Off tO a GOOd Start Richmond Community Foundation recognizes the importance of early childhood literacy It may not be too surprising to hear that children in affluent communities are more likely to read at or above their current grade’s reading level. Is that because affluent children are smarter? Or, perhaps, because they have greater resources for learning? Well, the Richmond Community Foundation (RCF) and their President/CEO Jim Becker have done their research and have found some numbers that will surprise you: “One of the national statistics is that in most affluent communities, schools and families have about 13 books per child, on average,” said Becker. “In our communities it’s about 1 book for every 10 or 12 kids.” The West Contra Costa Literacy Coalition was launched by RCF last November with the goal of ensuring that all children in West County read at their current grade level by 3rd grade. Phase 1: promote literacy. Lately you may have noticed some bookshelves popping up in places where you wouldn’t normally expect them, often in laundromats and other places where families could end up spending long periods of time… “Our early strategy is to make books and reading part of an everyday habit in our community,” said Becker. The By Matt Larson more books out there equals a greater likelihood they’ll actually be read! “One of the things we know, as community members and as parents, is that we can’t actually teach teachers how to teach,” Becker explains. “But there are things we can do to support literacy in the community and help teachers in that way.” In addition to making it easier to find books, the Coalition is also focusing on bettering attendance in school. “Chronic attendance, in which kids miss 10 percent of the school year or more—those kids unfortunately never get a chance to catch up because they’re always behind,” Becker said. “If we can get kids to school, we know the teachers can teach them.” RCF has already met with Assembly member Tony Thurmond to discuss possible attendance incentives for kids and families, and they plan to implement some parent and community strategies as well. A third area of focus is maintaining literacy education over the summertime by incorporating it into summer camps and classes, which RCF has already put to the test. “This was our first project last summer before we started rolling out the whole literacy plan in November,” said Becker. “We actually had a significant 1-2 grade growth in students who participated in this versus kids who did not, in terms of their reading scores, so that’s really promising.”
Contra Costa Marketplace - Aug 2016
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