PHYSICIANS TO WORK WITH FAMILIES TO PROMOTE EARLY LITERACY

 PHYSICIANS TO WORK WITH FAMILIES TO PROMOTE EARLY LITERACY

UNITED WAY OF YELLOWSTONE COUNTY, BORDER STATES ELECTRIC AND THE CHILDREN’S CLINIC TO HELP 3,000 KIDS A YEAR READ
Press Conference: Thursday, March 27 10-11 a.m. at United Way of Yellowstone County located at 2173 Overland Avenue

March 24, 2014 Billings, MT The link between supportive parental involvement and children’s early literacy is well documented. Everything parents can do to support a child’s language and literacy counts toward success in school and in life according to experts on the subject.

Three organizations in Billings strongly agree; a leading nonprofit, a busy pediatrician’s office and a nationwide electrical product and supply chain business. This partnership between United Way of Yellowstone County, The Children’s Clinic and Border States Electric will provide 3,000 children with books and help parents with tips for reading to their child at home to promote early literacy skills.

According to Dennis Sulser, Clinic Administrator,10 pediatricians from The Children’s Clinic will be trained and certified by the program Reach Out and Read to “prescribe” books at 10 regular pediatric visits beginning at 6 months through pre-kindergarten. Over two years’ time, this will equal over 10,000 books.

Reach Out and Read is both a children’s literacy program and a parental engagement program. It is national in scope but implemented locally and proven to be both clinically effective and cost effective.

Prior to being Clinic Administrator at The Children’s Clinic, Sulser was principal at West High School. He said he has seen firsthand the importance of promoting early childhood intervention as a strategy for strong literacy skills and even to graduate from high school.

“Almost 64% of Montana’s third-graders are not reading proficiently when tested (National Assessment of Education Progress). And, approximately 44% of The Children’s Clinic families are on Medicaid, uninsured, or have our state health insurance program, making such children especially at risk of entering kindergarten unprepared to learn to read,” he said.

 


Shannon Steppler-Yonts, a pediatrician at The Children’s Clinic, is another strong supporter of this program.

“Through this program, The Children’s Clinic is reaching those children whose families may not have adequate resources to buy books and who do not have access to early education programs or daycare and therefore most need our services,” she said.

To help identify a potential funder for this program, The Children’s Clinic asked United Way for help. “We were looking for a funding source for this important program, and came to United Way because we knew early childhood literacy is one of their goals,” said Sulser.

United Way of Yellowstone County’s early childhood literacy program, called Reading Matters, began 10 years ago by providing books to children from birth to age 6 in partnership with local nonprofit agencies that serve low-income families.

“We have known for a long time through our Reading Matters program that it is critical to help young people be ready for school by working with them to develop early literacy skills. By having more books in the home and encouraging parents to read out loud, a child’s oral and literacy skills can develop. We are excited to be able to partner with The Children’s Clinic and Border States Electric and boost our efforts by engaging 3,000 more children a year in our community,” said Carol Burton, President/CEO of United Way of Yellowstone County.

“What we can do today to help kids succeed will directly impact our community’s future tomorrow. That’s why our board of directors has placed a priority on early childhood
literacy, ” she added.

This two-year project will be funded by Border States Electric. Tammy Miller, CEO of Border States Electric is also a volunteer for United Way of Cass-Clay in Fargo, North Dakota.

“The ability to read is one of the most amazing gifts a child can receive. And equally rewarding for parents is the time they spend reading with their child. I am so pleased that Border States is partnering with the United Way of Yellowstone County and The Children’s Clinic to launch the Reach Out and Read Program. This early literacy project will improve the reading skills of children in Yellowstone County, enhance parental engagement in reading, and will make a lasting impact in the community,” said Miller.

Contact: For more information about this press conference March 27, please call
Gayle L. Whittenberg, Director of Development at 272-8503 or on her cell phone at 698-9623.