Above, United Way of the Lakeshore volunteer Mary Payne reading during an event.
Reading Month: Strengthening Reading Skills in Muskegon County
BY CHRISTINE ROBERE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, UNITED WAY OF THE LAKESHORE
We read throughout the day, from the moment we wake up until the minute our head hits the pillow. Medicine bottles, street signs, restaurant menus, memos from colleagues, postings on the bulletin board at work, our kids homework, the newspaper, bedtime stories – navigating our day is easier with good reading skills.
“Reading is the single most important skill necessary for a happy, productive and successful life.” This quote from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is at the heart of why United Way of the Lakeshore is proud to support and partner with agencies and programs that strengthen reading skills in our community. Adults in our community who struggle with reading or who never learned to read need support to learn this important skill.
Above, United Way of the Lakeshore Oceana County Director Barbara Sims reads to kids at a United Way reading event.
School Readiness: Imagination Library, Read Early Read Often, Reading Corps. Our young learners need to have a solid foundation in reading, in order to be successful students in all of their classes from pre-school to post-secondary education. Here are three key programs that address school readiness in our community. To learn more about how United Way of the Lakeshore is partnering with others to address this important issue, and to see results, click here.
Above, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library increases children's access to books..
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school. Having access to books is something many families may take for granted. But in many parts of our community, it’s not so easy.
Started in 1996 by country musician and author, Dolly Parton, this community-based program provides young children (ages 0-5) with free, age-appropriate books each month, delivered right to their home! It also supports parents and caregivers with literacy resources. Generous donors helped start the program in Muskegon County in 2014, and expand to Oceana County in 2017.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library continues to be supported by local donors interested in helping get our children started on the right path to educational success and a lifelong love of reading. The cost in our community per year per child is $25. Nichols, a local community leader, has offered to match all donations, up to $35,000 - just imagine how many books that will put in the hands of our littlest learners! To donate, or to register a child, visit unitedwaylakeshore.org/dpil.
Read Early Read Often. Young children who are read to are almost twice as likely to receive top reading scores, and those with the highest exposure to reading at home have advantages in spelling and alphabet knowledge through third grade.
Read Early Read Often is a countywide effort to urge parents, siblings, grand parents and community members to read to infants and toddlers. Reading every day, everything, everywhere will lead to success in school and in life.
Business, agency, education, library, media, faith, medical, government, and community partners have come together to spread the word about the importance of reading to children from birth. For more information visit http://www.muskegonisd.org/earlychildhood/rero/ or contact Allison Keessen, Read Early Read Often Coordinator, at (231) 767-7285.
Michigan Education Corps Reading Corps Michigan Education Corps works with students age three through grade three, ensuring each one has a chance to succeed. Their goal is to help every Michigan child become proficient by the end of third grade, through tutors using proven research-based instruction and practice to help struggling students reach their potential. Students in the program receive one-on-one tutoring in their own school, five days per week, over the course of the school year. Tutors identify each child’s challenges and create a specific tutoring schedule to help them catch up to their peers. United Way of the Lakeshore is also supporting a pilot program of the PreK Michigan Reading Corps program in Muskegon County, to provide supplemental language and literacy rich interventions for young children.
Do you want to make a difference in the lives of students in your own school district? Consider becoming a Literacy Tutor with the Michigan Education Corps, helping students become even better readers. They are accepting tutors who can make an everyday commitment; tutors are paid for their time and are provided with the support and training they need to be successful. The program follows the school calendar. Learn more at http://mieducationcorps.org. If you have questions, you can also call Karen Renkema at (616) 915-1165.
Above, Read Muskegon is located on Broadway Avenue in downtown Muskegon Heights.
Adult Literacy: Read Muskegon. One in six adults in the United States is functionally illiterate, reading at or below the 4th grade level. In Muskegon County, that translates to more than 21,000 adults. The adverse effects of illiteracy are felt in our economic, education, criminal justice, and healthcare systems. We are fortunate to have an organization in our community that is dedicated to helping everyone in our community with literacy skills. Read Muskegon is breaking the generational cycle of illiteracy by providing customized programs that meet the unique needs of their learners and building community partnerships to maximize our impact.
Read Muskegon has several approaches to addressing adult illiteracy:
• Standardized Tutor Training. They led the way in the creation of a comprehensive, research based training for literacy tutors now being used in many West Michigan counties. They train and manage a pool of highly trained tutors and provide them with individualized support, allowing each learner to receive personalized instruction.
• Literacy Labs. They are developing a drop-in literacy support service that will be placed in facilities throughout our community, including serving students at adult education facilities and parents at public schools and Head Start centers.
• Family Literacy Partnerships with several local agencies provide early-literacy training and literacy support to parents with young children.
Read Muskegon also links literacy to life skills through the EXIT Class, for incarcerated men, usually fathers; the West MI Works! Class, for parents currently enrolled in the PATH program at MI Works; and classes at the Muskegon County Jail for both men and women. These classes focus on family literacy, workplace literacy, and functional literacy (things like lease agreements, applications, credit cards, etc.)
To learn more about Read Muskegon, including how to get involved, visit their website at ReadMuskegon.org.
Helping ALICE. Improving literacy skills among our ALICE population will help us meet our bold goal of helping 10,000 more working families meet their basic needs by 2025, because literacy and education are foundations for a successful path in life. Celebrate March is Reading Month with us by helping to close the literacy gap in our community through giving, advocating, or volunteering in support of the important work being done by these and other partners.
United Way of the Lakeshore is uniting to inspire change and build thriving communities. Our Bold Goal – 10,000 more working families meet their basic needs by 2025. For more information, contact United Way of the Lakeshore at (231) 722-3134. Learn more about United Way of the Lakeshore at UnitedWayLakeshore.org, like the organization on Facebook and receive up to date information from Twitter at twitter.com/uwlakeshore.
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