Summit website at www.ed.gov/inits/readingsummit/ or call (202) 401-8888.

IMPROVING AMERICA?S SCHOOLS CONFERENCES

The U.S. Department of Education is pleased to announce the 1998 Regional Conferences on Improving America's Schools, scheduled in three locations this fall.

We hope you will join us for three days of learning, networking, and action planning.

Participants will:

• Gather important resource information about funding opportunities, specific programs, and comprehensive school reform;

• Learn about practical strategies and models on how to align and integrate federal, state, and local programs and resources, including those for special populations;

• Develop a better understanding of how comprehensive school reform promotes equity and excellence;

• Discover how to better utilize the U.S. Department of Education's technical assistance network and resources; and

• Gain an understanding of the Administration's priorities and initiatives and how they relate to state and local efforts.

On the first day of each conference there will be a breakout session on America Reads. During this session, local practitioners will share strategies they have used to improve reading achievement in their schools and communities.

On the second day of each conference, there will be four different sessions focusing on reading. One will give a comprehensive overview of the National Research Council's report Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children and will give audience members the opportunity to interact with a researcher from the study?s panel. The other three sessions will focus on early childhood, ensuring that all children learn to read, and school organization strategies to ensure that children learn to read.

The locations and dates of the conference are:

Space is still available at each of these conferences, but filling quickly! For more information and to register, visit the conference website at http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/iasconferences/ or call 1-800-203-5494.

RESOURCES FOR AMERICA READS PROGRAMS

Enclosed with this issue of the FWS UPDATE is a magazine called The Tutor, published by the LEARNS (Linking Education and America Reads through National Service) partners. LEARNS provides training and technical assistance to Corporation for National Service funded, education focused projects all across the nation. On page 12 of The Tutor you will see a list of your local LEARNS partners. You are encouraged to call upon them for advice about training and technical assistance. We are pleased to announce that this quarterly publication will come to you by way of the FWS UPDATE from now on! Thank you, LEARNS!

A sample package of the new resources that have been developed by the Corporation for National Service to assist programs in recruiting tutors for America Reads is also enclosed. The materials convey the national scope of America Reads and allow you to insert local information to personalize them for recruitment. You are encouraged to use the materials and order more if you find them useful.

The package consists of:

• 1 ? camera-ready logo slick
• 1 ? tutor recruitment advertising slick
• 1 ? tutor recruitment brochure
• 1 ? 8 1/2" x 11" black & white poster
• 1 ? 11" x 17" color poster
• 1 ? order form for additional materials (and America Reads stickers and banners)

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 were enclosed in the September 1998 FWS UPDATE. You may order these free-of-charge materials by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN. (You will also be able to find them on our website soon.)

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.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Children?s Book Week is November 16-22. For more information call the Children?s Book Council at (212) 966-1990.

November 2 is National Family Literacy Day. For more information, call the National Center for Family Literacy at (502) 584-1133.

FEDERAL WORK STUDY ON-LINE DIRECTORY

Yet another plea for those of you who have not already done so to enter your program into the America Reads Federal Work Study On-Line Directory or update your current posting. Entering your program into the directory will allow interested members of your community as well as other colleges and universities to access your program?s contact names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. It will also increase your exposure to the public and may draw attention of the press, potential partners, and more. The directory will also provide you with new and exciting ideas that you may want to incorporate into your own programs and plans. To enter your program into the directory:

• Go to the America Reads home page at www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/
• Click on "Federal Work-Study On-Line Directory" (located on the left-hand side bar)
• Click on "On-Line Directory Sign-Up Form"
• Input the requested information and answer the optional questions
• Click on the "Submit" button

For those submissions received by July 1, 1998, additions have been posted. The new deadline for submissions for the On-Line Directory is September 30, 1998. Those will be posted by mid October.

AN AMERICA READS SNAPSHOT

Michelle Acosta, a student at the University of Texas at El Paso, was assigned to tutor a third grader named Brittney who, like many low achievers, was bored and uninterested in reading.

After much frustration, Michelle tried to find out how to keep Brittney's interest. Horses. So Michelle went to the library and found a book of Native American folktales, and the child seemed to mildly enjoy the stories about horses and harvesting corn.

Determined to breakthrough to the angry little girl, Michelle found a recipe for cornbread, and brought the ingredients and a toaster oven to the class! She coached Brittney to read the recipe and follow the instructions to make the bread.

Soon the sweet smell of baking cornmeal wafted through the school, as did the thrilled voice of the newly inspired Brittney. She ran down the hall holding a hot piece of buttered cornbread, shouting, "Look! Look what I did! I read the recipe with Michelle! Nobody ever told me there was a reason to read. I can COOK if I can read!"

The smile that beamed from her young face matched that of her tutor?s. It was an America Reads moment, a turning point for both the tutor and the child.

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