What We Do

Systemic Change, Simply Achieved
Raising A Reader’s capacity building model brings about increased effective early literacy practices in the home, at school, and in other early care environments.
(http://www NULL.rarbayarea NULL.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/afam-girl-holding-blue-and-red-bags NULL.jpg)At the core of the program is the weekly rotation home of red book bags filled with high-quality, developmentally appropriate, multilingual and multicultural children’s books. The children experience regular RAR read-alouds in the classroom which keep them excited about reading and sharing the red bag with their families.

Raising A Reader provides training and tips for parents in interactive, brain-boosting, book sharing strategies in person and with a take-home Share A Book with me DVD, which shows real families sharing books interactively. This video is available in fourteen languages to give all parents the know-how and comfort they need to make the shared book experience successful, even if they cannot read in English.
Parent trainings include workshops such as “Early Literacy Basics”, “Myths and Truths of Bilingualism – Supporting Language Development At Home”, and “Read, Talk, Sing, Play- Everyday Activities to Boost Literacy and Language Development”.

Raising A Reader provides ongoing support to childcare providers to ensure that the book bag rotation is running smoothly, and that the program is integrated into their literacy curriculum. Raising A Reader staff share the best practices from classrooms all over the bay area in their trainings. Workshops such as “Creating a Talk-Rich Environment”, “Circle Time Favorites for Infants and Toddlers”, and “Supporting Dual-Language Learners In The Early Years” are offered quarterly on-site. Each year Raising A Reader also offers responsive workshops designed to meet the literacy goals of educators.

Raising A Reader does more than just give children books in the hopes they will be read, it helps families learn to share books so they can understand the delight that comes with reading and the power they have to help young children enter school ready to learn.

Once the red book bag rotation is underway and a family book-sharing routine has been established, Raising A Reader, in partnership with the local library, issues a special Blue Library bag to each child. While the children return the red book bags and books weekly to the child care sites, the Blue Library bags are theirs to keep and use as they build a lifetime connection to the library.