Motheread Helping to Sound the Alarm: WAKE Up and Read
Motheread president, Carolyn Dickens, has been asked to participate in the WAKE Up and Read campaign, an initiative launched to improve early childhood literacy in Wake County, North Carolina. Dickens joins leaders from the Wake County Public School System Office of Early Learning, Wake County Smart Start, libraries, pediatricians, faith-based organizations, the business community, civic groups, and fellow non-profits. Dickens serves on two action teams. First, while serving on the Resource Coordination Team, she helps to provide books and related academic material to low-income families and children. She also serves on the Parent Awareness and Education Action Team. Recognizing the importance of parent education in meeting the literacy needs of children, Dickens says, “Parents are their children’s first and most important teacher. Motheread has always taught parents how to help their children develop early literacy skills and a love of reading in a way that is nurturing and even fun.”
National Office Looking Up and Out: Race to the Top
In December of 2011, North Carolina was awarded one of nine Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge grants from the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From January 2012 to December 2015, seventy million dollars will provide funding for a number of projects designed to improve learning and development for young children, including an innovative strategy called the Early Childhood Transformation Zone. Motheread will be working to help families support early language and literacy in the Transformation Zone which includes Beaufort, Bertie, Chowan, and Hyde counties. Motheread trainers will be traveling to the Zone to provide Motheread/Fatheread, Story Exploring and B.A.B.Y. trainings as needed.