Nearly 14,000 new books raised in the 11th annual Be Book Smart campaign are now being sent to elementary schools across the state, including Federal Way.
The Be Book Smart campaign is a partnership between Macy’s and Reading Is Fundamental, which has resulted in nearly $30 million to provide books to children in need.
In Washington state, Be Book Smart directly benefits children and families through Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program, which has given 2.7 million new books to more than 715,000 children in need across Washington state since 1990. Schools receiving books from Page Ahead include Mirror Lake Elementary in Federal Way. Page Ahead also supports social service agencies.
This year’s Be Book Smart campaign came on the heels of a new national survey that Macy’s Reading Is Fundamental commissioned, which shows that only 17 percent of parents believe reading is a top summer priority. But existing research indicates the importance of summer reading in preventing children from losing literacy skills.
The survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive in April, asked more than 1,000 American parents with children ages 5-11 about their summer reading habits. The survey sheds new light on the importance of summer reading, as advocates across the nation debate the best way to address the achievement gap.
In addition to the survey, results from a Department of Education study confirm summer reading is key to eliminating summer learning loss. The three-year study showed student gains of approximately 40 percent of a grade level in reading — the equivalent of sending those same students to summer school, at far less cost, according to Reading Is Fundamental.
Summer reading is a particular emphasis of Page Ahead. The organization has just completed a successful three-year pilot program to provide summer reading material to students from low-income families. This program, called Book Up Summer, is based on the Department of Education study.
For more information about Page Ahead, visit www.pageahead.org.
To learn more and help Reading Is Fundamental provide books to kids who need them most, visit RIF.org.
