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Providing Mentorship & Boosting Literacy Gains

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Providing Mentorship & Boosting Literacy Gains

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Learn how Kentucky’s Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) implemented Scholastic R.E.A.L., a program developed by Scholastic Education Solutions, to prioritize literacy as a key pillar of its students’ success and to create stronger readers.

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In 2018, Kentucky's Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) implemented Scholastic R.E.A.L., a program developed by Scholastic Education Solutions, to prioritize literacy as a key pillar of its students' success and to create stronger readers.

Over the course of four years, the district has watched students, teachers, and volunteers flourish within the program, with many expressing that their love for reading has only expanded. Recently, Scholastic visited Mary Todd Elementary to see the program in action. During the visit, Scholastic was able to capture on film the volunteers' testimonies and highlight how the reading small groups have impacted the kids' literacy journeys.

These clips will be shared in a new promotional video, expected to debut in August, which will help launch the Scholastic R.E.A.L. refresh. This initiative will include new family guides, as well as a 75% overhaul of culturally responsive new books to increase the diversity of texts available.

Christian Adair, District R.E.A.L. Equity Specialist and Advocate relates: "This program is a game changer for us. Every child needs a mentor and something meaningful happens when volunteers from our community share their love for reading. We partner with Scholastic R.E.A.L as a vehicle to get more mentors in schools."
Scholastic R.E.A.L. is a literacy-based mentoring program that gives school districts and community-based organizations the tools they need to recruit and equip mentors-caring individuals from the community-to be reading champions. Utilizing high-quality, diverse books and companion guides (for mentors, students, and families), mentors read aloud in classrooms and discuss books with children.

Scholastic is proud to feature FCPS and its dedication to maximizing community partnerships. FCPS's goal to create and improve educational equity will allow its students to experience an engaged support system from their community and grow their home libraries. This is the foundation of the Scholastic R.E.A.L. program: strengthening real world application from inside the classroom and providing a positive environment for kids to be curious and engage in new stories.

To learn more about these programs, follow @ScholasticEd on Twitter and visit the Scholastic Education Solutions homepage!

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Scholastic R.E.A.L. Program Provides Kentucky Students Mentorship Opportunities and Literacy Gains

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In 2018, Kentucky's Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) implemented Scholastic R.E.A.L., a program developed by Scholastic Education Solutions, to prioritize literacy as a key pillar of its students' success and to create stronger readers.

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You can help accelerate learning by providing children with diverse books paired with hands-on book packs and activity sets! These easy to distribute book bundles include a family guide and student journal to keep children reading and re-engaging with books all year long.

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LitLeague™ is an exciting new after-school, extended-day, enrichment, or intervention program that provides a joyous and interactive experience for young readers. It results from a one-of-a-kind partnership between Scholastic and best-selling author and literacy expert Pam Allyn.

LitLeague™ creates a highly engaging social-emotional literacy learning environment where children participate in book-related activities, including read-alouds, group discussion, independent reading, writing activities, games, songs, and more.

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Scholastic and Valley of the Sun United Way have partnered to create an easy-to-use School Readiness Kit. This kit is designed for families to help their children build essential foundational skills in all key areas of learning as they transition to kindergarten.

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At Scholastic, we recognize that success in school transcends the classroom walls. Scholastic’s comprehensive Family and Community Engagement (FACE) solutions inspire and equip districts, families, community organizations, and other partner foundations to work together in pursuit of higher student achievement.

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My Books Summer is a series of high-interest Take-Home Packs for Grades PreK-12 that keep children reading when the school year ends. Our Take-Home Packs reflect the interests and reading levels of each student and equip them with engaging books along with activities to ensure that they stay on track for success.

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LitCamp is a breakthrough four- to eight-week literacy program that combines innovative, research-based reading and writing lessons with an engaging and interactive summer camp approach. It results from a one-of-a-kind partnership between Scholastic, the literacy organization LitWorld, and best-selling author and literacy advocate Pam Allyn.

LitCamp Plus combines LitCamp with the 7 Strengths 100-book collection, an independent reading library built on the 7 Strengths philosophy of belonging, curiosity, friendship, kindness, confidence, courage, and hope.

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LitCamp and LitCamp Plus - Pricing - JLAW

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In partnership with Valley of the Sun United Way and the Yale Child Study Center-Scholastic Collaborative for Child and Family Resilience, we have created materials designed to help families support their children's development. These research-based resources include strategies to build resilience, foster family engagement, and support learning.

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Bring families in for a read aloud event and share best practices for supporting their child's literacy and learning goals at home. Each child leaves with 3 books to build their home libraries, while families gain specific strategies to help their child be successful in school and beyond.

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Scholastic Literacy Partnerships, a free membership program, with incredible benefits.  Join this community of leaders, committed to supporting reading and building a culture of literacy in their communities. Membership benefits include discounted prices, free shipping & handling and more! We welcome the opportunity to partner with you on this mission to ensure that children have the diverse and high quality books they need to develop a lifelong love of reading and learning.
Visit scholastic.com/lp to join today!

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This motivating evidence-based solution offers reading/ELA and math instruction, giving students the extra enrichment that builds academic success. Scholars will be actively engaged in a variety of learning activities that enhance reading, writing, and math skills through whole-group, small-group, and independent work.

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In partnership with the National Head Start Association, and Too Small to Fail, Scholastic Education Solutions are proud to offer a six-book Family Book Bundle. Curated and voted on by Head Start providers and directors from across the country, this resource is designed to promote children’s early literacy development and help families build their home libraries. The books support whole-child learning and foster a love of reading from birth. Each bundle includes a copy of Too Small to Fail’s “Talking Is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” Indoor Activities Kit, which is filled with fun ideas that families can use to talk, read, sing, and play together at home.

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Read and Rise reinforces the important role that families play in their children’s literacy development through the use of targeted and frequent literacy activities that emphasize family strengths, culture language, and traditions.  Empowering families with children in PreK-3rd grade, this  6 session family literacy workshop will transform the impact and role families play in their chid's education and success in school while building their home libraries.

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Family Engagement and Out of School Suite of Supports

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Family Engagement and Out of School Suite of Supports

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Committed to Family Engagement Professional Learning and Capacity Building

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Committed to Family Engagement Professional Learning and Capacity Building

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Turning Everyday Activities Into Learning Moments

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Turning Everyday Activities Into Learning Moments

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Valley of the Sun United Way is fighting to break the cycle of poverty for children, families, and neighborhoods in Maricopa County, Arizona. We know that one in four children are living in poverty and more than 60% of children do not have access to high-quality preschool programs.

When should education begin to prepare these children to meet the challenges awaiting them 18 years from now? At age three, when they can enroll in preschool? Age five, when they start kindergarten? The correct answer is now. It's never too early to start.

Readiness to enter school and to reach every educational milestone thereafter begins prior to birth and become even more imperative as children get older. Science tells us that 90% of the brain is developed by age five. Therefore, building a strong learning foundation sets the steps for children to succeed in school and life on a birth-to-career continuum. Failure at any stage along the continuum can come at an enormous cost to the entire community.

That is why, more than 12 years ago, we created a School Readiness Kit for families of students in grades pre-K-K, featuring activities aligned with developmental milestones. We also provided a link to an 'Ages & Stages Questionnaire' to track children's progress in communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal social skills.

The kits were designed for parents to engage with their children in everyday moments and turn them into learning opportunities. These were distributed in communities where children might not have access to high-quality preschool programs or may be cared for by family, friends, or neighbors.

Engaging parents and caregivers in the idea that learning doesn't just happen when a child starts kindergarten can be a life changing experience for everyone. Activities in the parent guide help families support their children's development through conversations-such as asking questions and getting children to respond-in addition to encouraging children to be creative and problem solve. This connects the approaches of learning and preparing for school.

Valley of the Sun United Way's goal of ensuring each and every child enters school successfully didn't end with the Maricopa County community. We teamed up with Scholastic's Family & Community Engagement program to share this resource on a larger scale, making it available to other community partners, United Ways, and schools to provide families and caregivers with tools, ideas, and guidance in preparing children for the journey to success.

When we looked at the data from our pre- and post-surveys, 86% of families shared that they are reading more and doing more activities with their children after receiving the School Readiness Kits. However, the power is truly in the stories we hear from families. "I just didn't know that I should read to my child every day, even if our home language is not English," shared one parent. "It is called a school readiness kit, but it helped me too. I now better understand things I can do at home to continue his love of learning," said another. One surveyed parent even noted, "This helped me in my efforts to prepare my children for school. I'm getting my GED, so I'm school ready too."

We know families want their children to succeed, and that sometimes, they need ideas and affirmation to help them along the journey. A parent, Katie, reached out to share her story about how she was going to through a difficult time in her life. She told us kept the kit on her nightstand so each day when she woke up, she was reminded of what the most important thing in her life was and reminded that she could do at least one thing that would make a difference each day for her son.

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Turning Everyday Activities Into Learning Opportunities

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Valley of the Sun United Way is fighting to break the cycle of poverty for children, families, and neighborhoods in Maricopa County, Arizona. We know that one in four children are living in poverty and more than 60% of children do not have access to high-quality preschool programs. When should education begin to prepare these children to meet the challenges awaiting them 18 years from now?

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Engaging and Supporting Families with School Readiness 

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Engaging and Supporting Families with School Readiness 

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Today, Scholastic, the Yale Child Study Center + Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience and Valley of the Sun United Way have announced the release of the School Success Kit, a collection of social-emotional learning resources for families of students in grades K-1 to support their children's development.

The kits are available for purchase on the Scholastic Teacher Store Online for educators, the Scholastic Store Online for families, the Scholastic FACE Member store, and Scholastic Literacy Partnerships store, for $39.99.

At a time when learning opportunities have been disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, these research-based kits, created for families of kindergarteners and first graders, will help to foster family engagement, support social-emotional and academic learning, and build resilience.

The School Success Kit provides families with a tote bag packed with:

More than 70 engaging activities, available in English and Spanish, to support students' learning and skill building across key academic content areas

A bilingual family guide with milestones and activities to strengthen literacy skills and guidance for parents on how to communicate with their children's teachers to form strong partnerships with schools

A student journal to encourage self-expression through drawing and writing

Three bilingual picture books, digital songs, and bookplates to foster a sense of book ownership

"The School Success Kit is such a powerful tool for helping all families support their children's social-emotional and academic growth," added Karen Baicker, Executive Director of the Yale Child Study Center + Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience, and Publisher for Family and Community Engagement at Scholastic. "Now more than ever, it's critical we provide as much support as possible to families who are guiding their young children through school. Stories, increased opportunities for literacy, and strong school-family partnerships go a long way in fostering the resilience children and families need to have a successful school year and lifelong learning journey."

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School Success Kit Helps Families of K-1 Students Support Learning at Home

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Today, Scholastic, the Yale Child Study Center + Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience and Valley of the Sun United Way have announced the release of the School Success Kit, a collection of social-emotional learning resources for families of students in grades K-1 to support their children's development.