Fall 2015 Intern
When I was in elementary school, I
was one of those kids who got overly excited for the annual book fair. The
night before, I’d spend a lot of time perusing the fair’s flier, looking at all
the books that were going to be offered. Being the age that I was, I figured
every school had a book fair each year. I didn’t know that many schools
throughout the country lack the resources to provide books for their students.
Fortunately, United Way is pairing up with The National Association of
Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and Scholastic to provide books and
encourage reading at some of the country’s most underserved elementary schools.
The initiative, which is called the
United Way Club Connect
Adopt-a-School program, was developed by
Bill O’Dowd and has been in the works for years. It officially debuted
in February 2015 after being tested in several cities, and represents the first
time United Way has worked with high-poverty schools all over the United States.
Research has shown that reading by third grade is crucial for academic success
later on, so a focus on early reading is key. A study conducted by the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2013 revealed that only 32 percent
of boys and 38 percent of girls are reading proficiently by fourth grade. If
that’s not troubling enough, third graders who do not read at grade level are four times more likely to drop out
of high school.
So what’s to be expected from the
Adopt-a-School initiative? Schools that are chosen to participate will receive
over 400 books from Scholastic, access to online reading resources and
engagement tools for parents and guardians. Each school will be equipped with a
Reading Oasis, which is a place for students and their parents or guardians to
have access to the donated learning materials at any time. Each Reading Oasis
will provide books on CD as well. All of the learning materials will be geared
toward pre-K through third grade in order to emphasize the importance of early
literacy. Also, each student will have access to a membership to the United Way
Club Connect website, which will help students remain engaged with reading
during after-school hours, including the summer. United Way will also send
parents and guardians emails with coupons, tips to help their children with
reading and other incentives for engaging with the program.
Currently, it costs $10,000 to
implement the Adopt-a School program in each school. However, there is hope that
the initiative will spread across the country, as every student deserves the
chance to love reading.
Did You Know?
There are many great reading
materials out there, especially in the form of apps. MemeTales offers picture books with audio components
to help beginners read along. StoryKit
(which is only available for iOS at this time) gives you the chance to create
your own electronic storybook. Both apps are free!
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