Just Read, Florida!
Just Read, Florida! • Parents • Communities • Educators • Businesses Just Read, Florida!
A Challenge to Florida’s Business Community
Florida’
s business community is stepping up to promote all our
reading ef
forts in the state with various activities including
Just
Read, Florida!
information shopping bags, trayliners, billboards,
and TV commercials sponsored by
W inn-Dixie, McDonalds, Out-
door advertisers, and Comcast Cable.
The “Business Challenge”
Issued by Governor Bush, this call to action encourages busi?
nesses to get involved in supporting reading in Florida’
s schools.
To promote this Business Challenge, a ten-point guide is being
issued to of
fer simple ideas on how a business can help local
students.
W orld Class Schools and the National Federation of
Businesses will assist with the dissemination of the Business
Challenge
guide, now available online at
www .flmentoring.or
g.
Community Involvement
Governor Bush is also encouraging Florida communities to make
reading a fun and enjoyable experience.
On the state level he
will participate in a reading program with other well-known
“readers” and ur
ges similar programs be set up on the local level.
Phone Line Story Time
Children can call a toll-free number to hear a story read aloud by
Governor Bush, Lt. Governor Frank Brogan, former First Lady
Barbara Bush, Ronald McDonald, Universal Orlando™ charac?
ters and Zach
Thomas and Jason
Taylor of the Miami Dolphins.
Each month a celebrity will read an elementary level book such
as
Cliffor
d, the Big Red Dog
. Phone Line Story
Time will be
accessible via a toll-free number beginning this summer
.
Ready to Read
Ready to read means ready to learn.
The Ready to Read component of Just Read, Florida! focuses
on the importance of including early reading as a critical
component of education reform ef
forts.
Ready to Read
includes:
• Training for local school readiness coalitions that focuses on
early literacy development and research-based reading readiness
instruction.
• The distribution of 400,000 copies of a revised edition of the
Sunrise Skill Builders
, a booklet that provides information about
the intellectual, physical, and social development stages of chil?
dren from infancy through early childhood.
coalitions access the most current research, information and ex?
pertise they need to develop competitive grant applications.
The
team will develop a template grant application that will be dis?
tributed to interested programs
.
This grant template will help
ensure that Florida early childhood providers have the absolute
best information on reading readiness at their fingertips.
•
Heads Up! Reading
is an innovative 44-hour course which
will be provided to teachers via satellite television to deliver the
highest quality professional development to early childhood edu?
cators and childcare providers who teach and care for children
birth though age five. Currently
, just 150 teachers have received
this training.
Governor Bush announced a goal of training 1,000
teachers by 2004 - a goal estimated to impact 20,000 preschool
students.
Reading First
in Florida
Reading First
is the lar
gest – and yet most focused – federal
reading initiative this country has ever undertaken.
Read?
ing First
focuses on what works, and funding will support
scientifically-based methods of reading instruction in grades
K-3. Florida can potentially receive $45.6 million a year
over the next six years.
Subgrants to eligible districts will
be used to improve reading programs, select and administer
assessments, and professional development.
Governor’s Educators’ Leadership Summit
Governor Bush convened the 2nd Annual Educators’
Lead?
ership Summit in
Tampa, May 6-7, 2002.
This event brings
together an elite group of educators recognized for their out-
standing contributions to Florida’
s students, schools and com?
munities.
The two-day event features sessions conducted
by nationally recognized reading experts, forums in which
Florida educators share best practices, opportunities for feed-
back, and time to work with colleagues.
Lieutenant Gover
?
nor Frank Brogan, Commissioner Charlie Crist, and Secre?
tary Jim Horne joined Governor Bush for this year
’s Sum?
mit, which focused on reading.
Just Read, Florida! is in partnership with:
•
Governor’s Mentoring Initiative.
This initiative, founded
by Governor Bush in 1999, is designed to help students ex?
cel in school by recruiting Floridians to become mentors.
The Governor
’s Mentoring Initiative promotes collaboration
among state agencies, businesses and nonprofit or
ganiza?
tions.
As of
April 2002, over 1
15,578 Floridians have joined
Governor Bush in mentoring a child.
•
Governor’s Family Literacy Initiative
. Governor Bush is
committed to creating a statewide understanding of how the
average Floridian can assist in the family literacy movement.
W ith the assistance of private supporters, including the South
Parents • Communities • Educators • Businesses
a bike.
districts, educators, parents and
strategies and reading course requirements.
Learning to r
ead is a lot like learning to ride
We star
t with the basics, gradually build their skills
Childr
en star
t early
, then
Vision and Research
build confidence as they gr
ow by
The Governor’s unequivocal goal is for all
practicing and thr
ough instruc-
students in Florida to be able to read on grade
tion fr
om adults.
Over time, a
level or higher by 2012.
bike rider can go fr
om riding
On September 7, 2001, Governor
slowly for a few minutes on a
Bush signed an Executive Order
,
level sidewalk to riding with
directing the Florida Department of
confidence all afternoon over
Education to work with local school
much more difficult terrain.
And
once they learn, they never for
get.
community members to review
It’
s a skill that lasts a lifetime.
current reading programs, reading
It’
s the same way with r
eading.
standards, ef
fective teaching
and confidence, and eventually give them the tools to explor
e
Scientifically-based reading research provides the foundation for
their whole world.
both Governor Bush’
s
Just Read, Florida!
initiative and for the
Our “Just Read, Florida!” initiative is designed to help every
federal
Reading First
program.
Just Read, Florida!
incorporates
child in our state get moving.
A child begins learning imme-
methods that emphasize the five key components of reading ef
fec?
diately and one component of our plan gives par
ents of new-
tive instruction:
phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency
, compre?
borns the tips and tools they need to begin r
eading to their
hension and vocabulary
.
who cannot r
ead,?
or who ar
e not?
developing the?
skills that will?
make them r
eady?
to r
ead, ar
e?
stuck in a much?
narrower world.?
It must be our?
task to give our childr
en the skills to make their world as br
oad?
and as open as possible.
We must r
enew our commitment to?
childr
en the day they ar
e br
ought home fr
om the hospital.
“Just Read, Florida!” assur
es our pr
e-K and public school
teachers get the r
esear
ch-based pr
ofessional development they
need to teach r
eading most effectively
.
teer and business communities so that every Floridian is a
stakeholder in cr
eating a state full of r
eaders.
The success of these efforts is critical because an inability to
read is much
more devastating
than an inability
to ride a bike.
Those childr
en
Phonemic awareness:
up of sounds.
Phonics:
Vocabulary:
Fluency:
and quickly.
Comprehension: the ability to understand
what you read.
Just Read, Florida! involves:
Educators
Parents and Families
It mobilizes our volun-
knowing that words are made
the link between sounds and letters.
what words mean and how to say them.
the ability to read words accurately
Communities and Businesses
leave no child behind.
The Early Childhood Community
• Governor Bush has also asked the Florida Network of School
Readiness Hubs to serve as a “Ready to Read Response team” to
work with local school readiness coalitions across the state as
they prepare to respond to the federal
Early Reading First
grants
program.
The Ready to Read Response
Team will help local
Just Read, Florida! • Parents • Communities • Educators • Businesses
Just Read, Florida! • Parents • Communities • Educators • Businesses
I invite you to r
ead mor
e about our “Just Read, Florida!”
initiative.
These components include tools, resources, materials and programs
to equip teachers, parents and families, and the early childhood
community with the necessary knowledge base to create success?
ful, independent readers.
They also guide communities and busi?
nesses in their involvement with state literacy ef
forts.
Florida
Annenberg Foundation and the Barbara Bush Foun?
dation, the Governor
’s Family Literacy Initiative provides
financial support to programs that promote literacy as a life-
long learning opportunity
.
As of
April 2002, over $3.25 mil-
lion has been given to family literacy programs in Florida.
Educators
Empowering teachers to
teach reading better.
Florida’
s goal is to have the
best-trained reading teachers in
the nation, by equipping teach?
ers and principals with the nec?
essary knowledge and tools to
provide ef
fective instruction,
diagnose reading dif
ficulties,
and fix the problems so that no
child is left behind.
The
Just
Read Florida!
initiative will
train teachers through the fol?
lowing programs:
Florida Center for
Reading Research:
The nation’
s preeminent reading research center will be based at
Florida State University (FSU) and be led by Dr
. Joseph
Torgesen,
the nationally recognized Robert M. Gagne Professor of Psy?
chology
.
The Reading Research Center will partner with the
FLaRE Center at the University of Central Florida (UCF) to of?
fer professional development based on this new research.
The
Center will be funded with $2.5 million in existing federal dol?
lars and
Reading First
federal funds.
Reading First Academies
These academies
will train all K-3 teachers by 2005, to ensure
that they have the instructional strategies in the latest research-
based methods; their new skills will be transferable to any dis?
trict statewide.
The academies will be funded up to $6 million,
through
Reading First
federal funding.
Reading Endorsement Certification
Available by the fall of 2002, this new endorsement will em-
power every teacher with the necessary skills to teach reading
effectively to their students. Endorsements indicate a teacher
’s
special level of expertise and are currently of
fered in gifted,
middle grades and English for Speakers of Other Languages.
Just Read, Florida! Leadership Conference
This summer institute will train principals how to implement a
school-wide research based system of instruction.
The summer
institute is for principals of schools showing the most need.
Scheduled for July 9-1
1, 2002, it is funded with existing federal
IDEA and REA funds.
Online Reading Classroom for Teachers
This program provides K-12 educators with opportunities to en?
hance their knowledge of research-based reading instruction,
while working toward recertification as their time schedule per
?
mits.
The interactive system will include immediate feedback
“I’m A Reader” kit
This kit, available September 2002, will
be provided to the parents of every new-
born Floridian.
The “I’m a Reader “ kit
will include a copy of the
Sunrise Skill
Builders,
an application for a library
card, a Scholastic book, a
Put Reading
First
brochure, and a congratulations
card from the Governor and First Lady
encouraging literacy development among
all families.
vided through private sources and existing
state and federal dollars.
School-Home
Reading kit
An online resource
available in English
and Spanish, this kit
is for every K-3
teacher and parent
and is aligned with
the Sunshine State
Standards.
The read?
ing kits are a collec?
tion of research-
based activities de-
signed to help fami?
lies reinforce the
reading and
language arts skills
that their children
are
school. Hard-copy
kits will be provided
to each of Florida’
s 1,700 elementary schools.
The cost for printing the kits is being
provided by
Verizon.
Summer Reading Activity Kit
Full of information and activities par
?
ents can use to engage their children in
reading over the summer
, this kit is pro?
vided through a partnership with Florida
PTA, the Florida Partnership for Family
Involvement in Education and
W ashing-
ton Mutual. It includes nine weeks of read?
ing activities, travel reading ideas, and a
magnet to post each week’
s activities on
the refrigerator
. Initial funding will be pro?
vided through the partnership.
The kit will
be of
fered online in May 2002 and distrib?
uted to parents by local PT
A’s.
Community and
Business Involvement
Mobilizing the state to create a literate Florida.
This component of the
Just Read, Florida!
initiative calls for a
strong commitment from volunteer groups and the business com?
munity to help nurture readers in every community:
Mentoring
A series of new mentoring initiatives will expand the number of
volunteers in Florida who will focus on reading skills.
Teen Trendsetters™
This new program will partner with the Governor
’s Mentoring
Initiative, Florida
Trend’
s NEXT, Universal Orlando™ and the
Florida Department of Education to train teens as lead reading
mentors.
These high school students will then help establish read?
ing tutor programs
in ef
fective mentoring skills based on the newest research in read?
ing.
www .floridanext.com
or on
the
www .myflorida.com
Just Read, Florida!
link.
AmeriCorps
Currently
, there are 631
Americorps members in Florida who are
mentoring more than 6,000 elementary students at 203 schools.
The Florida Commission on Community Service will make
Just
Read, Florida!
their first priority and have a goal of signing up
500 additional
Americorps members who would be devoted spe?
cifically to this initiative, impacting an estimated 3,000 students.
through email, instant messenging, tele?
phone follow-up, and a chat room, and is
scheduled to be online by Summer 2002.
This project, awarded to UCF
, will accom?
modate up to one-third of all certified teach?
ers in Florida was funded with $2 million in
existing federal funds.
Summer Reading Professional
Development
This program provides reading courses for
public school teachers and administrators of
grades 6-12 and is of
fered by FSU statewide.
This program will enhance the ability to
teach reading, and provide stipends to edu?
cators who participate.
Publisher-Provided
Professional Development
The Governor announced an unprecedented agreement with five
major instructional materials publishers to provide up to 100
hours of free training on the building blocks of reading to each
Florida teacher in the districts that purchase their instructional
materials.
Parents and Families
Reading begins at home.
The parent component of the
Just Read, Florida!
initiative calls
for strong parental involvement by putting ef
fective strategies
and activities in the hands of parents so that they can create a
positive reading environment at home:
Just Read, Florida! • Parents • Communities • Educators • Business
Just Read, Florida! • Parents • Communities • Educators • Business
Funding for the kits is pro?
at
learning
for local elementary students by training them
Students can apply online at
Program
Just Read, Florida!
Parents • Communities • Educators • Businesses Just Read, Florida! • Parents • Communities • Educators • Businesses?
