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http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/s...10442639c.html


ARTICLE EXCERPT:

In the North Sacramento Elementary School District, nearly nine out of 10 students come from poor families, many of them homeless, according to statistics from the state Department of Education.

The district adopted an early literacy curriculum for preschoolers that was recommended by the state education department, said Janet Sheingold, district director of child development services.

The curriculum features large-group reading, related interactive computer activities, and taking books home for parents to help their children read and memorize.

School officials have tracked children who took part in the curriculum and found that by second grade, their reading scores were significantly higher than those of their peers who did not participate.

"There is significant retention going on," Sheingold said.

North Sacramento teachers also encourage parent volunteerism and use of the well-stocked school libraries. That's especially crucial in a district where many parents themselves have trouble reading.

"When the parent helps the child, it also helps the parent pick up some of those literacy skills," Sheingold said.

At Parkway Elementary, the Raising A Reader program came courtesy of Terris McMahan Grimes and the Sacramento chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Together, they raised $1,300 to buy the books and related materials.

McMahan Grimes, a Sacramento mystery novelist, mentors a child at Parkway Elementary and chose the Head Start class because of its demographics. Eight out of 10 students at Parkway receive a free or reduced-price lunch and a majority of students are African American or Latino.

"I'm very passionate about literacy," said McMahan Grimes.

Born in Tucker, Ark., she and her family lived in a cabin without electricity or running water. She remembers there being only four books in the house.

Her family moved to California when she was 5 years old. Here, African American children got to attend school year-round, "not just when the crops were out," she said.

Her fondest memory is of her mother, a natural storyteller who bought Little Golden Books at the corner grocery store.

"She would sit me down on her lap and read," McMahan Grimes said. "That 15 minutes of my mother reading to me were the most valuable gift I ever had. My mother did that instinctively, and that's what we hope to share with these parents."

Parent surveys from 2001 show that children participating in Raising A Reader were more than 50 percent more likely to read at least three times a week, and up to three times more likely to visit a public library with parents than before they started the program.