Regional Director's Note

Quantum physics reminds us that our thoughts certainly can shape our reality. Political and spiritual activists affirm that our deeds count.  Yet, where in the working world do we witness people taking positive action - every single day?

 

I think I may know a few places. I've seen Reach Out and Read coordinators and child healthcare providers in clinics and practices across Vermont offer compassionate care - day in and day out. Focusing on one patient at a time, they know that to hand out a book and encourage parents to read aloud to their child is to positively affect the arc of that child's development, to be part of shaping a different educational future.

 

While Reach Out and Read may look different in every single Site, it works as well in Rutland as it does in Enosburg. Through an interesting mix of styles, ingenuity, and group effort emerges a state coalition of 48 Programs that has at its root a dedication and openheartedness that indeed is transformational. Turning children and families on to books and reading does make a difference! Thank you for all you do.

 

It has been a pleasure getting to know all of you as I travel the state making Site visits. If I haven't met you yet, don't worry; I'll be there soon!

 

Gretchen Hunsberger

Program Director, New England Region

Progress Reports due March 31st! 

 

Please log in to www.myROR.org to submit your latest progress report! As you know, your Program will receive its automatic shipment of books (your "sustainability award") ONLY IF your report is filed on time. The report covers the time period July 1-December 31, 2010.

 

Information we need?  How many books you've distributed, how many well-child visits, amounts you've contributed to your Program or were donated to it, etc. Any questions, please contact Nora.Murphy@reachoutandread.org or 617-455-0657.

NEW Provider Training 

 

We are fortunate to now have a new online provider training for our pediatricians, family physicians, and other child healthcare providers.

 

The 1.25 CME course is an excellent, self-guided training tool that incorporates several video vignettes of experienced primary care providers modeling Reach Out and Read best practices right in the exam room. This material will be helpful both to new providers beginning to incorporate Reach Out and Read into their practices, and also to experienced providers  looking for new ways to use books for developmental surveillance or to offer more cogent anticipatory guidance. Together, providers across Vermont can leverage these techniques to effectively change reading behaviors in the home and to help our most vulnerable children build their foundational literacy skills.

 

The new course is available at www.myror.org  and includes:

·  A review of evidence-based strategies to enhance development of language and other skills that  promote reading success.

·  Support for the importance of reading aloud and print-rich environments for the development of early literacy skills.

·  Recognition of the provider's ability to influence parents' attitudes and behaviors around reading aloud.

·  Strategies to evaluate and assess a child's developmental progress based on the child's interactions with a book.

·  Methods to combine early literacy promotion with other anticipatory guidance around development and language, stimulation and interaction, and using books to build daily routines and bedtime rituals.

 

A strong evidence base distinguishes Reach Out and Read from other early literacy interventions.  Fourteen peer-reviewed studies show that if the Reach Out and Read model is done with fidelity, we can increase the amount of time parents read to their children. Remarkably, our most vulnerable children will also make a six-month developmental gain in word recognition and vocabulary by the time they enter kindergarten. 

 

Thank you for taking this training as soon as possible. It is so important that the program model be fully implemented so as to ensure that our children receive these amazing benefits.  

 

Each provider needs personal login information to access this training, so please contact our Regional Director at Gretchen.Hunsberger@reachoutandread.org if you need your personal password.

 

 

Across the country, Reach Out and  Read health care providers impact the school readiness of 3.9 million children. Yet, like many programs that serve children, Reach Out and Read is at risk of losing its federal funding.

 

On March 4th, I -- along with over 100 Reach Out and Read state Program and Medical Directors -- recently attended Reach Out and Read's annual "Capitol Hill Day" to educate our newly elected legislators about the effectiveness of Reach Out and Read and also to lobby for continued federal funding for our all our Programs. We were a force to be reckoned with!

 

Impressively, 300 meetings were held with members of congress and/or their staffers. I met with staffers from Senator Sanders', Senator Leahy's, and Representative Welch's offices, all of whom are long-standing supporters of Reach OUt and Read.  

 

With our federal funding in jeopardy, our message that day was simple and direct: please advocate for the restoration of our federal funding by signing onto the Prescribe a Book Act (PABA), which would ensure a spot in the President's yearly budget and encouraged these legislators to personally champion our cause. Crucial, cost-effective interventions in the first years of life help save resources later on, and children who enter school ready to learn do better in school, and in life! Plus, a full "dose" of Reach Out and Read is remakably less than $100 per child for the entire five years!

 

An enormous thank you goes to Senators Leary and Sanders, who have both signed on as co-sponsors of PABA !  Our hope is that Congressman Welch will soon follow suit. You can help by calling the Congressman's Washington office to urge him to sign onto PABA, too. Elected officials need to hear from their constituents!

 

We also invite legislators to visit a Reach Out and Read Program when next in VT on recess.  If you would like to host a legislative Site visit at your Program, please contact me at Gretchen.Hunsberger@reachoutandread.org!

 

The Developmental Milestones bookmarks

have a new look!

 Brighter colors, larger images, yet ALL the same great facts!

 

Orders and payment must be received by March 31st

for May delivery!