1. Community Partners Help Every Child Get Ready to Read

2. Reading is an essential life skill. We read to learn, to pursue personal and professional goals, and to be inspired and entertained. Learning to read is a primary focus of the first years of school. However, learning to read begins long before children start school. We learn to read, and then we read to learn.

3. National research studies have shown that a significant percentage of children enter kindergarten without the early literacy skills needed to learn to read. Not all children who start kindergarten have the pre-requisite skills they need to learn to read.

4. In 2000, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA) responded to this national need. ALSC and PLA partnered with researchers and reading experts to develop Every Child Ready to Read ® @ your library. ® Public libraries support lifelong learning, beginning at birth.

5. Why is it important that children develop early literacy skills? Children who start kindergarten with these skills have an advantage. They are ready to learn to read. Children with weak early literacy skills struggle to learn to read.

6. Investing time and other resources in early literacy has long-term benefits. Early literacy is an investment in our children and their future. Children who start school ready to learn to read achieve higher levels of reading and academic success than other children. Studies have shown that high quality early education could result in as much as a 16% annual rate of return on the initial investment. This includes lower costs to educate children who are ready to learn, reduced crime and social problems, and higher levels of income over the life of a child.* *From “A Proposal for Achieving High Returns on Early Childhood Development” by Rob Grunewald and Arthur Rolnick, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, March 2006.

7. The investment begins with parents and other caregivers who learn how to develop their children’s early literacy skills. Every Child Ready to Read ® is a parent education initiative.

8. Why are parents so important? Parents and other important caregivers are in the best position to help children get ready to read. Parents are a child’s first teacher. They know their children best. Children learn best by doing, and they love doing things with their parents and other important adults in their lives.

9. Every Child Ready to Read ® Every Child Ready to Read ® uses five early literacy practices that parents and children can enjoy together while helping children get ready to read. Based on research

10. Five simple practices help children get ready to read. ECRR helps parents understand how to use five familiar practices to develop early literacy skills.

11. The five early literacy practices: The five early literacy practices can be done anywhere. They don’t take much time. Can be used with children from birth to age five. Are easy to incorporate into everyday activities. Are fun for children and parents!

12. Every Child Ready to Read ® emphasizes the impact environment has on developing literacy skills. Children’s home environment can help them get ready to read.

13. Public libraries are wonderful places where children get ready to read. We have many resources to help children develop early literacy skills: At the library, children and parents can talk, sing, read, write, and play. Books Music CDs Educational DVDs Storytimes and other programs

14. The library has programs to help parents and other caregivers learn about the five early literacy practices.

15. The library has programs that parents, caregivers, and children can enjoy together while they learn about the five early literacy practices.

16. We want to reach every parent and caregiver in our community so they can learn how to help their children get ready to read.

17. We’d like to talk to you about how we can partner to help get every child ready to read. Let’s invest together in the future of our children. We invite you to explore our Cruise into Kindergarten Online GameCruise into Kindergarten Online Game http://pacruisetok.org