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Raising a Reader


		Pictured is Public Service Chief Operating Officer Stuart Solomon reading to the children at Hugo Early Head Start. PSO has given Smart Start Tri-County $45,000 over a three year period for Raising A Reader kits to be put in classrooms in the three county area.

Raising A Reader (RAR) is a nationally recognized early literacy program that fosters healthy brain development, parent-child bonding and early literacy skills critical for kindergarten success by engaging parents in a daily read-aloud routine with their children from birth to age five. Through a child-driven process, Raising A Reader rotates bright red bags filled with the highest quality age-appropriate books into homes each week. The book rotation, combined with research-based training and a strong connection to the local library, motivates families to establish "book cuddling" routines with their little ones, leading to a love of books that lasts a lifetime. In a release from Little Dixie Head Start for June 2007 literacy skills had risen across the board in its facilities in all counties. We feel that Raising A Reader had a major impact on these figures. Raising A Reader has been funded in 77 classrooms throughout the Tri-County area. This includes all LDCAA Early Head Starts and Head Starts and Pre-K classrooms in all 28 school districts in the three counties. Programs that are implementing RAR include Oklahoma Parents as Teachers (OPAT), Even Start, Early Head Start, Head Start, pre-kindergarten classrooms and area child care centers. Program cost translates to $35/child over a five-year period. Funds for materials are provided through various funding sources including Smart Start Oklahoma, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, RAR, Dollar General, and Early Reading First (Little Dixie Project ROAR). Independent evaluations validate this research-based model, underscoring its significant impact in increasing the pre-literacy skills needed to start kindergarten.