Toyota Family Literacy Grants -- short appliction due June 23

Toyota Family Learning Grants http://toyotafamilylearning.org/about

Library Summer Reading Program

This letter is about children & reading --but applies to adult literacy.  Make sure your adult students who are parents or caregivers get connected to their local library's summer reading program.  Work with your students to help them gain skills and confidence to read to their children. 

Jacksonville has a well established adult literacy program and closely partners with the local volunteer literacy program.

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Guest column: Library offers summer reading program

Mon, Jun 16, 2014 @ 2:07 pm

Letters from Readers

Every Jacksonville resident should be concerned after reading the headline May 23:

“FCAT: 1 in 5 fail to make grade; 22% of third-graders in Duval schools below test reading standard.”

Poor reading skills affect everyone, regardless of whether you have children in school.

As the article pointed out, children who struggle with reading in third grade have an incredibly difficult time in later grades. 

They grow up to be teenagers who often do not graduate from high school.

They find it difficult to get and keep a job.

They are more likely to commit crimes and be dependent on welfare.

And they don’t contribute to our economy as they could have. 

For more than 100 years, Jacksonville libraries have been the place where children read a book for the first time.

Libraries are an important partner for parents and teachers in education and literacy, especially in the summer when school is out. 

The library is a vital bridge after the school day ends and between school years.