To say that reading impacts every area of our lives is a drastic understatement. Each day, we lean on Literacy for everything– from reading street signs and medication labels to learning how to execute a recipe in a cookbook.
Aside from practicality, reading also offers an escape into the unknown. Parents foster creativity, curiosity, and wonder by encouraging make-believe and helping their kids form an understanding of the world.
Yet, by the time kindergarten rolls around, a striking one in three children in the United States enter unprepared to learn.
This lack of literacy throughout the country is what inspires Christine Ward, the Executive Director of Raising A Reader MA (RAR-MA), to continue bridging the literacy gap in her home state of Massachusetts.
A Parent Paving The Way
Christine has lived in Massachusetts for over 40 years, receiving her Bachelor’s degree in English from UMass Amherst before plunging into an accomplished career in banking and real estate asset management.
In 1999, she also returned to school to obtain her Master’s of Business from Babson College. There, she honed her entrepreneurial spirit before graduating and working for internet startups.
But, after Christine welcomed her own two kids into the world, her focus shifted. Once it was time for her sons to enter kindergarten and preschool, she started to consult and volunteer on the library committee at her youngest’s preschool.
“I love helping people and knew reading to children at an early age was important. I also wanted to do something more meaningful and impactful than an internet startup,” Christine recalled.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
It was not long until she was introduced to the Founding Executive Director of Raising A Reader MA through her work on the library committee and learned about the organization’s critical mission.
“During one of the book fairs, a friend suggested I meet the Executive Director of Raising A Reader Massachusetts, Donna DiFillippo. She was so engaging, and I loved the mission,” Christine said.
Raising A Reader Massachusetts is an early literacy family engagement organization that works with families and children from birth through age six in under-resourced communities throughout Massachusetts. The flagship affiliate of Raising A Reader is an independent nonprofit that works to empower parents to be their children’s first teachers.
Using an evidence-based model that draws on over 35 years of research, RAR-MA shares dialogic reading techniques and encourages parents to ask their kids open-ended questions. The organization also provides culturally relevant and age-appropriate books for families via its Red Bag Rotation Program.
Christine first joined RAR-MA as an Operations Manager in 2010, where she was able to understand more about the program and the needs in her community. Then, as her family responsibilities shifted, she was able to take on more at the organization– first becoming Vice President of Finance before being appointed Executive Director in 2017.
“As I learned more about the program and truly enjoyed the books with my children, I kept taking on more responsibility– as my time as a working mom would allow. It was such a happy experience, and I was proud to be a part of such an impactful organization with a great return on investment,” Christine explained.
“I can’t think of a better way to invest than to support our youngest learners and future leaders with a lifetime of opportunity. I may have a less-traditional path than some, but I love to apply my for-profit experience in the nonprofit world. And I am so passionate about reading and books and self-improvement, and I have this great opportunity to combine a passion with a role.”
Why Early Literacy Is The Ultimate Return On Investment
Did you know that by the time a child reaches just 5 years old, their brain is already 90% developed? This means that the first five years of a child’s life is a critical developmental window– one that can even determine long-term success.
But, there is one simple act that can both bring parents and kids together while fostering a strong foundation in learning: reading.
According to over 35 years of research and 39 independent evaluations, parents or caregivers regularly reading to their child before kindergarten has been found to be the most significant factor impacting a child’s academic success.
Yet, children throughout the country are struggling with a lack of early literacy– especially in the wake of COVID-19 learning losses. And the state of Massachusetts is no exception.
“Most third-graders in our partner cities– ranging from 63% to 88%– did not meet state expectations for proficiency in reading in 2022, in contrast to the statewide average of 56%,” Christine revealed.
“These latest scores represent a decline in nearly every single RAR-MA community from 2019 and 2021 (there were no MCAS in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) proficiency levels, exposing the pandemic’s exacerbation of the literacy opportunity gap in the communities we serve.”
What’s even worse is that by the end of third grade, 74% of struggling readers will not ever catch up, according to The Children’s Reading Foundation. At the same time, students who can read proficiently by the completion of third grade are actually five times more successful in terms of college achievement and career readiness.
The lack of early literacy is even more prominent in under-resourced and minority communities, too, since access to books is a significant obstacle.
“The difference in availability of books for sale– at a 16:1 ratio– reveals a stark inequity between borderline and middle-income neighborhoods in comparison to low-income areas,” according to a 2019 Book Deserts study conducted by researchers at New York University.
This limited access, coupled with a lack of reading support in the home, prompts a cycle of disadvantage that will only grow unless addressed by targeted interventions.
Yet, if young children enter kindergarten having been read five books per day by a caregiver, they will hear an average of 1.4 million more words than kids who were not read to.
Behind Raising A Reader MA
RAR-MA is supported by decades of research and helps parents bridge the reading gap at home. And the organization’s dialogic reading model is flexible– empowering caregivers to encourage their child’s literacy growth no matter their starting competencies.
“Our program is designed to encourage families to enjoy reading together more frequently, coach caregivers on a specific set of skills to make storytimes more impactful, and support families in developing a literacy-rich environment for their child,” Christine said.
It is also extremely simple for families to get involved. The only qualification is that caregivers must participate in a program that partners with RAR-MA. Some of the organization’s collaborative partners include Head Start centers, schools, early learning programs, adult education centers, shelters, and more.
Plus, if a child is enrolled in a program or classroom that is already partnered with RAR-MA, then they are automatically signed up to be a part of the early literacy program.
RAR-MA’s dual intervention model consists of two key components– a weekly book rotation known as Red Book Bag Rotations, as well as family engagement interactions, like workshops.
Workshops are scheduled throughout the year, operating on an academic year schedule. Then, each summer, the team analyzes the reading intervention results and prepares new workshop materials for the upcoming year.
“Families can advocate with their child’s school or daycare center to partner with RAR-MA to access the full suite of our intervention strategies. We also believe in public equity of access to literacy resources, and as such, offer a wealth of resources,” Christine said.
These resources can be found readily available on RAR-MA’s Family Resources page.
How The Community Can Lend A Hand
Low literacy is a systemic problem that cannot be solved overnight or without the help of changemakers. According to Christine, investments from both philanthropic and government resources, as well as policy changes to better support the entire early childhood ecosystem, are needed.
Along with these efforts, simply raising awareness about the need for early literacy intervention is another avenue Christine has been exploring.
This year, RAR-MA is proud to be the nonprofit partner of Lisa Donovan’s Kiss108 Book Club, which has been a viable outlet for the organization to share more about its important work.
Back in March, RAR-MA’s Facebook page was also discovered by The Kelly Clarkson Show, which presented a unique opportunity to feature a nonprofit that was doing remarkable work in local communities.
But, over time, Christine recalled how the idea morphed into a much larger program– with the show ultimately deciding to highlight and combine RAR-MA with an author segment.
So, on Thursday, April 27, Christine appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show alongside renowned author Judy Blume. She was also joined by actresses Rachel McAdams and Abby Ryder Forston, as well as Kelly Clarkson herself.
“Kelly Clarkson was just as I expected. She’s so real and welcoming, and the whole experience was surreal, especially as I was so nervous and put so much pressure on myself to make everyone at Raising A Reader MA proud! It was very much a ‘Hollywood’ experience,” Christine revealed.
She even hired a Glam Squad to do her hair and makeup and was wowed when the show’s green room had placards for both her name and RAR-MA’s Senior Program Manager, Guadalupe Panameño.
While on the show, the organization received a $10,000 check from Scholastic and a 50th-anniversary copy of Judy Blume’s book, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” This book was live auctioned at RAR-MA’s annual Dinner With An Author Gala on May 11, and more information about the event can be found here.
Still, for Christine, the biggest “win” being on The Kelly Clarkson Show was the exposure that her organization would reap– leading to more investments and resources for families in the Massachusetts community.
Where Raising A Reader MA Plans To Go Next
During her tenure as Executive Director, Christine has helped her organization reach new heights. Two new gateway cities were added to the organization, and RAR-MA’s reach has been expanded throughout the state of Massachusetts.
“We are also about to enter the third of a three-year curriculum refresh project, which builds out our core workshop and book offerings to include workshops that apply our core strategy of dialogic reading to the targeted content areas of social-emotional learning and STEM, which are both even more important to address in the wake of the pandemic and years of learning interruption faced by children and their families,” Christine added.
Still, as the organization grows, RAR-MA’s core mission will remain the same– sharing age-appropriate, culturally relevant books with caregivers and empowering them to be their child’s first teacher.
Right now, Christine is also witnessing an explosion in demand which can only be satisfied with appropriate funding.
“We are a simple solution to a systemic problem, and the more people who support Raising A Reader MA and a love of literacy, the more opportunities that are made available for our youngest learners,” she said.
In the meantime, Christine and her team will continue working to bring early literacy education to families of all backgrounds throughout the state of Massachusetts.
“Our program is for everyone. Regardless of a family’s socioeconomic status or other demographic identities, early caregiver involvement has positive, lasting benefits on early student achievement and motivation and leads to subsequent caregiver involvement and student achievement,” Christine underscored.
“We invest in the whole child by not only promoting school readiness but by approaching it through strengthening the relationship between child and caregiver.”
To learn more about Raising A Reader MA, you can visit the organization’s website linked here. Or, to watch Christine on The Kelly Clarkson Show and learn more about early literacy intervention, visit the link here.
If true crime defines your free time, this is for you: join Chip Chick’s True Crime Tribe
In 1982, This Mother Of Two Vanished After Escaping From A Psychiatric Hospital In Alabama
Do You Know Who The First Female Film Director Ever Was?
Peonies Are An Impressive Addition To Any Garden, And Here’s How You Can Successfully Grow All 3 Varieties
His Teen Daughter Got Suspended From School For Bullying A Girl With Autism, And He Decided To Dole Out Extra Punishment Even Though His Ex-Wife Doesn’t Agree
She Went On An Ice Cream Date With A Guy, And After She Declined His Idea To Go Back To His Place To Watch A Movie, He Demanded That She Pay Him Back For The Ice Cream
His Girlfriend Refuses To Clean Up After Herself, And Now He Doesn’t Want To Move With Her To A Larger Place Until The Issue Is Fixed
