John Monfredo: Worcester: The City That Reads Kicks into High Gear

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Saturday, September 27, 2014

John Monfredo, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

A child who is not reading at grade level by the end of the third grade is in danger of not catching up and will enter middle school and then high school behind and struggling and possibly becoming a dropout. According to research, reading proficiency by third grade is the most important predictor of high school graduation and career success. Yet every year more than 80 percent of low-income children miss this crucial milestone.

This is the achievement gap you have read about for across our nation children from poor families of all ethnic groups continue to fall behind because they can’t read well enough.  As a community we need to focus on reading and guarantee that every child can read at or above grade level by the end of the third grade.  The research is not new for much has been written on this topic. The evidence continues to point out that the third grade is an important pivot point in the child’s education.  It is the time when students shift from learning to read to beginning to learn. 

Thus, nine years ago as retired educators my wife, Anne-Marie and I started Worcester: the City that Reads.  It was our intent to call attention to this crisis in education and to try to do something about it by alerting the community through an awareness campaign.  One of activities that we continue to do is collect books for children preK to grade 8 and put them into the hands of children for summer reading.  In nine years, with the assistance of the community, we have collected over 200,000 books and placed them into schools, social agencies and into the hands of our children.  Now we are working with a host of partners to make a difference in the lives of our young readers.

As a result, the awareness factor has been raised and more and more reading partners have been added to the mix.  The Worcester Education Collaborative headed by Dr. Jennifer Davis Carey, executive director, has focused on this educational issue and has brought in community partners to deal with this problem.  Led by Patty Eppinger, incoming chairwomen of the Worcester Education Collaborative, Alexandra Montgomery from Hanover Insurance (on loan using the resources of Hanover Insurance), Dr. Carey and Margaret Leroux along with a host of other partners are leading the charge on this issue.

After months of meetings and planning on October 3rd a day long rally on reading will take place.  The emphasis of the campaign will be asking parents to have their child read for 20 minutes a day.  The theme: 20 minutes, every child, every day. Again, looking at the research, a child who reads 20 minutes a day, five days a week, will score on average, in the 90th percentile on standardized tests, while one who reads for five minutes a day will score in the 50the percentile.

 At the Worcester Public Library a Reading Rally will take place at 8:45 a.m.  Characters such as Jake from the Bravehearts and a host of Book Characters will be running out with “Sign the Pledge Poster” to read for 20 minutes a day.  Tied into the Reading rally will be the anniversary celebration of World Smile Day headed up by Bill Wallace from the Worcester Historical Museum.   Yes, reading and smiling certainly go together!  In addition, a number of activities will take place inside and out of the library with refreshments and prizes being given out.  You will also see a number of costumed characters in the library and outside on the Worcester Common.

Then at the Hanover Theater at 9:30, children will have an opportunity to make their own puppets.  There will also be a story time area and bookmarks and stickers will be given out to the children.  In addition, the Worcester Family Partnership will be giving out children’s books.  There will also be reading tips brochures for parents and children will meet Queen Elsa and Princess Anna.  Chocolate chip cookies courtesy of the Worcester Technical School culinary department will be given to all guests at the event.  Also, there will be a number of speakers welcoming the crowd and talking about the importance of literacy in our city including Bill Wallace of the Worcester Historical Museum, Patty Eppinger of Worcester Educational Collaborative, and our city manager, Ed Augustus.

At City Hall at 11:45, after opening remarks, I will be reading “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie”.   There will also be many reading prizes for children to take home.  On the plaza of City Hall there will be a StoryWalk exhibit for the children and parents to follow and read.   You will also find roaming Book Characters and lots of opportunities to have children take photos with them.

More exciting events will take place at 1:20 at the Sustainability Hub at National Grid.   The Boys and Girls Club members will participate followed by drawing giveaways of iPads, a high-energy dryer and more.  The EcoTarium will have a full day of reading fun with story time with the animals to exploring nature.  Check the time and events taking place at the EcoTarium by calling them at 508 929-2700.

Special events will continue around 2:00 p.m. at St. Vincent’s Hospital with UNUM assisting in a Healthy Read –A-Long, healthy eating and exercising connected to reading, more reading book giveaways and lots of healthy snacks.  Other special reading activities will take place at all the Worcester Public Schools elementary schools. The Boys and Girls Club will be hosting “Celebrity Readers;” Electronic Signs will be in place at the DCU and at Foley Stadium.  WRTA has already placed in their buses an electronic message… “Kids who read Succeed,” and the Nativity School will have 35 minutes of silent reading.  Other partners in this event are the Telegram and Gazette, UMass Medical, United Way, Quinisgamond Community College, Girls, Inc. Big Brother, Big Sister Organization, Books for Babies, and many other organizations.

Remember, this is only the beginning for sustainability is needed to achieve the long-range goal of reading success.  Let’s all do our part in moving forward with our goal getting our children to read on grade level by the end of grade three and in turning our city into “Worcester: the City that Reads.”  I end with this quote from one of my favorite children’s book author’s, Tomie dePaola: "Reading is important, because if you can read, you can learn anything about everything and everything about anything."

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