Richmond Literacy Program Expanded: Books
To Prevent Summer Learning Loss
Bring Me A Book, East Bay Community Foundation,
West Contra Costa County Unified School District Partner to Help 4,200 Kids
The three-year literacy program to reach 4,200 kindergarten students in Richmond public schools with new in-class libraries and literacy training is being expanded to provide books for summer reading.
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Volunteers at the Richmond Public Library in May stuffed three books into more than 1,200 book bags that will be distributed to Richmond kindergarten students on or before the last day of class before summer break. The books are intended to spur summer reading in order to combat “summer learning loss,” the well documented phenomenon in which students lose certain academic skills and knowledge during the summer vacation period.
Announced in October of 2010 as the result of a partnership put together by the East Bay Community Foundation with the Chamberlin Family Foundation, Bring Me a Book, and the West Contra Costa Unified School District, the “Richmond Kindergarten Library Initiative” has provided 49 classrooms with 1,470 books affecting 53 teachers and about 1,200 kindergarten students. More than 330 parents and caregivers have participated in 36 reading workshops in which 664 books have been given away.
The program is funded through a $272,000 grant from the Chamberlin Family Foundation to the East Bay Community Foundation, which pays for the work of Bring Me A Book providing in-class libraries and literacy services. The program is intended to provide bookcase libraries with 30 new, hardcover, bilingual books plus annual book replenishments for the children and families of all 70 kindergarten classrooms in all 19 Richmond schools, thus reaching 4,200 children and 5,230 parents and caregivers. The program is also providing literacy workshops for parents, caregivers and teachers to learn the importance of reading aloud and ways to create a daily read-aloud routine with their children.
