Meet Laurie Flynn!
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New VT Coordinator Laurie Flynn
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Hello!
Having recently received a Masters of Fine Arts in Children's Literature and many years earlier an undergraduate degree in English, I couldn't be more delighted to step into the part-time role of Vermont Coordinator. Could there really be a job out there that not only nurtures my love of children's books but also allows me the opportunity to directly support Vermont Programs and spread the word to funders and legislators about the important connection between reading aloud to children and creating a generation of lifetime readers? Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity when it was presented. My husband, who is a native Vermonter, is also thrilled to know that I will be working to support the children in the state he holds so dear.
With almost eighteen years of experience in public relations, including several years working as a Press Secretary in the United States Senate, I am hopeful that I will bring a unique perspective to the position. I look forward to working with all of you to help prepare young Vermonters for success in school and in life.
I look forward to meeting and working with you all!
Laurie
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Nursing Education and Reach Out and Read
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SVMC nursing student Diane Fernald with her presentation
on Reach Out and Read |
Several nursing students of Susan O. Sykas, MS, APRN, PNP-BC, pediatric provider at Brookside Pediatrics (Bennington) and nursing professor at Southern Vermont College (also in Bennington), recently completed end-of-the-year projects focused on issues of literacy in early childhood and specifically on Reach Out and Read.
One student created a presentation based on a toddler's 24-month well visit. The student explained how Reach Out and Read would benefit this particular child and then designed a supplemental nursing plan to reinforce for parents information they'd been given about literacy acquisition and developmental milestones. This plan called for multiple contacts with the family and child, including a reading session in the waiting room prior to the visit, reinforcement of the benefits of reading aloud by the nursing staff, the gifting of an age-appropriate book to the child during the visit, and additional resources to help families find developmentally appropriate books after the visit.
Another student created a comprehensive presentation on the Reach Out and Read Program and presented it to her local pediatrician in upstate New York out of concern for the many high-risk children living in low -income rural families in the area. That pediatric office has since contacted Reach Out and Read about bringing Reach Out and Read to its practice.
A third student created a literacy-themed poster for a pediatric waiting room aimed at educating families of children 6 months to 5 years about the benefits of reading aloud to their children on a daily basis. The student interviewed local pediatricians about their participation in the Reach Out and Read program and used what she learned as the basis for creating the poster (see above).
In the end, these nursing students benefited greatly from their research on Reach Out and Read and the numerous studies that reinforce the program's model for early childhood literacy intervention. Their classmates benefited as well from hearing the students' creative and informative presentations. It was a win-win for all!
Many thanks to Susan for bringing Reach Out and Read into the classroom! |
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One VT Provider's efforts to promote literacy beyond the exam room...
On a sunny day in April, over 80 children and family members attended the eighth annual R.E.A.D. Day (Reading Enhances Achievement and Development) at the brand new Bent Northrop Library in rural Fairfield.
 | Librarian Kristen Hughes helps children create comics
on R.E.A.D. Day in Fairfield, VT.
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R.E.A.D. Day - first conceptualized in 2004 by Reach Out and Read pediatrician Dr. Laura Bellstrom to celebrate early literacy during the Month of the Young Child (also mud season in Vermont!) -- is always a collaborative event. This year it was organized by librarian Kristen Hughes, and Sarah Jacobs-King (Dr. Bellstrom's practice manager) and Dr. Bellstrom of Franklin County Pediatrics.
With healthy refreshments donated and the free activities subsidized by local organizations, the day's activities included a bookmark making station, a comic making station using computers, "reading with the stars" (local legends reading aloud), a book swap, free new books, and an opportunity to check out the county's Bookmobile. The day's events culminated with a puppet show by The Traveling Storyteller.
Committed to literacy promotion, Dr. Bellstrom says she "wanted to find a way to showcase the wonderful programs and opportunities for early literacy available in our little rural community, including my own participation in Reach Out and Read."
And thus, a yearly tradition was born. Thank you Dr. Bellstrom!
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Webinars for Site Coordinators:
Reach Out and Read offers a monthly Webinar for new Site Coordinators on the third Thursday of every month at 12:00 PM EST. This standing date offers you an excellent opportunity to ask questions and/or seek guidance about Progress Reporting, how to track books, order from Scholastic, deposit money into your pre-paid Scholastic accounts, and how to use www.myror.org.
To participate you will need access to a phone and a computer; sessions generally last 30 minutes. To register, please email Avery Borreliz and she'll send you the call in number and webinar log in instructions. |
 Support-A-Site It's summer - and hopefully the livin' is easy (or a little easier!) at your health center, clinic, or practice. If so, why not check out our newly revised SUPPORT-a-SITE (SaS) materials and commit to approaching one or two local small businesses or service organizations for a donation? Shine a light on your Reach Out and Read program and illuminate for your community the literacy promotion work of your providers! Donors can't donate unless they know there's a need! * Post used book fliers * Distribute the new donation "rack card" around town, at health fairs, or in your lobby! * Once school is out, involve local teens in your efforts, too. They can: * read in the waiting room * collect used books * download the Developmental Milestones bookmarks, print and cut a stack, and insert them in your Reach Out and Read books * freshen your waiting room * hold a car wash on behalf of your Reach Out and Read program! (Bookmarks can be found in the myROR "document library" under Literacy Resources.) Download the new SaS zipped file here (which includes a streamlined brochure as well as a new donor "rack card"). Be patient as the set of documents loads! Good luck! By raising funds to deposit into your pre-paid Scholastic account you ensure that your Program will have all the books it needs, including the titles most loved by your providers and families. |
 | Ready your data for the
upcoming Progress Report.
Count your books!
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New Deadlines!
Starting with the upcoming July 2012 Progress Report, deadlines for completing reports will change. The July report is due no later than SEPTEMBER 1. (Previously, the deadline was Sept. 30th). Similarly, the January 2013 Progress Report will be due March 1 (rather than March 30).
This change provides us with additional time to process data and to determine in the spring and the fall how best to allocate books to eligible sites. Importantly, this change will allow us to issue our audited financial statements earlier.
The July 2012 Report will be available to you via www.myROR .org in early July. As always, you'll receive email notification once the reports are up and available
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Please forward this newsletter to all your pediatric and family practice providers and staff! |
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Reach Out and Read New England
Vermont Newsletter
Summer, 2012
Serving 19,818 children at 52 locations and distributing 32,588 books
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Regional Director's Note 
For the past two years I have had the happy privilege of supporting Vermont Reach Out and Read programs, and in the process of visiting every Site, I have become smitten. Everything about Vermont is a special -- its people, its landscape, its unique character. Vermonters everywhere, and at all levels of government, seem to inherently understand that the foundation of a healthy society begins in childhood, and that the return on investment in early education and care is huge. This awareness plays out every day in all of Vermont's 53 Reach Out and Read programs. At large health centers and small, on quiet days and busy ones, books are handed out to children and parents are encouraged by providers to fully support their child's early language and literacy development by reading together every day. Brain architecture is established very early in life and books build better reading brains. Thank you for your daily dedication to passing on this vital tip to all your parents!
This edition of the Vermont Newsletter marks the conclusion of my Vermont activities. But the things I have learned in Vermont and New Hampshire, and in Massachusetts before that, will be put to good use in my new position as Director of Program Quality and Provider Training at the Reach Out and Read national office in Boston. It's a fabulous opportunity.
Laurie Flynn will now become Vermont's part-time Coordinator. She has been with Reach Out and Read for a year, so Laurie will hit the ground running, immediately able to offer you technical and programmatic support. Additionally, Laurie is keenly interested in networking within Vermont to form stronger ties with state agencies and state- and county-wide literacy programs, as well as with other organizations equally committed to strengthening the development of Vermont's youngest children.
I leave you in good hands...Laurie's an excellent advocate! She will be in touch with you soon, but if you need more immediate assistance, please email her at Laurie.FlynnVT@reachoutandread.org or call 413-654-7241.
Gretchen Hunsberger
Program Director, New England Region
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 At-Risk Latino Children in Reach Out and Read Have Strong Kindergarten Literacy Skills
Study Connects Participation in School-Readiness Initiative with Good Home Literacy Environments
Reach Out and Read now has 15 peer-reviewed studies supporting its effectiveness. The newest study, "Kindergarten Readiness and Performance of Latino Children Participating in Reach Out and Read" (Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education), was co-authored by Reach Out and Read Utah's Medical Director, Dr. Wendy Hobson-Rohrer, and Marissa L. Diener, PhD.
This study shows that at-risk Latino children who participated in Reach Out and Read from six months of age, established good home literacy environments and developed average or above average literacy skills by the end of kindergarten. These results are particularly encouraging since we know that 88% of first graders who are below grade level in reading will continue to read below grade level in fourth grade. (Juel, 1988)
Key findings of the new study show that:
* Despite the risks of poverty, low maternal education, and English as a second language, home literacy environments of these Latino children were solid.
* Despite the fact that each child possessed two or more risk factors for poor performance in kindergarten, 60% were identified by their teachers as "intermediate" and "proficient" in reading. 77% of these Reach Out and Read children were rated as having "average," "above average," or "far above average" literacy skills as their peers.
* 59% of mothers in the study reported that their child had been read to the day before, identical to rates reported for high-income families in national surveys.
"This study gives us a great deal of hope for at-risk children who are exposed to literacy from an early age," said Carrie L. Byington, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine, another of the paper's co-authors. "We believe our findings add to the strong evidence base that supports Reach Out and Read as a powerful early literacy intervention."
To view the full study online, click here. |
Reach Out and Read's CEO, Earl Martin Phalen, in the News
Mr. Phalen's interview on Boston's "Chronicle" news segment.
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 2012 National Reach Out and Read Provider Survey
To enhance the work we do, we need your help!
A few weeks ago, an online survey was emailed to all Reach Out and Read healthcare providers across the country to gather data to help us better understand the challenges you face, as well as the lessons you have learned, from delivering the Reach Out and Read message daily to your families.
By participating in the survey, providers have a unique opportunity to inform Reach Out and Read's strategic efforts and to help strengthen programs, trainings, and materials.
We're thrilled to have received so many completed surveys to date. If you are not one of the over 1,000 providers who have already completed the survey, it's not too late! Just click here to complete the survey. Thank you.
It should take 5-7 minutes to fill out, so kindly forward the above link to all the Reach Out and Read providers at your Program and encourage their participation!
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Show your Reach Out and Read Pride!
As I've traveled throughout New England, I've seen many examples of Reach Out and Read pride...stickers on doors, signs at reception desks, posters in your literacy-rich waiting rooms. And now, travels through cyberspace can show that pride also! Many of our Programs across the country have their own websites; why not add information about Reach Out and Read to your page?
Not all web pages will be as rich as the one developed by Chris Alexander, Reach Out and Read Coordinator at Boston's Children's Hospital Pediatric Primary Care Clinic (shown here), but certainly consider uploading our Development Milestones here or a video clip (from our library). Consider posting patient comments about what it means to receive a book at well child visits, too! So, show your Reach Out and Read pride! Upload information to your website or ask Laurie Flynn to send you a door/window decal or additional signs such as
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