Success By 6 Program Takes Book Plans To The Bank
Emily is ready to attend first grade. She has caring parents who provide her with hugs and bedtime stories. Her health, hearing and vision are good. Educators say Emily’s chances of success in school and beyond are excellent.
Not all children, however, are as fortunate as Emily. More than 35 percent of American kindergarten children arrive at school unprepared to learn.
Success By 6, a Spokane non-profit organization, is working to improve these statistics in our community. The idea is simple, that every Spokane area child is ready for success in life by age 6.
Specifically, this means working to deliver ready-to-learn students to Spokane schools so they are better prepared to learn. And eventually to succeed in the workplace.
“It starts at birth,” says Pam Praeger, co-chair of Success By 6. “A lot of research indicates that the very earliest years lay a critical foundation for future development.”
In partnership with Momentum and United Way of Spokane County, Success By 6 is collaborating with schools, businesses and agencies to develop more than 20 strategies toward accomplishing its goal.
One strategy is to educate parents on the importance of reading to young children. Look for these programs in the future which are being developed by Success By 6:
“Raise A Reader” Parent/Baby Reading Kits, to be distributed through local hospitals to all new parents emphasizing the benefits of reading to their children.
A Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS), parenting classes offered through Community Colleges of Spokane.
Coming up soon are two events sponsored by Success By 6 which deserve community support:
Book drive: Clean out your garage, basement or bookshelves and donate quality children’s books to Success By 6 in its first community book drive, April 29 through May 10.
New and gently used books are preferred, specifically targeted at kids birth to age 6.
Drop off your books at Dishman Dodge, 7700 E. Sprague Ave., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Success By 6 will open a book bank in Spokane when it reaches its goal of collecting 5,000 books. The book bank will serve as a clearinghouse for books, redistributing them to any group, organization or agency that requests them.
“A book opens up all kinds of exciting interaction,” says Praeger. “We want to make it possible for children, and programs, to have books when they may not have a good supply.”
The book bank is not intended to take the place of a library, says Praeger, but allows groups to create a library of their own.
Book fair: Success By 6 is also sponsoring “Reading’s Fun Book Fair” May 3 and 4, also at Dishman Dodge.
The public is invited to purchase books priced 50 to 75 percent off the cover price. A portion of the proceeds will go to Success By 6. The fair is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information on Success By 6, call (509) 838-6581.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing of books
MEMO: The Family Track is a weekly column of notes and information for families. Send items to Lynn Gibson, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615, or fax (509) 459-5098.