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Every child deserves the opportunity to experience new worlds and achieve their full potential. We know this happens through positive connections among families, schools and communities. The perfect connector? Books.
The ability to read and learn are critical life skills necessary for launching children toward success. Yet we know many barriers exist for Florida’s students, including the lack of access to high-quality, enriching books. An effort launching this fall – the New Worlds Reading Initiative – aims to reduce those barriers through a coordinated approach to improve reading development.
This statewide book delivery and family-engagement program provides books monthly to students between kindergarten and 5th grade not reading on grade level. Recognizing that books alone won’t eradicate illiteracy, the initiative will engage school districts and community organizations to promote reading and build families’ capacity to improve children’s reading ability.
“Unlike other book-delivery programs, the New Worlds Reading Initiative combines comprehensive support that aligns with the existing focus on improving teachers’ capacity to provide quality instruction,” said Phil Poekert, director of the UF Lastinger Center for Learning. “This proven approach will improve literacy acquisition and ultimately create a continuum of support for parents, teachers and students.”
The New Worlds Reading Initiative is completely free to eligible students and families. Each participating child will receive a hard copy book, delivered each month throughout the school year. Book delivery will begin December 2021 with rolling enrollment to allow for maximum participation. This program is an important step in building the comprehensive system necessary for a literate Florida.
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The UF Lastinger Center for Learning is partnering with education leaders statewide to implement this innovative literacy program, established in law by the Florida Legislature through House Bill 3.
In a news release from July 22, Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, stated, “We cannot overstate the profound impact teaching a child to read will have on their future success. Not only do we open them up to new worlds and ideas, we give them the tools to expand their imagination, foster their curiosity and ultimately chart their own destiny.”
This program promotes ongoing, positive connections among families, schools and communities around a shared mission that all children learn and love to read. Through strategic school and community partnerships, hundreds of thousands of eligible students will have the chance to build personalized libraries that reflect their unique interests and backgrounds. Titles may include, and “I Am Enough,” “Charlotte’s Web,” and “Hidden Figures,” based on the Florida Department of Education booklist embedded within the B.E.S.T. Standards.
“It’s critically important for Florida’s children to develop reading skills at an early age for them to be successful at school and in society,” said the bill’s sponsor Representative Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Piece. “Through the New Worlds Reading Initiative, we give students and parents books and resources to partner with teachers and schools in achieving literacy goals.”
For more information regarding the New Worlds Reading Initiative, please visit newworldsreading.com or contact new.worlds@coe.ufl.edu.
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