ATLANTA -- U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige today announced that the children's literacy organization First Book has donated an additional 20,000 books to the Atlanta Public Schools and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta to support the No Child Left Behind Summer Reading Achievers Program. Department of Education regional representative Anne Hancock joined Georgia Deputy Superintendent of Schools Ida Love, representatives from First Book, the Atlanta Public Schools, the Boys and Girls Clubs and more than 200 children to celebrate the gift during a "DisneyHand Reading Together with Belle" event today at the John Harland Boys and Girls Club in Atlanta.

"Reading is the fundamental skill upon which all others depend, and research tells us that children who don't read during the summer may lose a month or more of the reading progress they had made in school," Secretary Paige said. "The Summer Reading Achievers partnership is an exciting and fun way for our kids to read during the summer and increase their skills. I thank our corporate and community partners for their involvement and commitment to Atlanta's children, including the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Walt Disney Company and especially First Book for their generous donation of 20,000 books, which is in addition to the 35,000 books they have already given to support this program."

The No Child Left Behind Summer Reading Achievers Program is a pilot program that encourages school children in grades K-8 to read actively during the summer months and avoid the loss of reading skills that often occurs during summer vacation.

"First Book has a longstanding partnership with the leaders at the U.S. Department of Education as well as private sector leaders like the Walt Disney Company," said Kyle Zimmer, president of First Book. "Through these relationships and others, including Scholastic Inc., Harper Collins and Simon & Schuster, First Book has the ability to provide over 50,000 new books to children participating in Atlanta's Summer Reading Achievers program. We look forward to celebrating the success of these children over the summer as they create summer memories centered around new books and improve their reading skills."

First Book is a national nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. In the last two years, First Book has provided almost 15 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities nationwide.

The Walt Disney Company sponsored today's event. More than 200 local children enjoyed the "DisneyHand Reading Together with Belle," a series of interactive readings performed by Belle from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." The program is part of Disney's "Reading Together" initiative, which supports parents and caregivers in reading with their children, and is administered by DisneyHand, the worldwide outreach program for the Walt Disney Company.

In March, Paige joined Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall to announce the Atlanta Public Schools as the pilot site for the program. Paige said Atlanta was chosen because of the district's strong school leaders and gains in student achievement posted over the past several years. If successful, the program will expand next year to schools nationwide.

Consistent with the No Child Left Behind Act's emphasis on closing the achievement gap for disadvantaged students, the Atlanta Public School system was chosen as the pilot site because the schools have posted gains over the past several years. These improvements include a significant increase in the percentage of fourth graders meeting or exceeding the standard in reading as measured by the Criterion Referenced Competency Test.

To participate in the program, students are expected to read 10 age-appropriate books during the summer months. Students will be required to describe briefly the books they have read by completing a simple form. Students who participate will receive an embossed "No Child Left Behind Summer Reading Achiever" certificate signed by Secretary Paige and Superintendent Hall as well as an assortment of prizes donated by Atlanta-based community and corporate sponsors.

Current contributing corporate and nonprofit partners include Barnes & Noble; BellSouth Telecom Pioneers; Boy Scouts of America; Chick-fil-A; First Book; MeadWestvaco; Scholastic, Inc.; Six Flags, Inc.; Target stores; The Walt Disney Company; the Atlanta-Fulton County Library System; the Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Company; Communities in Schools of Atlanta; City of Atlanta Bureau of Parks and Recreation; Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta; Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce: Atlanta Partners for Education; the Atlanta Council of PTAs; and Parenting Coalition International.

To help determine the pilot's effectiveness and applicability, the following accountability measures have been incorporated:

• Students are required to submit reading logs detailing the number of books read and what they have learned by the end of August 2003.

• Principals will certify that 70 percent of their students completed the program.

• Data from Atlanta Public Schools reading assessments will help to determine if the campaign helped mitigate the loss of K-8 reading skills that occurs over the summer and improve scores districtwide.

One of President Bush's first actions after taking office was making improved children's reading achievement a centerpiece of his education reform agenda. Studies show that when children fail to learn to read early in school, every aspect of school success is affected. By providing early diagnosis and help for reading difficulties, Reading First-supported programs will help improve student motivation and academic achievement.

The president designed Reading First around an extensive knowledge base of the essential skills children must have to learn to read. The program reflects the findings of a congressionally mandated, extensive review of scientifically based research on how students learn to read, which was completed by the National Reading Panel in 2000.

Reading First was passed into law by a bipartisan majority of Congress under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and centers on the following priorities: raising the caliber and quality of classroom instruction; basing instruction on scientifically proven methods; providing professional training for educators in reading instruction; and supplying substantial resources to support the unprecedented initiative.

More information about the No Child Left Behind Act is available at www.nochildleftbehind.gov.

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