About Us

By 3rd Grade, 39% of all third graders do not read proficiently and this number jumps to 60% for low income children.  Children who are not reading proficiently by 3rd grade are 4 times more likely to leave school without a diploma.

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2011

Children whose families read to them at home are more likely to be prepared to succeed in school

 

Raising A Reader MA offers an evidence-based early literacy program that helps families of young children (ages 0-5) develop, practice,  and maintain habits of reading together at home.  Why? Research shows that the single most significant factor influencing a child’s lifelong achievement is being regularly read to by their parents and adult caregivers before starting kindergarten.

Our History:

Raising A Reader Massachusetts was founded in 2006 with the support of the GreenLight Fund and is a national affiliate of Raising A Reader.  Raising A Reader MA is an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service guidelines.  Our tax id is 80-0297898.

Our Model:

Raising A Reader MA is closing the achievement gap in high need communities by working with children and their families to deliver:

RAR-MA makes over 100 high quality culturally appropriate book titles accessible to children and families every year.

  1. Our signature red book bag rotation program
  2. Our multilingual DVD and other training resources for families
  3. Our training and support for early education providers

Our Partners:

Raising A Reader MA is a collaborative program – we work with centers of early education and care including Horizons for Homeless Children, Head Start and public pre-schools.

Our Reach:

Raising A Reader MA currently has more than 38,000 books in circulation through the homes of 18,000 children and families across the Commonwealth including: Dorchester, East Boston, Chelsea, Brockton, Lawrence, Lowell and Plymouth.  By 2014, we plan to include Fitchburg, Holyoke, Lynn, Northampton, Springfield and Worcester.

"It is really exciting to have books at home. They just get read over and over. I love seeing kids opening the books and getting so excited." Wendy Guerrero, Parent

In Massachusetts, one child out of three from a high need community will not graduate from high school because the child is entering kindergarten behind and will never catch up.

 

Children growing up in poverty experience a 30 million word gap [that is to say, they enter Kindergarten having heard 30 million fewer words], compared to their middle class counterparts (Hart & Risley, 1995).


 

Children whose families read to them at home are more likely to be prepared tosucceed in school

By 3rd Grade, 39% of third all graders do not read proficiently and this number jumps to 60% for low income children.Children who are not reading proficiently by 3rd grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma (Annie E.Casey Foundation 2011)”