On The Same Page

Solution

A literature-based program, presented in after-school care, with reading, enrichment activities and competitions, children can provide a multitude of benefits: improve their reading level, improved general knowledge and vocabulary, an understanding of story-telling, increased empathy, and enhanced analytical thinking. These skills translate to better understanding of societal expectations and more positive life experiences.

The On The Same Page program will serve children in communities harmed by systemic inequities, whose parents’ financial situations often reduce their exposure to books outside of the classroom, an important determinant of reading level. The schools selected to participate in the program are Title 1 schools i.e. at least 75% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

This empowering program offers a simple, proven way to help children succeed

and will impact their lifelong opportunities.

How It Works

A specially designed curriculum based on a children's book series is provided to Extended Learning at 21st Century Community Learning Centers. This incorporates quarterly competitions to enhance engagement, inspire creativity and critical thinking.

The book series at the center of the program is Alphabet Friends: 26 story books, plus an enrichment activity workbook to accompany the series. These books enhance essential reading skills, as determined by current concepts of reading, such as letter recognition, phonics, sight words, vocabulary development. The books have a strong speech and language therapy use, and the enrichment activities aid reading comprehension and writing development. A full book series will be given to each after-school program, along with staff training in how to best utilize the books to enhance literacy and social-emotional development.

The competition will range in style throughout the year to include art, poetry, story writing, and drama. First place prize winner will receive a story book. Reading competitions have been shown to have positive impacts, as a tool to improve creativity, critical thinking, and collaborative learning. The literature also shows that reading competitions also increase the utilization of texts and the application of creativity in problem solving.

In addition, the books also teach strong moral lessons, which support social-emotional learning in the after-school program. The incorporation of moral lessons in children’s literature has been shown to be a powerful tool for supporting children’s social and emotional development. Books can foster empathy, emotional regulation, communication, and the development of a positive sense of self. Reading can lay the foundation for future emotional regulation, social interaction, self-awareness and the development of healthy relationships. The unstructured, low pressure environment of after-school care provides children the opportunity to talk about emotions they encounter in the books, which enhances their impact.

The primary goal of the program is to aid reading, speech and language development, building a strong foundation for lifelong literacy. The secondary goal is to affect positive social-emotional learning via the books’ morals. Thus the aim is to positively impact these children by building a life-long love of learning and a life of success.

Why School Aftercare Programs?

After-school programs are comprehensive programs offering an array of activities that may include play and socializing activities, academic enrichment and homework help, snacks, community service, sports, arts and crafts, music, and scouting. The goals of after-school programs range from providing supervision and reliable and safe childcare for youth during the after-school hours to alleviating many of society’s ills, including crime, the academic achievement gap, substance use, and other behavioral problems and academic shortcomings, particularly for racial/ethnic minority groups and low income students.

Demand for after-school programs has been found to be higher among lower-income and minority families, substantial barriers, including cost, availability, and safe travel, prevent these households from accessing after-school programs relative to higher-income households Palm Beach County provides free after-school care and is therefore able to serve the most needy children in the county without regard to financial barriers.

Academic support provided at after-school programs have been shown to affect positive results. Greater academic improvements have been attained by students with low academic achievement prior to after-school participation. The effect of improved academic achievement cannot be understated. Individuals with low academic achievement have negative adulthood outcomes, such as low income, poor health, and risk of incarceration. It is often children from underserved minorities who attend after-school programs and this is where we may see the greatest gains. Many do not have access at home to literacy-building resources such as books, magazines, the Internet, and other technology-based materials, and they may lack English-fluent or literate role models.

The children who attend after-school programs have, by definition, fewer contact hours with their parents thereby reduced opportunities to learn moral lessons and societal norms. The social-emotional messaging in the selected books is well placed to support development in this domain. The other lost opportunity may well be being read aloud to by busy, working parents. Children who are read to by parents score 1.4× higher on literacy measures. While we cannot replace this experience, books will be read aloud to children in the program, at least increasing their experience of this important activity.

After-school programs provide an opportunity to work with kids in a different way than during the school day,” This more relaxed, playful, and nurturing atmosphere allows adults to emphasize the social aspect of literacy. There is great flexibility in selection of activities in after-school programs, with the limitation of a certain time allocation to homework help. Many programs seek new material but are limited by budget allocations. On The Same Page fulfills this need without the cost. After-school programs also have a great potential to help close the gap in achievement among at-risk populations and to enlist more partners for improved reading and literacy because of their community and family connections.  

Problem

Currently, there are 34,931 economically disadvantaged elementary schools in the United States. These are known as Title 1 schools, meaning that 70% or more of their student population participates in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program and are living at or below the poverty line, according to Federal Standards.

The link between socio-economic status, poor reading level, general academic success, and behavioral issues is well established. The effects of poor reading extend well beyond the classroom and into adulthood. Younger children who have difficulty in reading comprehension and literacy subsequently display problematic behaviors in their future years. Studies also show that individuals with low academic achievement have negative adulthood outcomes, such as low income, poor health, and risk of incarceration. Reading is an important predictor of academic success, which in turn predicts a child’s path in life.

Expected Outcomes

This program creates measurable change for children, for schools and at the national level:

In the immediate term, there will be an improvement in the general reading level. This will translate to better academic performance and improved school engagement. All students will benefit as classrooms with high performing students have low levels of behavior issues, and therefore more learning can take place.

Long term, there is a strong, positive relationship between childhood literacy and physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood.

For Schools

For Children

Intensive reading programs can cost between $10,108 for a struggling 3rd grade student, and $791 for a below average kindergarten student. The literacy support offered in the program will reduce spending on intensive reading.

The early interventions made possible by the On The Same Page program may reduce the burden for speech and language therapy as children. Schools may have more resources more available to meet the needs of students requiring speech therapy, which can impact the overall budget and distribution of staff and services.

The social emotional learning offered by the On The Same Page program will improve behavior, which will create a positive learning environment for all students, and help reduce the “teacher exodus” as teachers leave the profession citing stress resulting from poor student behavior.

For The Nation

There is profound impact of childhood literacy on families, communities, and societies. Research shows the power of reading is unequivocal: it increases educational engagement, enhances equity in communities that need it, positively impacts future economic and social success, In fact, studies show that access to books in childhood can actually impact the long-term physical and mental health of young people—resulting in higher adult brain function and better physical health, and might actually result in a longer life expectancy.

Why We Need This

A recent national survey commissioned by Nemours Children’s Health showed that over 80% of early elementary teachers are concerned about their students’ literacy skills, Teachers reported that, on average, only half of K-3 students entering the classroom are meeting grade-level reading expectations. Many respondents said they feel ill-prepared to tackle the reading crisis. Less than a quarter reported being very satisfied with the literacy tools available to them, and about 2 in 5 said their materials lack engaging content and that there isn’t enough time for literacy instruction.

Program Partnership

On The Same Page is a partnership between Mard Philanthropy and 21st Century Community Learning Centers of Palm Beach County.