A Partnership to Ensure Early Literacy for All!
By Earl Martin Phalen, CEO, Reach Out and Read
Many of America’s parents are not reading aloud to their children.
In fact, fewer than half (48 percent) of young children in the United State are read to daily. The percentage of children read to daily drops even lower (to 36 percent) among low-income families, whose children face the highest risk of literacy problems.
Why aren’t they reading? There are parents who have low literacy rates themselves and don’t think they have the skills to effectively read aloud. (In actuality, a parent who talks about pictures in a book or even sings to a child can help develop early language skills.)
There are families who live in poverty and lack money for new books, time to read in between jobs, and access to public libraries. And there are parents who were not read to as children themselves and may not realize the tremendous value of reading to and spending that quality one-on-one time with their children.
That’s where Reach Out and Read comes in. Since 1989, we have been on the ground in communities across the country promoting the importance of reading. Through a network of more than 28,000 pediatricians who serve as trusted messengers to families, we are empowering parents to take control of their children’s futures.
Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.
Our early literacy intervention begins at the 6-month checkup and continues through age five, with a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities. Reach Out and Read serves more than four million children annually via more than 4,900 hospitals, health centers, and pediatric clinics in all 50 states.
We are “immunizing” children against illiteracy in the critical years before they enter school, and ensuring that our nation’s children achieve their potential in school – and in life. There is so much work to be done! Our pediatricians often tell me that the Reach Out and Read books they give to a child are the only books in a family’s home.
We could not impact so many children and families without the incredible support of partners such as Knowledge Universe. We have come together in many ways:
- To mark the “Month of the Military Child” in April, Knowledge Universe’s KinderCare donated 10,000 books to support Reach Out and Read’s work on 55 U.S. military bases.
- Reach Out and Read is a beneficiary of KinderCare’s “Read.Share.Give.” initiative, and was the featured nonprofit in a PSA about Knowledge Universe’s work around early literacy.
- We were thrilled to welcome Knowledge Universe officials to Reach Out and Read’s national conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this year to provide expertise and ideas to our leaders.
And perhaps, most importantly, Knowledge Universe and Reach Out and Read are working together to remind parents to read to their children on a daily basis.
A child’s future success starts at home with parents who have the desire – and who are enabled with the tools – to make sure their child is on the road to a bright future.
It all starts with reading from birth.
For reading tips, doctor-recommended books, and other early literacy resources, click here. Follow Reach Out and Read on Twitter and on Facebook.
About Earl Martin Phalen
Earl Martin Phalen became the Chief Executive Officer of Reach Out and Read in September 2009. In this role, Phalen leads the Reach Out and Read organization, providing vision and direction for its early literacy promotion efforts nationwide. Previously, he was the CEO of Building Educated Leaders for Life (BELL) a national nonprofit organization he cofounded in 1992. He is a recipient of a Mind Trust Fellowship and is also the Founder and Chair of Summer Advantage USA, which combats summer learning loss. Phalen received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
