cOMMUNITY pARTNERSHIP FOR child development

announces "all cpcd reads" program

Colorado Springs, CO – October 5, 2011 – This month, Community Partnership for Child Development (CPCD) will introduce its literacy initiative “All CPCD Reads.” The program was developed in partnership with United Way’s “Success by 6” early learning program to increase low-income families’ access to books and encourage parents to get involved early in their child’s education.

A child’s first steps toward learning to read begin at a very early age. By third and fourth grade, reading proficiency scores serve as a make-or-break benchmark in the educational development of a child. In Colorado, third grade reading scores are one assessment used to predict the state’s future prison populations. Of fourth graders who took a National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading test in 2009, 81 percent of Colorado’s low-income children failed to reach the “proficient” level – just two percent below the national level.

CPCD’s focus is to promote literacy and reading at all levels by getting books into the homes of children from low-income families. Research indicates that the number of books in a child’s home directly impacts reading achievement. All CPCD Reads encourages parents to read with their child a minimum of 15 minutes a day, five days a week, for a total of five hours a month. Children and parents who complete their monthly five hours receive one free book a month to take home.

Books for the program will be collected through a number of efforts, including book grants, donations, community book drives and the purchase of low-cost books through book bank projects like First Books, from which CPCD received 1,568 books in September. 

“Parents are a child’s first and best teacher,” said CPCD Chief Executive Officer Noreen Landis-Tyson. “By providing the necessary tools, we hope that this program will educate and engage parents about the importance of the first few years in life as the foundation for future literacy.”