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The Carroll County Youth Literacy Rotary Foundation recently was awarded a $15,000 grant from the global humanitarian organization Save the Children to support the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program in Carroll County and enhance the book inventory for the three libraries in the county.
“CCYLRF was selected by Save the Children because of its proven track record supporting kindergarten readiness, early literacy, and family bonding,” said Tamsyn Oakes, senior adviser for community-based services at Save the Children. “We are thrilled to work with them and with their local partner-champions for children for the third time. We support their innovative projects designed to help young learners grow and develop.”
“Run, don’t walk, to your nearest Carroll County library to pick up a large-print book for your child,” said Ashley Worley- Sharp, K-5 literacy coordinator for Berryville schools. “Large-print books are a proven format to improve student reading skills and improve reading confidence. These 113 new book selections are aimed at ages 7 (second grade) and up. Research shows that students read large-print books for a longer period of time, stay focused and connected to the text for longer, and are more likely to remember and comprehend what they have read.”
“These large print books for children are a crucial help for reluctant readers who may be struggling to make that leap between easier reads to chapter,” said April Griffith, director of the Eureka Springs Carnegie Library. “The fact that they are aimed at ages 7-9 is important because, according to the research, reading proficiency at that point is a critical marker in child’s education. The inability to read fluently by the end of the third grade is linked to increased likelihood of school dropout, and later on, overall ability to succeed as an adult in a world that is navigated primarily through text. Mastering basic reading skills early on in childhood really impacts the entire span of a person’s life.”
“They are high-interest, award-winning titles,” said Tiffany Newton, director of the Green Forest Library. “Don’t let the books sit on the library shelf. They need to be in the homes being read. “
More than 30 new BOB Early Reader books for ages 4 and up are a series of children’s books designed to teach reading skills acquisition through phonics methods are now available in the libraries.
“I personally taught my son to read using the very simplified BOB books set from the library, which is systematic in its approach to building literacy skills,” Griffith said.
“Easy Readers” collections are geared for age 5-8 who are starting to read on their own. They are especially helpful for the families in our community whose language spoken at home is Spanish.
“It will always be more difficult for a child learning to read to have the additional challenge of English being their second language, and we believe that expanding those collections to provide more Spanish resources will help address that disparity,” Griffith said.
“It is important to increase the quantity of bilingual board books and a set of Spanish-language emergent readers. It is important that Latinos know the library is free and the books can be borrowed for free. It is important to realize that there are books for all ages and for all interests,” said Peggy Lodewyks, treasurer for the Carroll County Youth Literacy Rotary Foundation.
All of the above books are available for borrowing now through the Eureka Springs, Berryville and Green Forest libraries. In addition, the grant provided funds for 130 Scholastic books to be given to older siblings (ages 6 and up) during Imagination Library registration of children from birth to age 5.
“The rate of proficiency for Dolly Parton Imagination Library students on reading/language assessment was 18.26 percent higher; on math 15.13 percent higher; on science, 24.16 percent higher. Both absenteeism and retention are lower according to the Arkansas Research Center. Under the DPIL program registered children from birth to age 5 receive a book mailed to them in their homes monthly for free no matter the family income or citizenship. As the children age out at 5 of the Imagination Library program, we believed it was important to continue the reading development of each child by providing the opportunities to grow in their reading development,” Lodewyks said. “Give your child the free gift of reading!”
“Encouraging your child to read shows your love. Watch as your child succeeds and overcomes any barriers, giving hope to all for a better world in the future because they read and read often,” said Linda Graves, chair of the Carroll County Youth Literacy Rotary Foundation.
=“The Carroll County Youth Literacy program is an excellent example of Rotarians working with the community to support early literacy programs to ensure that children have a solid foundation for learning,” said Carolyn Johnson, chair of the Basic Education & Literacy Rotary Action Group. “BELRAG and Save the Children are so pleased to award this grant to this collaboration among multiple Rotary Clubs and other community organizations. By putting quality children’s books in the hands of young children and supporting active family involvement in nurturing our youngest learners, this program can influence children’s learning now and for generations to come. This is a wonderful model of Rotary and the community coming together to create successful learning opportunities for all children.”
Learn more about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and the Carroll County Youth Literacy Rotary Foundation by visiting https://www.facebook. com/ImaginationLibraryCarrollCounty and https://imaginationlibrary. com.
For more information, call 479-244-9595 .
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