Think Together Expands Early Literacy Program Through Grant Awarded by Children & Families Commission of Orange County

SANTA ANA, CA, July 10, 2011 (Press-News.org) It is hard to believe that in 2011, children are still coming to kindergarten without basic language skills. Yet, even in a robust metropolitan area like Orange County, children are ill prepared to enter school. THINK Together, the nation's leading provider of extended day learning programs, endeavors to change that through the awarding of a $1 million grant from the Children & Families Commission of Orange County. On July 1, THINK Together will assume responsibility for the Reach Out and Read program in Orange County, a cost-efficient, evidence-based national program that uses the existing healthcare infrastructure to deliver literacy and reading materials to parents and children up to age 5. The grant will also increase the number of locations in Orange County where THINK Together is currently offering the national Raising A Reader program. THINK Together's Raising A Reader sites will increase four fold.

The Reach Out and Read program is among the Commission's early literacy initiatives which will shift to THINK Together. Starting in July, THINK Together will offer early literacy programs in 60 pediatric medical sites in 21 Orange County cities. "One of the reasons why the Reach Out and Read program has been so successful and cost-efficient nationwide is that research has consistently shown that parents trust their child's physician. Reach Out and Read is unique in that it uses a trusted authority figure, in the special setting of a medical visit, to promote children's learning," explained Nadia Flores, THINK Together's program director. "Pediatricians use the books provided by the program to assess the child's development during the medical visit. In addition, the pediatrician encourages the parent to take home the tip sheets and literature available to help them to advance their child's verbal and cognitive development," she added.

Volunteers are needed to support the expansion of the Reach Out and Read
program. "Currently, THINK Together has recruited more than 50,000 volunteers providing more than 200,000 service hours to support the organization's existing after-school and summer learning programs. Now, volunteers are needed to support the Reach Out and Read program expansion, so that children have exposure to books and parents can get the resources they need to embrace their role as their child's first teachers," Flores explained. Volunteers need to be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma or GED, and be available to spend at least 2 to 4 hours per week reading to children and engaging parents. Learn more and register at http://www.THINKTogether.org.

In addition to implementing the Reach Out and Read program through pediatric medical sites across Orange County, the new grant will quadruple the number of THINK Together's early literacy sites, adding 29 schools, which are licensed pre-school and childcare facilities. For the past two years, THINK Together, through Prop 10 funding from the Commission, has offered the national Raising A Reader program in seven locations in Santa Ana. Like the Reach Out and Read program, the Raising A Reader program targets families with children up to age 5. Through the Raising A Reader program, families receive a book bag each week containing age-appropriate books and reading materials and family worksheets to encourage reading in the home to develop language skills and an interest in reading among pre-school aged children - in an effort to ensure they have basic language and letter recognition skills to begin kindergarten ready to learn.

THINK Together, the nation's leading provider of extended learning day programs, currently serves 75,000 K-12 students at more than 250 school sites. The organization's early literacy program currently serves about 50,000 children and families in Orange County. To learn more about the organization and its expertise in closing the achievement gap for youngsters of all ages, visit http://www.THINKtogether.org.

THINK Together, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is the largest provider of academically-focused after-school programs in California; serving 30,000 students at more than 200 sites across a four-county region of Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties). For more information call 888.485.THINK or visit us on the Web at THINKtogether.org.