A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

   FOR RELEASE                                 Contact:  Diane Jones    September 21, 1995                                 (202) 401-3725

Taylor is one of more than 125,000 volunteers who spent time reading to and tutoring about 425,000 children this summer under the U.S. Department of Education's community-based READ*WRITE*NOW! (R*W*N!) partnership -- the summer start-up of the American Initiative on Reading and Writing. When U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley announced the initiative last May, he encouraged communities to team children with reading partners -- parents, recreation leaders, senior citizens, teachers, librarians, and older students -- at least twice a week to complete a learning activity. Children are challenged to read 20 minutes each day, five days a week, alone or with a partner. With more than 100,000 partners and nearly 425,000 children participating, that adds up to millions of hours of extra reading.

After volunteering his time as a reading partner in a Washington, D.C. Boys and Girls Club this summer, Taylor wondered, "If I don't take an active role and take responsibility for my community -- and put effort out there to break that cycle -- who else will?"

Concern that children's reading and writing skills need improvement prompted Riley and the Family Involvement Partnership for Learning to develop R*W*N! Studies show that frequency of reading is a primary indicator of students' academic achievement. A child who spends time reading and writing is often a more successful student and adult. If a parent or caring adult reads frequently with the child, the likelihood of higher achievement increases.

"The seeds of the READ*WRITE*NOW! initiative were sown in the shadow of the nation's Capitol, but this initiative has taken root in the heartland of America," said Riley. "Boys and Girls clubs, local Chambers of Commerce, Reading is Fundamental (RIF) sites, private businesses, and enterprising and motivated groups and individuals have helped distribute READ*WRITE*NOW! materials and moved them out into communities, to families and to children. With a tremendous grassroots effort, businesses and communities are making this a model of federal leadership and local initiative."

Taylor says both he and the five-year-old girl he describes as "beautiful and sweet voiced," gained much from the time they spent together. The child, he notes, "couldn't recognize her name or other words, didn't know the letters or sounds of the alphabet, and wouldn't speak up in a group" when she joined his reading/tutoring group. By summer's end, she could recognize her name in print and knew sounds and letters well enough to participate in her group.

Through his participation in a Reading is Fundamental program, Taylor -- like many adults and older children who volunteer for groups that use the free and reproducible R*W*N! materials -- serves as a role model for children who are at risk. He grew up in San Diego, one of six children in a single-parent family, and dropped out of school at age 14. He says he realized he was "getting in more and more trouble," "going nowhere," and admits he "saw no future" in his life by age 16. With few positive influences in his life, Taylor says he wonders how he turned himself around, pursued high school in a federally sponsored Job Corps camp, and eventually graduated from Spingarn High School in Washington, D.C. Taylor is now a senior at Washington College, a liberal arts college in Maryland.

"I know from growing up and the situation I was involved in, that we didn't have education programs, we only had sports," said Taylor. "I wonder how much more I could have accomplished if I had a tutor at our rec center."

When Taylor, a high school Key Club member, returned to Washington this summer, an old friend and mentor from the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill suggested he get involved in helping children learn to read. The local Kiwanis Club pairs volunteers with children who attend a Boys and Girls Club day camp. Volunteers use the free R*W*N! materials to help children recognize letters and phonetic sounds and practice writing. Partners include business executives, government employees, students, retired educators and others, many of whom use annual leave to volunteer.

Children and partners can take part in activities by calling the Department's toll-free 1-800-USA-LEARN line. Children and partners who participate receive a reproducible kit including an activity book that supports reading and writing and the first in a series of educational fun-books for children in preschool and kindergarten.

Those who participated this summer received a certificate for a free personal size pan pizza from Pizza Hut, Inc., a national sponsor of the program. Bookmarks will go to children participating this fall. Adult partners receive a certificate recognizing their commitment to the American Initiative on Reading and Writing.

The initiative's sponsors include the American Association of School Librarians; The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress; Nickelodeon; Pizza Hut?s BOOK IT! Program; and RIF. Also supporting the summer reading initiative are the International Reading Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and Hadassah.