Last week, we received a grateful letter of support from the principal of one of the many schools that we work with around the commonwealth. It served as a great reminder to all of us at Raising A Reader MA how important the work we do is to the communities and educators that are raising the next generation of readers and leaders in our home towns, so we thought we would share it will all of you!
“Dear Donna,
After nearly four years of working with Raising A Reader MA, I wanted to reach out to express my gratitude to you and your team for helping the Everett Public Schools reach our early literacy instructional goals by engaging families in strengthening the culture of reading at home.
Several years ago, I was fortunate to be assigned to a school that was working with Raising A Reader. The following year I was asked to be the Head Teacher at the Adams School. One of my first orders of business was to incorporate the Raising A Reader program. I knew that several of my families did not have access to books. I also knew that Raising A Reader offered workshops to help parents maximize the reading time with their children.
Our students at the Webster School have benefitted greatly from Raising A Reader. Because each child has four different books on a weekly basis they are far more familiar with them and know how to take care of them. Frequently when children come to us they are unfamiliar with the terminology of books. They don’t know the cover of the book, how to follow from left to right, or many of the other reading readiness skills that are crucial to heading into kindergarten. Our children are developing strong academic skills through Raising A Reader. Socially they are able to spend the special time that is so important in a parent-child relationship while reading or looking at a book.
Please know that I remain a fan and a supporter of Raising A Reader MA in Everett. Together we are making a demonstrable difference in the lives of children and families.
Sincerely yours,
Denise Hanlon
Principal, The Webster School”