We are most grateful for the support

Dear Reader to Reader,

Thank you for your donation of 300 children’s books to White Street School. They will be used as a part of our Back to School Literacy Celebration for our families, and every family that attends will now be able to take home at least one free book to stock family libraries.

White Street School is one of the ten schools in Springfield that has been designated as a Level 4, chronically underperforming school. As such, we have spent the summer, and continue still, to write a rigorous and innovative redesign plan to improve our teaching and learning to better meet the needs of our families and students. Our plan has a tenacious focus on literacy and families; this kick-off event is an integral part of the work. The donation of Reader to Reader has allowed us to meet the goal of a book for every family without taxing our Early Implementation Grant; thus freeing some of those funds for other important purposes.

We are most grateful for the support. The work of urban education in our current financial situation is challenging and not work that we work that we can do alone in schools. We need our community and we are indebted to Reader to Reader for the prompt and generous support.

Sincerely,

Deborah Lantaigne
White Street School
Springfield, MA

The Writers and the Readers

Famous author Norton Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth) spoke with the women in Reader to Reader’s Athena Interactive Literacy Program. Juster talked about his writing process and the importance reading to children from the earliest age.

He also presented each student with a copy of his children’s book The Hello, Goodbye Window to share with their children.

The Athena Interactive Literacy Program is a week-long workshop that works with pregnant and parenting teens in order to build their reading and writing skills, and to explore healthy eating and cooking. The young mothers in the program currently attend The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where they are working on getting their G.E.D.s so they can attend college.

Also on hand was noted literacy advocate Jim Trelease (The Read-Aloud Handbook) who spoke on the importance of parents in building early vocabulary and reading skills. “The parents are the most important professors a child will ever have,” he explained.

Summer Reading, Summer Fun!

Amherst College students Caitlin Scudder and Caroline Stedman held a literacy summer camp in Santa Cruz, Costa Rica as part of project Beyond el Campo. A fun learning experience was had by all.

The camp included reading workshops, field trips, and lots of arts and crafts.


Reader to Reader’s project Beyond el Campo builds community libraries in coffee-farming villages in rural Costa Rica. Beyond el Campo also runs literacy summer camps and adult book clubs in rural Costa Rica.

In the Studio

Athena Interactive Literacy Program students headed to Northfire Recording Studios to record poetry they wrote this week. The students made a CD to share with friends and family.

The Athena Interactive Literacy Program works with pregnant and parenting teens in order to build their reading and writing skills, and to explore healthy eating and cooking. The young mothers in the program currently attend The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where they are working on getting their G.E.D.s so they can attend college.

Athena Program Kicks Off With Fiction, Food & Fun

The Athena Interactive Literacy Program, Reader to Reader’s week-long workshop, kicked off with a series of writing and cooking classes.

This special program works with pregnant and parenting teens in order to build their reading and writing skills, and to explore healthy eating and cooking. The young mothers in the program currently attend The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where they are working on getting their G.E.D.s so they can attend college.

(Pictured Above) Chef Bill Collins teaches basic cooking skills and how to create quick and economical meals that are nutritionally balanced.

The program strongly emphasizes family literacy and art teacher Julie Zuchman (Pictured below) gave a wonderful class in board book making so that the young mothers can share a handmade book with their children.


The program brings together an exciting team of educators, writers, and artists that includes award-winning author Norton Juster (The Phantom Toll Booth) and author and literacy advocate Jim Trelease (The Read-Aloud Handbook).

The students spend their mornings exploring reading and writing in a variety of interesting settings, including recording poetry at a professional recording studio. They spend their afternoons with Chef Collins learning to cook healthy food for themselves and their children.

The Athena Interactive Literacy Program is sponsored in part by Peoples Bank. A special thank you to Chef Bill Collins (http://www.chefbill.com/) and Julie Zuchman for the generous donation of their time and energy.

Reading Opens Your Mind!

Things are going well at the the new community library in Santa Cruz, Costa Rica.

The town library now has 738 books on its shelves and over 50 town residents have taken out library cards in the first three weeks.

Reader to Reader funds recently purchased a dehumidifier to keep the books dry in the humid climate.

The library has just received its official library stamp that will be going on all of the books, and all of the library cards. It says "Biblioteca Publica de Santa Cruz L.C." and has a picture of an open book which inside reads "Leer te abre la mente" (Reading opens your mind).

The Biblioteca Publica de Santa Cruz is a project of Reader to Reader’s Beyond el Campo which builds community libraries in coffee-farming villages in rural Costa Rica. Beyond el Campo also runs literacy summer camps and adult book clubs in rural Costa Rica.

Open for Business!

Reader to Reader's Cait Scudder reports on the opening of the new community library in Santa Cruz, Costa Rica)

Hola David,

I am happy to say that Beyond el Campo continues to advance smoothly and steadily. Right now, there is a family (mainly the mother and her 14 year old son) who are running the library, which is open to the community 3 days a week. She has told me so many times how incredible this experience is for her, to have something to do, to get out of the house-- a major problem in these kinds of rural communities is the lack of work for women. I am also so happy to see her son, Danny, really enthused about working here.

We now have an established system of library cards, a regular schedule, volunteers to act as the librarians, book stands, and a secure lock for the library. It is in its first stages, to be sure, but it is fully functional, and so far there have been over 50 people who have come into the library and checked out a book.

The computer we brought down is also going to very good use. All of the library cardholders are registered in the system-- Danny has been teaching Gladys how to use a computer, and she is so happy to be learning how to use it.

In the beginning of this week, I am in San Jose, and today am going to meet with the library sciences school of the Universidad De Costa Rica, to see about getting some help getting our library started. I am also going to look in to purchasing a dehumidifier to put in the library, seeing as the climate in Santa Cruz, especially during the rainy season, is very humid and we don't want the books to get destroyed. Later in the week

I am going to Santa Cruz to meet with Victor, Gladys, Danny, Sergio, and the rest of the library committee to see where we are, where we are going, and what are short and long terms needs and goals are.

I am so proud of this community and so thrilled to see the really remarkable progress we have made in less than a year. It is incredible.

Best wishes,

Cait