Read to Me Project

To date, since 2011, the Read to me project has reached approximately 7,000 students, infant, toddler and pre-school age children. Read to Me Project (RtMP) is different from other literacy programs because of the uniquely simple concept of engaging 4th, 5th and 6th grade students in the learning and language development of their younger siblings. RtMP is a preventative program serving thousands of students, young children and families each year, spreading the word that early engagement and exposure to learning results in critical brain development that is the foundation for school success and a lifetime of learning. Students are not teaching their siblings to read but to become curious about life and to develop a love of books and learning, thereby setting the little one's lives on course for greater opportunities and maybe even changing their lives forever. The Read to Me Project has grown and flourished during the 2016-17 school year, adding capable staff, dedicated volunteers, inspired board members, a successfully implemented training curriculum, new and diverse funding sources, meaningful partnerships and collaborations, and significant community outreach and awareness building. The Read to Me Project has gained respect and recognition as an organization of integrity and heart, offering real solutions to the literacy crises in Monterey County.

Read to Me Project helps underserved children achieve kindergarten readiness and a lifetime of literacy by empowering school age brothers and sisters to read to their young siblings at home. The Read to Me Project vision is Every child entering kindergarten prepared to succeed. In 2013, Monterey County reported 6,510 births; of these, 35.9% of these births were born to mothers without a high school degree, and Hispanic mothers had a significantly higher percentage (48%) without a high school degree than mothers of all other racial/ethnic groups (Monterey County Birth Outcomes Report: 2013). This indicator itself is associated with lower school readiness among these children (Augustine et al., 2009). Imagine a 5-year-old starting school with the vocabulary, cognitive, and language skills of a 3-year-old! Currently there are more than 400 under-performing 4th, 5th and 6th grade classrooms across Monterey County, and nearly 4,000 children enter kindergarten significantly behind in readiness skills every year. Most children who start behind stay behind and continue to struggle with literacy through high school; many never become proficiently literate. We engage and coach 4th, 5th and 6th graders with infant, toddler and pre-kindergarten children at home to read to those little ones.