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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2003

News Release

NEA Awards 12 Grants for Youth Literacy Projects

Student-Led Service Programs Spotlight Reading Activities

Washington, D.C. - The National Education Association (NEA) has awarded 12 grants totaling $5,000 to 12 student-led programs through Youth Leaders for Literacy, a joint initiative of the NEA and Youth Service America (YSA).

Projects in Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New York, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Washington State, Indiana, Missouri, and New Jersey were chosen by an NEA and YSA panel that based its selections on originality, potential impact on the community, and contributions to literacy development. Awards grants will be used by the winners to further develop and expand their winning projects.

Service projects range from a Kentucky eighth grade class who made school life easier for a group of severely impaired special ed students by reading with them and introducing new books and games, to an Indiana sixth grader who launched "Read It Again," which has collected more than 5,000 books for an Indianapolis children's hospital. The Viet Youth Board in Oklahoma City is putting newcomers to America on the road to reading with books, bilingual volunteers, and encouragement. The Somali Panthers in Salt Lake City are showing the community their American spirit by traveling across town to read - and create a play - with elementary school children. (The complete list of projects appears below.)

"Whether collecting books for a struggling library or traveling across town to read with refugee children, the young people being honored with these awards represent the best of America's future," said NEA President Reg Weaver. "Just as their schools and communities should be proud of what these youngsters are doing, NEA is proud of the opportunity to salute them."

"Being able to read makes everything else possible, including the ability to make meaningful, lifelong contributions to your community through service," said Steven A. Culbertson, YSA President and CEO. "The Leaders for Literacy winners know and share the belief that they can each achieve success while helping others on National Youth Service Day and year-round."

Youth Leaders for Literacy was launched in 2000 to encourage and celebrate literacy service among our nation's young people and to honor them for literacy-related activities that benefit others. Traditionally, literacy service projects begin on NEA's Read Across America Day in March and continue through YSA's National Youth Service Day in April.

Youth Leaders for Literacy 2003 Grant Award Winners

Sixth grader Lea Steiner of Boise, Idaho, thinks of herself as an ordinary person-an ordinary person who can do lots of things to help other people. She created the "Book It to Kangundo Project" to help expand learning and develop friendships and understanding between children in Idaho and children in Kangundo, Kenya. The project includes having Boise students and children of migrant farm workers in Caldwell, Idaho, make handmade books about themselves and collecting supplies for Kangundo students to do the same; establishing pen pal relationships between students in Idaho and Kenya; and collecting and shipping donations of books to Kenya. Lea devised the handmade book exchange to help Idaho students walk in the shoes of others, knowing from her experience as a reader that if people hear the stories of another, they understand each other much better.

At West High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Somali Panthers @ West, decided they would like to do something in their community to help American citizens see them and their families as positive influences in the community. The Somali Panthers will travel across the city to Meadowlark Elementary School where they will share books with children ages 4 to 7 and then help them adapt a story into a play-a play that would be filmed, along with a "behind the scenes" look at the production of the entire project-and shared with the community.

Active 4-H club member Miranda Schreiber from Edgemont, Arkansas, is working with her club and others in the community to help West Side School students in Greers Ferry "Get Into G.E.A.R. (Get Excited About Reading). Members of Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) and the local Ladies Home Extension Club help West Side 4-H provide the "gear"-handmade and hand decorated book bags, which are filled with books for kindergartners and first graders to keep. Seeing the enthusiasm for reading generated by their new books, Miranda has designed a guest reader series, reading challenge, and reward program. High school students and special guests will visit and read with K-3 students and K-6 students will be competing to see who can read the most books in March and April.

The Viet Youth Board of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is self-governing group of young adult leaders who promote the power of young minds and help young people recognize their capabilities. In service to their community, the Viet Youth Board often works with refugee children. Finding that many struggle with reading, the board decide developed a Youth Leaders for Literacy project to give refugee children in their community the confidence as well as the guidance they need to explore and read books. Because the children are of many nationalities, bilingual volunteers will provide translation services while the Viet Youth Board provides the motivation and peer support to put newcomers to America on the road to reading.

Seventh grader Jana Mlod from Weedsport, New York, combined two of her volunteer activities-Girl Scouts and Junior Friends of the Library-to create a literacy project that will impact future readers and leaders. Jana will use her Youth Leaders for Literacy grant funds to purchase copies of Girl Scout Handbooks to keep and circulate in the Weedsport Public Library. She then plans to host fun reading activities at the library for each of the 11 Girl Scout troops in Weedsport while introducing them to the benefits and resources the library has to offer.

Katie Herleman, a ninth grader at Pine View School in Osprey, Florida, cannot forget that on September 11, 2001, President George Bush was reading with children at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, when he received the news of terrorist attacks on America. To commemorate September 11, and to promote freedom and world peace through education and literacy, Katie developed the "Let's Roll Into Reading" program. "Let's Roll Into Reading" features an interactive activity called "Hear a Hero," which brings firemen, policemen, school resource officers, veterans, and other heroes and guests to read to children in elementary schools, libraries and bookstores in Sarasota County. In addition to "Hear a Hero," "Let's Roll Into Reading" will offer a reading challenge for elementary school students and a musical event-"Music to Read By"-featuring musicians, school bands, orchestras, and choruses to raise money for literacy.

When eighth graders in Mrs. Cindy Warrick's 4th core reading class at Carroll County Middle School in Carrollton, Kentucky, finished reading Flowers for Algernon, their perspective and understanding of the world of the mentally impaired students at their school came into focus. Students began volunteering to read with severely impaired special education students, creating not only excitement and interest in reading but improving social skills and self-confidence. Eighth graders introduce new books, create activities and games, and put on a play to bring the joys of reading to special education students. Funds they receive from their Youth Leaders for Literacy grant will purchase more books and resources for the special education classroom.

As part of her 4-H leadership project, last summer Justina Hackman, a sixteen year old student at Lincoln Way High School, started the "Book Buddies" program at the Manhattan Public Library in Manhattan, Illinois. So successful was the pairing of teens with kindergartners to read and explore books and activities on a farm related theme that Justina decided to expand the project into "Reading Pals," setting up a variety of weekly opportunities for teens to read with children ages three to seven at the library. In addition to reading and book related activities, each child will get to take home a book to keep.

AmeriCorps volunteers Kurt Hildebrandt and Gabrielle Sanchez volunteer at Columbia Elementary School in Wenatchee, Washington, through the Washington Reading Corps. Columbia Elementary is a low income school where the majority of students speak English as a second language. Kurt and Gabrielle plan to introduce students to different cultural resources in their own community through schoolwide and grade-level literacy activities, such as a field trip to the local newspaper and a workshop with a local reporter, a writer-in-residence program with a local author, a poetry workshop with a local poet, and a visit from a local theater group.

When Jhordan Logan's baby brother Ty was born prematurely, Jhordan needed something to keep her mind off her worries at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana. She turned to books and the hospital's small library, but there were few books of interest. Another patient at the hospital talked to Jhordan about her own disappointment in the limited access to books during her nearly year-long stay. After hearing how much young patients relied on books as diversions from pain and worry, Jhordan decided to do everything possible to get them books. Back home in New Castle, Indiana, Jhordan launched the "Read It Again" program and within two months had collected over 5,000 books. Now, 12-year-old Jhordan and "Read It Again" are at it again at Riley Hospital, this time not only bringing patients books to read and keep, but also giving them the materials and help they need to write and illustrate their own books. Jhordan also will read to or with patients at the hospital and at the waiting room of a local pediatrician.

Molly Flanagan is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. For the past two years she has worked at the Cochran Community Center, bringing afterschool and summer programs to youth from a downtown St. Louis public housing complex. With Cochran Gardens Housing nearly a mile from the nearest library and students not always permitted to check out books from their school libraries, Molly has determined to improve upon the two shelves of books and 1974 set of encyclopedias the Center has to offer. With her Youth Leaders for Literacy grant, Molly and children from the Cochran Community Center will travel to different branches of the St. Louis Public Library, explore library resources, and select, check out and read books to help inform their purchases of new books for their very own library. In addition to the access to books and the opportunity to develop new reading programs, Cochran kids will benefit from watching their project grow into a library that serves their own community.

Teens 'N Tots is a unique preschool for three to five year olds in Oak Ridge, New Jersey, where supervised students of Jefferson Township High School's Advanced Child Development Class team up to teach. The 26 students have also teamed up in support of literacy. Teams of students have developed six weeks of reading fun and language development for the tots, including books and learning resources that the tots' parents also can access.

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The National Education Association, the proud sponsor of NEA's Read Across America (www.nea.org/readacross), is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.