The Journey
A newsletter for chapter advisors, chapter officers, and
regional officers.
October 2000
Issue
America Reads Meets America’s Promise
Former America Reads Interns Share How Phi Theta
Kappa’s Past Service Program Can Help Fulfill America’s Promise
by Daniel Prather and Abbie Root
Phi Theta Kappa members Daniel Prather of St. Petersburg Junior College in Clearwater, Florida, and Abbie Root of Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, served as interns over the summer for the U.S. Department of Education as part of Phi Theta Kappa’s Washington, D.C. Intern Program.
The Intern Program is reserved for two-year college students who were nominated by their colleges for the All-USA Academic Team (read a related story). Selected by application, interns serve approximately eight weeks for some of the most prestigious organizations in the country, including the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of State. Find out more about the Intern Program.
This summer we had the pleasure of working for the America Reads Challenge at the United States Department of Education in Washington, D.C. America Reads, Phi Theta Kappa’s International Service Program for the past two years, serves to help all children learn to read well and independently by the end of the third grade. Because we had been involved with America Reads through our Phi Theta Kappa chapters in Florida and in Michigan, we were excited to have the opportunity to experience America Reads at the federal level. Each day we spoke to teachers, parents, librarians, college students and college financial aid officers who want to improve children’s reading skills in their communities.
As America Reads interns, we were able to participate in several significant initiatives. In June, we played key roles in the organization of the Early Childhood Summit held in Washington, D.C. The Early Childhood Summit was based on the forthcoming National Research Council report, Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers. The Eager to Learn Executive Summary is available on line at www.nap.edu/books/0309068363/html/1.html and provides valuable information on Early Childhood Education.
Later this fall your chapter will receive additional information on Early Childhood Education including Getting a Good Start on Reading: What Parents Can Do in the First Five Years, a publication that can be distributed to parents and/or community programs. This publication can teach people how to start children off on the road to reading success. You will also receive a short video, provided by the I Am Your Child Foundation, narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis and LeVar Burton, on what parents and child care providers can do to jump-start their infant’s future. Keep a look out for these materials!
We also conducted a nationwide Phone-A-Thon. We contacted 1,900 financial aid officers at the colleges and universities that had not voluntarily signed on to the America Reads Challenge in order to help them meet the new literacy and community service requirements. These requirements state that as of July 1, 2000, every college and university receiving federal funding must have a literacy tutoring program and use 7 percent of their funding towards community service. We let the financial officers know that America Reads is ready to help them implement a successful literacy tutoring program with resources and materials. Many financial aid officers were thrilled to receive a supportive phone call from the Department of Education.
Finally, we helped update the America Reads web site to provide users with the most up-to-date information, materials and resources available. In this information age, we hope that this will have a lasting legacy and a direct impact on improving children’s reading skills.
For us, and for many Phi Theta Kappans, the America Reads Challenge is more than an International Service Program; it has become part of our lives because we enjoy reading to children and look forward to seeing their faces light up after they receive a new book. We are happy to let you know that America Reads does not have to become part of the past; rather, it can become a prologue to our new service program, America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth. We want to encourage you to continue your America Reads service programs as you transition to America’s Promise. Since tutoring and mentoring are very important components of America’s Promise, we are confident that you will be able to build on and further develop your literacy service programs.
Our summer at the America Reads Office was a rewarding and wonderful experience. We are very appreciative of Carol Rasco and all the America Reads staff for the opportunities and experiences offered to us. We hope that you will find the Early Childhood materials useful, and continue to help children learn to read. For more information on America Reads, visit the web site at www.ed.gov/americareads/.
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