Reach Out and Read Massachusetts is pleased to participate in the infant safe sleep campaign launched by the Commonwealth on October 2. The campaign highlights the importance of infant safe sleep practices and promotes ways to reduce risks associated with Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), the leading cause of death among infants between the ages of one to 11 months.

The Department of Early Education and Care is part of this statewide effort, which is being led by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. As part of the campaign, Reach Out and Read Massachusetts is distributing informational bookmarks and copies of Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug, by Reach Out and Read webinar contributor John Hutton, MD, to its network of pediatricians.

In addition, the campaign includes a public awareness ad that is currently running on the MBTA The ad has been produced as magnets that will be distributed to our providers and partner agencies.

More information and resources are available on the new website.

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Reach Out and Read New England

Massachusetts Newsletter

Fall 2014

Serving 207,630 Massachusetts children

in 296 clinical locations

Dear Reach Out and Read Providers Colleagues,

I hope that the excitement and exhilaration of Fall's fresh start have not entirely erased your memories of some summer relaxation, and that you had a chance to enjoy these last few days as a reminder of the pleasures of a slower pace.

As Fall speeds up, Reach Out and Read Massachusetts finds itself once again celebrating two exceptional examples of national recognition -- and their Massachusetts roots. On September 18th I had the opportunity to be present when Executive Director Brian Gallagher and National Medical Director Dr. Perri Klass received the Angel Award from the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

This award, presented in New York but sponsored by our own Carle Museum in Amherst, "recognizes organizations and people who have played an instrumental role in making children's books a vibrant and influential art and literacy form in America" and places Reach Out and Read in the most distinguished company within the world of children's literature. Read more about the event in the article below.

And, on October 1, author Nicholas Kristof spoke at Memorial Church in Harvard Yard about his new book A Path Appears, which recognizes Reach Out and Read as an agent of change on a national scale, as exemplified by a family from a Boston-area clinic. Kristof and his co-author Sheryl WuDunn's many acknowledgements of Reach Out and Read's effectiveness and efficiency have increased focus on Reach Out and Read that we hope will translate into increased opportunities around the country and here at home.

The AAP policy statement endorsing Reach Out and Read as an essential part of pediatric primary care has enabled us to increase our attention to the ways in which language and literacy development can be reinforced at even earlier ages. Some new initiatives around the state include an increased focus on NICU Follow-up clinics as well as exploration of how Reach Out and Read can be appropriately implemented in NICUs from Springfield to Worcester to Boston.

But the most rewarding part of our work is always our connections with each of you. Massachusetts is closing in on 300 clinical locations across the state, and as we read the comments in progress reports and the provider survey, we are warmed and exhilarated by the commitment and creativity with which you implement Reach Out and Read. To quote just one provider:

I have found, especially at the 18-month to 2-year visits when children might be most nervous with a doctor walking into the room, that one of the best ways to break the proverbial ice is to read a book to the child. This is gift-giving, engaging, sharing, and fun all in one and, quite importantly, allows me to reinforce the importance of literacy with the child's family. Our other providers....feel similarly, and we remain very grateful for the opportunity to continue our participation with Reach Out and Read.

We know he speaks for all of you. And we in turn are grateful for all that you do to support children and families across Massachusetts.

Warm Regards,
Alison

Reach Out and Read Receives Eric Carle Angel Award

Reach Out and Read is thrilled to have been awarded the 2014 Angel Award by the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. September 18 marked the Eric Carle Museum's ninth annual gala and fundraiser, at which the four 2014 Carle Honors were awarded to "organizations and people who have played an instrumental role in making children's books a vibrant and influential art and literacy form in America."

Reach Out and Read received the Angel Award for "tireless promotion of early literacy and school readiness, as exemplified through the Reach Out and Read programs established in thousands of pediatric exam rooms nationwide."

Based in Amherst, the Carle, as it is locally known, not only displays national revolving exhibits of picture book art, but also provides art education for children of all ages, including innovative lap-sit story-times and whole book art education for preschoolers. If you are ever in the area, check out the Carle's calendar of events and plan a visit!

Worcester: The City That Reads

The organizers of a communitywide literacy initiative believe that it takes a village - a city, in this case - to most effectively put the spotlight on the importance of daily reading.

"20 minutes, every child, every day" is the motto of the new Worcester: The City That Reads and Smiles campaign. The campaign builds on the many efforts throughout the community to engage parents and children in this daily habit, and to bring awareness to the ideas espoused by the national Campaign for Grade Level Reading, which uses research that shows reading proficiency by third grade is a predictor of academic success and, ultimately, high school graduation.

The kick-off event, held on Friday October 3, featured reading events around the city for preschoolers and their families. Heather Robinson, Reach Out and Read Central Massachusetts Coordinator, participated at St Vincent's Hospital, along with several medical students and providers who read to children and provided healthy snacks.

Nurse Practitioner, and UMass Medical School students Thomas Ford, Christine Motzkus-Feagans and Nathan Erskine read aloud at Worcester: The City That Reads and Smiles

Fifth Journey to Literacy Conference Held at Wheelock College in Boston

The fifth Journey to Literacy conference was held at Wheelock College on September 17, with close to 100 early childhood educators, parents, librarians, and others in attendance. Attendees came from all across the state, from Turner's Falls to Fall River to Nantucket, as well as Connecticut! Reach Out and Read Executive Director Brian Gallagher opened the conference and introduced speakers including Massachusetts Medical Director Marilyn Augustyn, MD, and South Shore Reading Partnership Director Jean Ciborowski-Fahey, PhD, who provided copies of her book Make Time for Reading.

Topics covered included the developmental milestones of early literacy, as well as information on the building blocks of literacy. An afternoon workshop presented by Liz Buchanan, MA on the use of music to increase early literacy skills provided activity for the participants and practical tools for use in the classroom.

Previous conferences have been held in Worcester, Haverhill, Brockton, Pittsfield, and New Bedford, and a sixth conference is planned for the spring. For more information or to be added to the conference mailing list, email alison.clarke@reachoutandread.org.

Maribel Carvajal, owner of My Pretty Garden Family Child Care in Belmont, speaks at the Journey to Literacy conference about children's successful transition from Spanish-speaking to English-speaking settings.

Bowdoin Street Health Center OB and Pediatric Clinics

Lead Prenatal Pilot Project

As Reach Out and Read providers consider ways to implement Reach Out and Read from birth, the OB and Pediatrics leadership teams at the Bowdoin Street Community Health Center have banded together to promote early literacy experiences for their patients even earlier, during the prenatal period, in a pilot program called "Read, Rhyme, Sing, Talk."

The Pediatrics Department at Bowdoin Street has been a long-time Reach Out and Read participant, so when Celeste Royce, MD, Chief of OB, contacted Reach Out and Read about wanting to bring Reach Out and Read to their patients, Reach Out and Read Boston Coordinator Carole Ferguson, PNP, met with Celeste and her team member Lindsay Ryan, NP, along with Taylor Ricketson, PNP, and Pediatric Medical Director Sabina Kumar, MD from the Pediatrics Staff to create a pilot project.

The program goal is to include the message of the importance of language to expecting mothers, even before the standard Reach Out and Read program is implemented, as well as to encourage and prepare families with a small "library" of children's books. At the 28 weeks gestation visit, the OB providers give guidance to moms and families about reading to their newly-arriving babies. In addition, Carole Ferguson speaks to one of the mother's Centering Group meetings to provide books and to encourage the new mothers to read, rhyme, sing, and talk as a way of preparing their baby's developing brain to develop language as fully as possible.

The team is applying for research funding, but in the meantime they are hearing great enthusiasm in both the expectant mothers and the staff!

Guess How Much I Love You is one example of the books provided to expectant mothers, mirroring her feelings about her baby as she prepares for birth.

Provider Survey Results

Over 100 Massachusetts providers responded to the Provider Survey that was circulated in June. We are enjoying reviewing the responses and will report on the answers to different questions in future newsletters. Our first review has highlighted the need to raise awareness of the resources offered by the Reach Out and Read National center. Many of these are in the DOCUMENT LIBRARY, a link in the upper right-hand corner of your site's page at www.myror.org. We found that well over half of responding providers were unaware of the Leyendo Juntos materials available there (Leyendo Juntos is the Reach Out and Read initiative that provides tools for providers serving primarily Spanish-speaking families); fewer than 25 percent made use of reproducible materials such as Reading Tips for Parents, What Children Like in Books, or the Developmental Milestones; and only 17 percent knew about the Document Library at all!

Perhaps the most important item available in the DODUMENT LIBRARY is the Schedule of Microlectures and Train the Trainers. According to Gretchen Hunsberger, Director of Program Quality and Provider training, these resources are perfect for in-house trainings/refreshers, grand rounds, and resident trainings.

In addition, timely topics such as media use are addressed in upcoming microlectures such as Part Three of The Case for Baby Unplugged: Lighting up the Brain, presented by John Hutton, MD, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Reading and Literacy Discovery Center. To see Parts One and Two, and other archived webinars, go to the Training tab at MYROR; to read about Dr. Hutton's other work, see the article in this newsletter about the Massachusetts DEEC's Back to Sleep campaign; and to see Southcoast Pediatrics' creative implementation of the AAP's guideline of no screens before age 2, see below!

Reach Out and Read Receives National Recognition in

A Path Appears

Reach Out and Read - and National Medical Director Dr. Perri Klass - are featured in A Path Appears, the latest book by acclaimed New York Times columnist Nick Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. The book includes a "sweeping tapestry of people who are making the world a better place and a guide to the ways that we can do the same -

whether with a donation of $5 or $5 million, with our time, by capitalizing on our skills as individuals, or by using the resources of our businesses." Click here to read about their reading at Memorial Church in Cambridge on October 2. As you may recall, Kristof featured Reach Out and Read in his holiday giving guide last year in The New York Times and more recently in his columns of September 14 and August 9.

Thank You to Our Supporters

We appreciate all that our supporters do! Keeping clinics in books is no easy chore. There are many ways we are helped in keeping clinic waiting rooms full of gently-used books, and we appreciate all those who lend a hand.

Mary Jones and the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) bring books on a regular basis. The books are a wonderful mixture of new and gently-used and they go straight into clinics to be used as sibling, sick visit and older children books to take home. Our appreciation is ongoing when bags full of books arrive every few months. We know Mary goes out of her way to find bargain books and high quality used books, and they all go into the personal libraries of the children who get them at their health care appointments.

Mary Sims and her family have donated gently used books directly to Joseph Smith Clinic in Allston, where the book supply goes out the door quickly. It is much appreciated.

Kids Helping Kids

Courtney Chan is the president of the Amnesty International Club at Andover High School. This spring they collected 300 gently used books for Reach Out and Read sites in Methuen and Lawrence.

Thank you Courtney!

Danielle Albertelli, a high school student who volunteered this summer at Tri River Health Center, designed a Reach Out and Read poster and created a reading corner in the waiting room.

Thank you Danielle!

Kaitlyn Gallitano, a National Honor Society student from Sherborn, collected and delivered 1000 books to Southboro Medical Group in Framingham.

Thank you Kaitlyn!

REACH OUT AND READ MASSACHUSETTS CONTACT INFORMATION

56 Roland Street, Suite 100D,

Boston, MA 02129-1243

Phone: 617.455.0636 Fax: 617.455.0601

Alison Corning Clarke, MA, MSW - Massachusetts Programs Director alison.clarke@reachoutandread.org

Carole Ferguson, PNP - Boston Area Regional Coordinator carole.ferguson@reachoutandread.org

Sara Stewart, MA - Western MA Regional Coordinator sara.stewart@reachoutandread.org

Heather Robinson, MPH - Central MA Regional Coordinator heather.robinson@reachoutandread.org

Marilyn Augustyn MD - Massachusetts Medical Director marilyn.augustyn@reachoutandread.org