| Program Overview |
Reading by 9 is a multi-year
campaign aimed at helping Southern California kindergarten
through third-grade students read at grade level by the
age of nine. It was launched by The Times in 1998. |
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The program is conducted
in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and
Ventura counties, and is supported by over 50 business,
civic, education, media and philanthropic organizations. |
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| The Issue |
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California students rank
among the nation's lowest in reading scores. |
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In California school libraries,
the average number of books per child is 12, compared
with the national average of 25. |
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In Southern California's
181 school districts and 2,000 public elementary schools,
more than 90 languages are spoken and 70% of the students
are limited-English proficient. |
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In the five-county region:
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Two-thirds of the more
than 2 million kindergarten through third-grade students
are below reading level |
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Four out of five third-graders cannot
read at grade level |
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The emphasis in grades
K-3 is placed on learning to read. After third grade,
the emphasis is on reading to learn. |
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Research shows that children
who fail to learn to read by age nine cannot do well in
other subjects and rarely catch up.
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| Program Components |
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Book drives |
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Literacy resources |
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Student reader incentive
programs |
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Programs for educators |
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Public awareness campaigns |
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Road to Reading Adventure |
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Library summer reading
program |
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Los Angeles Times commitment |
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Reading by 9 partners
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| Website |
www.latimes.com/readingby9
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| Book Drives |
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3.3 million new/gently
used books collected and donated to public schools throughout
Southern California (annual Holiday Book and Los Angeles
Times Festival of Books drives) |
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Donated books sorted/distributed
by county Offices of Education to public schools with
low reading scores
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| Literacy Resources |
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Parent reading guides in
English and Spanish containing articles, book lists and
tips reach 1.9 million parents annually |
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Parent reading tip sections
in Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean distributed by Asian-language
media |
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Collections of The Times’
Kids’ Reading Room stories published twice yearly |
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Toll-free customer service
line and website respond to thousands of users seeking
literacy information
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| Programs for Educators |
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More than 80 principals
participated in a two-year professional development program
designed to strengthen their literacy leadership skills
and help them develop strategies for improving students’
reading abilities. |
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More than 12,000 teachers
have attended Reading by 9 conferences on reading research
and instructional strategies.
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| Public Awareness Campaigns |
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Annual print and broadcast
public awareness campaigns |
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Public service announcements
promoting literacy and parent reading tips produced/broadcast
by English- and Spanish-language radio and television
stations |
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Annual print campaign promotes
library summer reading programs
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| Road to Reading Adventure |
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An innovative reading incentive
program that encourages students to expand their reading
skills while discovering Southern California's rich cultural
heritage |
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Sponsored by Bank of America |
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Arts, history, nature,
science and cultural activities offered by 17 institutions,
museums, school and public libraries and other organizations |
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Includes travel log, reading
lists, and visits to participating cultural organizations
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| Library Summer Reading Program (2004) |
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More than 87,000 children
participated in summer reading programs offered by the
public libraries in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San
Bernardino and Ventura counties. |
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More than 300,000 books
were read |
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Independent evaluation
concluded these students improved or retained their reading
proficiency during school vacation.
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| Student Reader Incentive Program |
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2 million students in 76,000
public and private elementary schools in five counties
participated in Pizza Hut BOOK IT! National Reading Incentive
Program (2003-2004) |
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Number of participating
schools increased by 9% in 2004 following Reading by 9’s
campaign targeting principals and parents |
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| Los Angeles Times Commitment |
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Editorial/opinion columns |
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Kids’ Reading Room
page published six days each week |
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Literacy supplements,
parent reading guides and special pages in the Sunday
Book Review, which also highlights children's books |
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Millions of dollars' worth
of free advertising space donated for public awareness
campaigns |
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Annual Los Angeles Times
Festival of Books |
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Paid time for employee
volunteers to tutor or read aloud to students at The Times'
eight partner schools |
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Staff and administrative
budget
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| Reading by 9 Partners |
Albertsons/Sav-on
Bank of America Foundation
BookEnds
Borders Books and Music
Center Theatre Group
California Community Foundation
Comcast
Enterprise Rent-a-Car
Executive Women International Los Angeles Chapter
FLEX Solutions
Goodwill Industries
Hoy
Inland Empire Reading Council
Kaiser Permanente
KTLA, Channel 5
Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles
Los Angeles Community College District
Los Angeles County Fair
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Los Angeles Public Library
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Unified School District
Love Ride Foundation
McCormick & Schmick’s
Mervyn’s
Music Center Education Division
Northrop Grumman
Orange County Department of Education
Orange County Fair
Orange County Reading Association
Pizza Hut BOOK IT!® National Reading Incentive
Program
Public Libraries in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside
counties
Public Relations Society of America – Los Angeles
Chapter
Rotary International
San Bernardino and Ventura counties
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
Scholastic Inc.
Screen Actors Guild Foundation
Skirball Cultural Center
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Stater Bros. Supermarkets
The Los Angeles Eye Institute
The Salvation Army
Univision 34 Los Angeles
U.S. XPRESS, INC.
Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office
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| Road to Reading Adventure Partners |
Autry Museum of Western
Heritage
The Bowers/Bowers Kidseum
Calico Ghost Town Regional Park
California African American Museum
California Science Center
Discovery Science Center
Japanese American National Museum
Kimberly Crest House & Gardens
Los Angeles Zoo
Museum of Latin American Art
Museum of Tolerance
The Music Center
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Riverside Art Museum
Riverside Municipal Museum
Ventura County Maritime Museum
Ventura County Museum of History & Art
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| Contact |
Marian Shima
Director, Signature Community Programs and Events
Los Angeles Times
213-237-2399 |
