July, 2004

Big Things in Small Cities
Family Reading Partnership Creating a Culture of Literacy...One Book at Time

VANGUARD Magazine: Exploring Educational Leadership, June/July 2004, pp.12-16.

by Kim M. Smithgall

“Every reading specialist looks forward to going out of business – having his or her job become obsolete,” says Richard Steinacher, a reading specialist himself at Northeast Elementary School in the Ithaca City School District.

And if there’s any organization that can make this happen, Steinacher continues, it’s Family Reading Partnership (FRP) in Ithaca.

FRP is a coalition of organizations, individuals, businesses, libraries, schools (including those in the Ithaca City School District) and other groups that have joined forces to create a “culture of literacy” in the community. It’s a culture in which all children experience the joy of books as part of family life, right from the start. For Ithaca, the benefits have been far-reaching.

“FRP is a wonderful joint effort by members of our community,” said Ithaca City School District Superintendent Judith Pastel. “The programs enrich our kids before they come to school and when they’re in school. That makes our job as educators easier.”

FRP was founded in 1997 by Brigid Hubberman and seven community members. Hubberman now serves as the non-profit organization’s executive director. “I was working for Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES under a small grant that encouraged family reading. As part of my job, I would go to WIC [Women, Infants and Children, a federally-funded nutrition assistance program] sites and read to children. This was rewarding in and of itself, but I realized that something was missing – I was encouraging parents to read to their children but was sending them home with no books of their own.”

Hubberman then did some formal and informal research. She found that an estimated 20 to 25 percent of children entering Ithaca City Schools had few or no experiences with books in their homes and that only 39 percent of parents nationally read to their children on a regular basis. Those facts sparked Hubberman and her dedicated volunteers into action. They defined their objectives as follows:

• To promote family reading practices so thoroughly within our community’s culture that families will read to their children just as they feed and clothe them.
• To ensure that all families have access to quality children’s books to own at home.
• To provide additional awareness, encouragement and books for families that may not have found success in reading.

Humble Beginnings...Huge Impact

These humble beginnings have led to a remarkable array of programs that have, to date, put more than 50,000 books into the hands, homes and hearts of children in the Ithaca area.

“When I first moved to Ithaca, I saw all these different literacy initiatives happening. After a while, I realized that all the activities were connected and were part of Family Reading Partnership. I knew then that I had moved into a very special community – one where people were committed to literacy,” recalls Angele McQuade, a parent, author and FRP volunteer.

FRP’s projects and programs reach throughout the community, each tapping into networks and services that already touch the lives of families in Tompkins County. The first project Hubberman tackled stemmed from her desire to “begin at the beginning.”

“Books at Birth is a program that ensures every baby born at our local hospital goes home with a book,” Hubberman explains. “Along with the book, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar,’ we include information for parents to let them know that it’s never too early to begin reading to their children. Reading aloud to children, even to newborns, helps parents form special bonds with their children. This has also been shown to benefit children when they’re learning to read in later years.”

Additionally, these early reading activities can form the foundation for both academic success and success in life, says Cal Walker, a tutor for Ithaca City School District, associate director of Cornell University’s Learning Strategies Center and an FRP board member. “The early years are critical for children to build their confidence and develop a foundation for school readiness and academic success,” Walker explains. “In the many years I have been tutoring, I’ve found that the students who struggle the most academically are those who have the most deficits in reading.”

Continuing Through the Years

Hubberman, her staff and volunteers weren’t satisfied with just beginning at the beginning. They went on to organize numerous additional programs, all under the umbrella of Family Reading Partnership and all funded through grants and donations from individuals, businesses and organizations:

• Books to Grow On is a project in which pediatricians give a book and promote reading during well-child checkups at ages six, 12 and 18 months and two, three and four years. “Each book comes with a ‘prescription’ from the doctor for parents to read to their children every day,” Hubberman says.
• Bright Red Bookshelf recirculates gently used children’s books back into the community so low-income families can have access to free reading materials. The books are collected in crates throughout the county and through local book drives, cleaned and then placed on bright red bookshelves.
• Children’s Book Fund collects donations to fund book grants to human service organizations that can connect parents and children with books. The service organizations apply for the grants, demonstrating how their efforts will provide inspiration and support to low-income families through the use of books.
• Traveling Books gives children in daycare settings early, pleasurable experiences with books. Traveling Books volunteers read to children at daycare centers and the homes of care providers; at the end of the reading session, the volunteer leaves a crate containing 20 books. He/she returns two weeks later with another set of books and new stories to share.
• Give the Gift of Family Reading is a holiday book drive with community members donating new books (or monetary donations for books). The books are distributed to low-income families during their December WIC appointments. Parents choose a book for each of their children and volunteers wrap the gifts. “I can’t tell you how heartwarming it is to see the reaction of parents when they’re able to choose these books and then give them as gifts,” Hubberman says. “And it’s not just the act of giving a present that makes this a valuable experience. It’s the fact the experience becomes a holiday tradition – one in which books are established as special gifts for children to own and cherish.”
• Welcome to School Book Project gives all incoming kindergartners in Tompkins County the same book when they register for school in the spring. By the time the students arrive at school the following fall, they have typically read and reread the book multiple times. “The kindergartners all come to school with this shared experience, so they’re more comfortable with their new environment,” says Karen Powers, a teacher at Ithaca’s Northeast Elementary School.
  
  “This also makes them more confident in their abilities and starts them off on a level playing field because everyone has the book, despite possible differences in their socioeconomic status or ethnic background,” Walker adds.
• Kids’ Book Fest is a free community-wide celebration that brings parents and children together to celebrate books and literacy. “This event has been an incredible success, drawing more than 2,000 people,” Hubberman says. “Each year, the festival is based on a different theme, with activities ranging from book-making and art projects to read-alouds and author visits.”
  
  “Ithaca teachers absolutely love the Book Fest. It’s such a positive, fun and pressure-free way to promote the love of books and reading. As teachers, we can take the Book Fest theme and integrate it into many different curricular areas – just think about the options in reading and art alone,” exclaims Powers. “Next year’s theme is food; you could never exhaust the possibilities when you start thinking about all the books and activities that we can do in our classrooms around that theme.”

Community Reminders

If the constant array of book-related activities isn’t enough to keep Family Reading Partnership in the minds of Ithaca residents, they simply have to travel around the community to see the stunning 12-foot banners created around the theme, “Read to Me – Any Time, Any Place.”

“Twelve talented artists donated their skills and time to give their own interpretations of this theme. The results are absolutely beautiful,” Hubberman says. “The artists’ creations were transferred to huge banners that are hanging around the community. We also used the artwork in a Family Reading Partnership calendar.”

“This artwork is amazing. My family looks forward to changing the months on the calendar so we can see each new creation,” McQuade comments. “We also appreciate the calendar for all its tips on establishing family reading traditions.”

Measuring School Success

Creating positive family reading traditions and promoting a culture of literacy are important goals – ones that would seem obvious for educators to focus on. But, like it or not, there’s little time in the school day for initiatives that don’t fall under the realm of the state and national push toward higher academic achievement.

“FRP’s programs and projects are just plain common sense,” Pastel says. “I think that sometimes we need to consider the common sense approach more than testing and standards.”

Still, if Family Reading Partnership can keep its common sense approach and also benefit children academically, there may be no need to make these tough choices. And that seems to be exactly what’s happening in Ithaca.

“Standardized test scores are rising in Ithaca. While you can’t tie that directly to literacy activities in the community, it’s absolutely clear that kids have more books in their hands than they have in the past,” says John Sipple, FRP board member and assistant professor of education at Cornell University. “And research shows that academic success depends a great deal on reading skills.”

In considering school readiness skills on a district level, Pastel sees definite improvements. “I’d estimate the number of students who have little or no experience with books before they enter school has been reduced by half,” she says. “I attribute that to the community’s increased awareness of literacy issues, as well as the increased distribution of books.”

Principal Mary Burtless has witnessed improvements at Ithaca’s Enfield Elementary School. “We established a goal four years ago to have 90 percent of our third graders reading at or above their grade levels. Toward that end, we incorporated a number of reading initiatives, including staff development, a consistent approach to reading instruction, along with FRP activities. We’ve climbed one percent every year and we’re now at 89.4 percent,” she says. “I’m sure that Family Reading Partnership has played a role in this success. The organization has worked tirelessly to make sure the value of early literacy is entrenched in our families.”

Family Affair

This family approach to creating a culture of literacy is one of the main characteristic of FRP – a cornerstone established by Hubberman.

“Literacy development, the process that brings a child to reading, begins in the first days of life at home – the first days an infant spends with his or her family. It is here at home that early, frequent, pleasurable experiences with books and stories, shared with someone you love, can build a strong foundation for reading, and a good life intellectually, socially and emotionally,” Hubberman says.

Carol Cedarholm, a reading specialist at Ithaca’s Beverly J. Martin Elementary School, can see evidence of Hubberman’s belief each day as she works with students who are having reading difficulties. “The children I work with haven’t had a lot of experience with books at home,” Cedarholm observes. “FRP addresses this issue by including a family dimension in its programs.”

Without this component, FRP programs wouldn’t have as much impact, Walker says. “Families are the child’s best teachers. Children learn what they live,” he adds. “If literacy is imparted as a family value, children will pick up on that and incorporate it into their own value systems.”

FRP’s enormous success also stems from its grass-roots beginnings. “This is an effort that grew from the ground up through engagement by many facets of the community,” says Steinacher. “If FRP had originated with a top-down approach – like many educational initiatives – it wouldn’t have worked so well.”

Both Powers and Sipple agree that FRP’s gentle approach to literacy is key, too. “FRP has always been careful about promoting a love of books, as opposed to pressuring kids to learn to read before entering kindergarten,” Powers says.

“In addition, FRP takes the right tact by not approaching reading from a technical standpoint. Rather, there’s a belief that kids who love reading will read more,” Sipple comments.

“Brigid-Building”

Anyone who has had contact with Family Reading Partnership agrees that the organization’s success can be attributed to the efforts of Brigid Hubberman and a very small staff consisting of Program Coordinators Katrina Morse and Mary Milne.

“Brigid and her staff know how to make people understand that they’re investing in the future when they support FRP,” Burtless says.

Sipple agrees, adding, “The enthusiasm of Brigid and her program coordinators is contagious. That’s why they reach into so many areas of the community.”

The far-reaching partnerships and relationships FRP staff and volunteers have established in the community work in the group’s favor. “We’re so fortunate for all the support we receive,” Hubberman says. “Just one example is the fact that Ithaca City School District has such a strong commitment to FRP that the district provides office space for our program.”

“If others wanted to create a program like FRP in areas outside Ithaca, they would have to involve a broad spectrum of stakeholders, build a critical mass of support and then network through all of the constituent groups,” Walker says. “You have to create a shared vision, like Brigid Hubberman did. Then it will take off like wildfire.”

The Ripple Effects

Family Reading Partnership’s positive effects are definitely taking off. Educators in the Cortland City School District have established Family Reading Partnership of Cortland County.

“We’ve instituted the Books at Birth program through one of our hospitals, and six districts in the county are involved with the Welcome to School Book Project,” comments Cortland City School District Assistant Superintendent Judi Riley. “Give the Gift of Family Reading has also been started and we’re planning to implement Books to Grow On and the Bright Red Bookshelf. We never would have been able to do this without Ithaca’s experience and guidance.”

Parts of Family Reading Partnership’s programs are also being used in Binghamton, Syracuse, the Capital Region and even as far away as North Carolina and California.

Jim Trelease, world-renowned author of “The Read Aloud Handbook,” says, “The Family Reading Partnership is exceptional in the United States. [The] organization should be held up as a national model for communities to say that this is what is possible to achieve when public and private work together for the good of children and families.”

FRP’s ripple effect goes even further. “Thanks to FRP, there has been a joining of hands in Ithaca, rather than a pointing of fingers,” Pastel concludes. “And this spills over into other areas. We not only have a culture of literacy here, but a culture of caring.”

(For more information on Family Reading Partnership, see the Web site www.familyreading.org or contact Brigid Hubberman at 607-277-8602. Hubberman’s e-mail address is brigid@familyreading.org. For details about Ithaca City School District’s role in the Partnership, contact Dr. Judith Pastel at jpastel@icsd.k12.ny.us.).