Target Reading First

Progress Report

inside3: Parents and children reading

Local students performing better, but still have a long way to go

Kern County children are doing better in reading, writing and math, but we still lag behind the state. And less than half were proficient in these areas.

According to the office of the Kern County Superintendent of School, on the 2005 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) exams, Kern County students as a whole continue to make progress. All grade levels were up in reading and language arts, except one that remained level. In math, in grades two through seven, the growth was all positive.

Neverthess, in 2005 while local students made significant gains over the previous year, only 26% of 3rd graders were proficient or above in English/language arts. The percentages were somewhat higher for grades 2, 4, 5, and 6. Thirty-four percent of 9th graders were proficient in English/language arts.

Giving students a head start

In the last several years there has been an increasing focus on pre kindergarten instruction, including an emphasis on pre-literacy skills.

Preschool Literacy Project -- Building Blocks to Reading Success
http://www.csub.edu/plpbakersfield/

Funded in 2005 by a $600,000 grant from Chevron, this program is a joint undertaking of California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB); the Bakersfield City School District (BCSD); and Houghton Mifflin Co. The program, which will be implemented in the 2005-06 school year, is designed to help children acquire proficiency in four areas:

The program will also provide professional development and coaching for 22 preschool teachers, assist family resource centers with training and provide direct assistance to families.

The grant was an outgrowth of the collaboration between education and the community fostered by the Target Reading First Collaborative.

Ready to Start

Ready to Start is a 4-5 week school readiness program targeting four-year-old pre-kindergarteners in the Greenfield Union and Rosedale Union School Districts. The program provides a structured, academic pre-kindergarten experience in order that children will be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten.

Results of the summer 2004 Ready to Start program and preliminary results of the summer 2005 program indicate that children can be ready for kindergarten with as little as four weeks of structured, academic pre-K instruction delivered by trained teachers with the help of a classroom coach and classroom aides in a classroom of 15-20 students.

This could have far-reaching implications for the cost effective delivery of pre-K education in Kern County and the state.

The program is a partnership between the business community, child development experts, the Greenfield Union and Rosedale Union School Districts; the Kern County Superintendent of Schools; California State University, Bakersfield; and Bakersfield College. Business partners include Aera Energy LLC, The Bakersfield Californian, Jim Burke Auto, Kern Schools Federal Credit Union.

Target Reading First Collaborative brings educators and the community together

Since the collaborative was formed, representatives of the education, non profit, and business communities have been meeting regularly to learn about the various facets of reading and literay, compare notes, share resources and best practices, celebrate successes, and identify and fill gaps. The $600,000 Chevron grant to fund the "Preschool Literacy Project -- Building Blocks to Reading Success" was an outgrowth of relationships forged in the Collaborative.

Among the ongoing activities in which collaborative members participate are:

In addition, Collaborative members have been involved in other activities including:


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