Powered by Greenville First Steps
GREENVILLE COUNTY
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE Greg Dover Augusta Heights Baptist Church Rebekah Cobb Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery Leesa Nelson Compass of Carolina Keller Anne Ruble Institute for Child Success Karen Rigsby Fellowship Greenville
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What is Read Greenville PAGE 4
Importance of Reading Daily PAGE 5
October Book Distribution Event PAGE 6
Tips for Reading to Your Child PAGE 7
March Distribution PAGE 8
Crossword Challenge PAGE 9
Read Greenville Tales CD PAGE 10
Literacy Projects PAGE 11
Awareness & Getting Involved For more information and how you can get involved. Contact Anne Lee Buck annelee@greenvillefirststeps.org Š SUMMER 2016. Read Greenville. Powered by Greenville First Steps. Published in Greenville, South Carolina, by Community Journals.
Juli Morrow First Baptist Michelle Greco Greenville Health System Lee Turza Greenville Library System Carol Browning Greenville Literacy Association Carole Williams Greenville Technical College Robin Longino Julie Valentine Center Mandy Black Little Steps John Roy Pelham Road Baptist Church Lee Yarborough Propel HR and Read UP Ansel Sanders Public Education Partners Drew Laurens Reach Out and Read Julie Meredith Safe Harbor Kelly Byers The Family Effect Sydney Williams The Idea Group Greg Von De Voorde United Way of Greenville
Read Greenville is a community-wide initiative designed to increase the awareness of the importance of reading daily.
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FORWARD:
WHAT IS READ GREENVILLE Read Greenville is a collaborative community-wide informational campaign launched in 2014 by Greenville First Steps that aims to increase awareness of the importance of reading every day. Read Greenville strives to improve access to books and print environments, provide opportunities for local organizations to emphasize reading and promote local literacy events and activities. Since 2014, Read Greenville has • Distributed 85,000 books FREE to local organizations and individuals • Produced 5,000 literacy CDs • Worked with over 100 community organizations
READ GREENVILLE
• Shared the importance of reading daily with over 50,000 families
Visit www.ReadGreenville.com for more information
GREENVILLE COUNTY
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IMPORTANT
READ GREENVILLE ENCOURAGES FAMILIES TO READ DAILY The Little Engine that Could … Peter Rabbit … The Kissing Hand … Horton Hears a Who … Can you remember your favorite book – one that you, or you and your parents, or you and your kids, have read a million times? Odds are you remember the book, but also memories come back to a place and time where the book was shared and who was there to share it with you. Maybe in a nursery room, a classroom, on a school bus, or in a tree hut. That’s the great thing about books – they allow for special connection between the readers and the story, but also between the readers and one another. But it is not simply an emotional connection, or a pre-bedtime calming activity. Books read to children at an early age introduce words, language, values, and learning opportunities to young minds that will impact their entire lifetime. There is no intervention, program or service that is a better predictor to High School graduation and post High School success than the reading rates of 7-8 year olds. In fact, we can look at 3rd grade test scores and tell you who is likely, and unlikely, to graduate from High School and who will have challenges. Whether you are passionate about ending poverty, housing, economic stability, Educational attainment, or Social justice- NOTHING has a more reliable impact on individuals than access to books at an early age. Children need an average of 10 books in the home to make progress towards literacy milestones. And yet- of the 37,000 High Poverty families in Greenville County, we estimate each has an average of two books in the household, and one is the phone book.
Read Greenville is a coordinated community messaging campaign spearheaded by Greenville First Steps, with a strong host of supporting partners including the Greenville County Schools, and over 100 other community organizations. Our collective effort is to improve literacy and learning opportunities for children and families. We want to take this time to celebrate the opportunities that have been created in this community to provide access to books to families across the county. Please look through the insert, find a way you, your church, your business can get involved. Join us as we work to measurably improve literacy outcomes for children across Greenville County. Most importantly: Read Daily!
The more we are exposed to books, and the earlier we are exposed to books, the greater the impact.
DEREK LEWIS
Executive Director Greenville First Steps
DR. DEEDEE WASHINGTON Associate Superintendent for Academics Greenville County Schools
Read Greenville is a community-wide initiative designed to increase the awareness of the importance of reading daily.
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GIVING BACK – OCTOBER
OVER 30,000 BOOKS DISTRIBUTED ACROSS GREENVILLE COUNTY
This past October, over 30,000 new, high quality books were distributed across Greenville County. Read Greenville, in partnership with TD Bank and the national nonprofit First Book.
George I. Theisen Family YMCA
As part of TD Bank’s “Books on Wheels” program, this distribution event was designed to bring new, free books into disadvantaged areas. Volunteers from TD Bank gathered on Thursday with Read Greenville to sort the 20,000 books and they also helped distribute the free books to more than 300 teachers and educators.
Greenville Literacy Association
“TD Bank is committed to supporting literacy efforts and believes that providing access to books is one of the greatest ways we can positively promote reading among disadvantaged children,” said Cal Hurst, Upstate Regional Vice President for TD Bank. “We are fortunate to have partners like First Book and Greenville First Steps who value literacy and are willing to use their knowledge, resources and energy to help make programs like Books on Wheels possible.” The following organizations received books: A Child's Haven Augusta Heights Baptist Church Bethlehem After-School Enrichment Program Bob Jones University Caine Halter Family YMCA City Kids Child Development Center Greenville County Department of Social Services Eastside Family YMCA
Greenville County Schools Greenville First Steps Greenville Health System YMCA Greenville Little Theatre Greenville Technical College Child Development Center Greenville Technical College Library Kids R Kids Little Folks of Forth Presbyterian Little Steps Long Branch Youth Development Meyer Center for Special Children Mitchell Road Elementary Monarch Elementary School Mt. Zion Christian School Nurse Family Partnership Pendleton Place Pleasant Valley Connection Public Education Parnters Quest Leadership Academy Reach Out and Read Reynolds Day Care Safe Kids Upstate Share Head Start Small Impressions Child Development Center St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School SC First Steps Sterling Elementary School The Children's Clinic-Duncan Chapel The Children’s Museum of the Upstate The Parenting Place Upcountry History Museum – Furman University USC Upstate Greenville and Mt. Creek Baptist Church
Furman University CDC GREENVILLE COUNTY
SUPPORTED BY:
Greenview Child Development Center
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HELPFUL HINTS
TIPS FOR READING TO YOUR CHILD • Change your pitch, change our rhythm. Don’t be a robot. Reading with inflection and expression makes a book much more fun to hear. Encourage your child to do the same when reading to you. This also helps your child become a stronger reader. • Every sentence has a clue. Help your child learn how to use context clues within a sentence to decode and figure out unfamiliar words. • Read it all. Spice it up by having your child read both fiction and nonfiction. • Wait for it. Give your child time to think. Wait 10 seconds before giving your child the pronunciation of a word or answer to a question.
• Ask higher-level questions. After questions that go beyond literal questions. Ask questions that have children infer meaning, explain a cause and effect, or detail a sequence of events. • Read every day. Read aloud to your child and have your child read aloud to you. Either way, make it a daily habit. Lead by example and let your children catch you reading daily, too. • Start with a smile. Your child will be excited about reading if you are. Never use reading as a punishment. Smile and open a book together.
Little Folks of Fourth Presbyterian Church Child Development Center Degreed Teachers | SC Licensure | ABC Quality School Low Teacher to Child Ratios NAEYC Standards Cost is $18.75 per day Early and Late Stay Available Deborah Putnam, Director 703 E Washington St., Greenville, SC 29601
• Make predictions. Have your child predict the story based on the cover art. Ask what do you know and what do you want to know before you read. Then, ask what did you learn after you read. You can even stop half way through the story and have your child predict the ending. • Leave the electronics at home. Encourage your child to bring a book along for a car trip or doctors appointment instead of technology. • Wait for it. Give your child time to think. Wait 10 seconds before giving your child the pronunciation of a word or answer to a question.
864-235-1754
Read Greenville is a community-wide initiative designed to increase the awareness of the importance of reading daily.
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GIVING BACK – MARCH
40,000 BOOKS DISTRIBUTED IN MARCH 2016 GREENVILLE COUNTY
In order to ensure that the children in Greenville County who need books the most have access to them, Greenville First Steps reached out to local partners who work with high-poverty, low-income children aged 0-15. BELL-Building Educated Leaders for Life Berea Middle School Bob Jones University Dunbar Child Development Center Golden Strip Child Development Center Greenview Child Development Center Greenville County Department of Social Services Greenville Early College Greenville First Steps Lakeview Middle School Mentor Greenville/Frazee Center Northwest Crescent Child Development Center Overbrook Child Development Center Public Education Partners Riley Child Development Center SHARE Head Start Tanglewood Middle School Most of these schools and centers work with children who are reading below grade level and have little to no books in the home. In addition, Read Greenville was excited to pass out 2,000 books at a Swamp Rabbit Hockey Team game. The books, sponsored by Lewis and Company Real Estate Professionals, were handed out throughout the game to children in attendance. Some children were even seen reading their books instead of watching the game! GREENVILLE COUNTY
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Public Education Partners Supports OnTrack Greenville With Books As part of the OnTrack Greenville Middle Grades initiative, Public Education Partners provides training and coaching for teachers in Greenville County Title 1 Middle Schools. PEP coaches train and support teachers in integrating literacy strategies into their instruction. As a result of ReadGreenville, Public Education Partners was able to further support such efforts at Berea Middle School, Lakeview Middle School, and Tanglewood Middle School, as well as Greenville Early College, by supplying 12,000 free, new age-appropriate books. The schools are using these books in multiple ways, including as incentives for students and building classroom libraries. Public Education Partners also connected ReadGreenville with a fellow OnTrack Greenville partner, BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life). BELL provides a free, educationally enriching summer program for rising 6th grade students at Berea, Lakeview, and Tanglewood middle schools. Thanks to ReadGreenville, BELL now has 4,500 new books to support summer programming to ensure 6th graders enter middle school ready to learn and on track towards high school graduation.
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ENGAGING
READ GREENVILLE CROSSWORD CHALLENGE Here at Read Greenville, we know literacy is about more than reading books. We know that when families spend time engaged in a literacy-rich activity, children build greater vocabularies and have a more positive attitude towards reading. This exposure helps provide the tools necessary to be successful in school.
In early October, Read Greenville partnered with 4 local Chick-fil-A restaurants to host a Crossword Challenge night. Families were invited to visit a participating Chick-fil-A and work together to solve a custom crossword puzzle. Everyone who turned their crossword puzzle in at the end of their meal received a free Icedream速!
Chick-fil-A Pelham Road
Chick-fil-A Woodruff Road
Chick-fil-A Haywood Road
Chick-fil-A Cherrydale Point
Read Greenville is a community-wide initiative designed to increase the awareness of the importance of reading daily.
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NEW FEATURE
READ GREENVILLE TALES CD PROJECT This year, Read Greenville has a brand new feature, Read Greenville Tales: A collection of stories and songs as told by fathers. Sponsored by ManUPstate, Read Greenville Tales is a CD that emphasizes the unique role fathers play in their child’s life. The Read Greenville Tales CD project features recorded stories, songs, nursery rhymes and fatherhood tips recorded by fathers and male role models in our community. 5,000 CDs will be distributed throughout the community through Read Greenville and ManUPstate Partners. Read Greenville will feature the audio tracks and even some bonus material online for families to be able to access the files at any time.
ManUPstate is a collaborative, community initiative to engage men in efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls. ManUPstate seeks to give men a mindset and vocabulary to take responsibility for ending violence against women and to model healthy attitudes about what it means to ‘be a man’. To learn more, visit www.manupstate.org.
P GREENVILLE COUNTY
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PASSION FOR READING
NATIONAL LITERACY MONTH PARTNER GRANTS This past September during National Literacy Month, Read Greenville promoted a passion for reading and literacy by awarding 32 local organizations with grants. Over 6,000 books were provided to the local nonprofits, churches, child development centers, schools and organizations to increase access to books in our community. Through the 32 organizations, over 10,000 children were exposed to literacy through projects such as Literacy Nights at schools, literacy take home book bags, literacy workshops for parents, and classroom libraries.
Read Greenville is a community-wide initiative designed to increase the awareness of the importance of reading daily.
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OUR PLAN
INCREASE AWARENESS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF LITERACY Greenville First Steps, through Read Greenville, is excited to continue to increase awareness about the importance of literacy and reading every day. Throughout the following year, Greenville First Steps plans to: – Provide awareness for community engagement to captivate the community in the spirit of Read Greenville. – Provide books to low income children and families to insure that all communities in Greenville have greater access to books. – Provide research, trainings and education for literacy professionals, community members, and families to ensure that the community understands the importance of reading daily and has the tools to ensure that best practice models are being implemented. – Provide events and activities for families and educators to participate in celebrating and understanding the importance of reading daily.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED: • Learn more about sponsoring a book order (Between $500-$15,000) • Host a book distribution • Organize or host a literacy training or event • Volunteer at Read Greenville literacy events • Become a Read Greenville advocate (implement messaging within your organization) • Assist with logistics of book delivery and storage • Join Read Greenville planning team
Please contact Anne Lee Buck for more information at AnneLee@greenvillefirststeps.org.
GREENVILLE COUNTY
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