Initiatives

Read to Succeed Buffalo does not provide programs or services, but rather acts as a neutral independent convener, or intermediary, of existing organizations to address literacy issues in a number of ways including:

Our Literacy Zone

Read to Succeed Buffalo has designated the northeast section of Buffalo (primarily zip code 14215) as the first literacy zone. This area was selected because it had the greatest levels of poverty and also because it had strong community assets on which to build. The literacy zone is a place where new collaborative models of literacy service delivery are incubated and effectiveness is measured. Once proven effective, RTSB replicates the model either in other areas of the literacy zone or in other parts of the city.

Our Success Centers

Only 7% to 10% of people who need literacy services actually sign up for services. Of those, approximately half drop out in the first three weeks. Issues such as transportation, child care and relevance to need are cited as the major reasons.

Read to Succeed Buffalo created a model where literacy services are brought right into a community. Called "Success Centers," these are trusted places on bus lines in densely populated residential areas where learner-centered, learner-directed literacy services are delivered. Surveys of community residents tell us the services most needed or wanted by the community. Literacy programs for children are provided while their parents take computer classes or register for other literacy services.

The East Delavan branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (BECPL) has been designated as RTSB's first Success Center. Called "Read to Succeed at the Library" and supported by a $133,000 grant from the Josephine Goodyear Foundation, we have transformed the library branch from one that only provided basic, traditional library services to an active center in the community.

At the Success Center, residents can take computer classes, learn more about financial literacy, enjoy story time and other activities with their children and enjoy a comfortable, safe, family oriented place. We continue to survey library users and community members and add services through our coalition members (such as GED instruction) that are important to local residents. The model has been so successful that, in collaboration with the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library System, we are planning to replicate it at another city branch library.

Read to Succeed Buffalo has added a second Success Center in the literacy zone at the Ed Saunders Community Center. Work is also beginning at two faith-based organizations to transform them into literacy Success Centers.

Early Childhood/Kindergarten Preparedness and Outcomes to Date

Approximately 40% of children entering Kindergarten are not prepared for school primarily because of limited oral vocabularies, a key indicator for reading success. These children tend to fall further behind as they move up through the grades. Preparing children for Kindergarten is a key strategy in the strategic plan for ensuring future school success. Read to Succeed Buffalo is very active in making systemic change in this area through a number of programs.

Early Reading First (ERF)

Significant improvement is being made in the Early Reading First program, a partnership of Read to Succeed Buffalo, Bethel Head Start, the Child Care Resource Network and the Buffalo Public Schools. Supported by a highly competitive 3 year grant of $4.1 million from the U.S. Department of Education (one of two awarded in the State of New York and one of 32 awarded nationally), this grant allows RTSB to work on Kindergarten readiness for over 200 three- and four-year old children in Bethel Head Start programs in the Read to Succeed Buffalo literacy zone.

The Early Reading First program, which infuses literacy skills throughout the children's activities, focuses on increased adult/child interaction to improve vocabulary, and encourages parental involvement to continue learning at home. The teachers benefit from working in teams, coaching and increased resources for their students.

Outcomes:

• Within the first six months, the ERF partners increased the number of children who could identify 18 or more letters of the alphabet (an ERF indicator) from 30% to 72%.
• In the same time period, receptive oral language skills for 3-year olds increased from 47% to 75% and for 4-year olds from 72% to 93%.
•  In the first six months of the program, RTSB closed the gap by a year for both three- and four-year old children. The majority of the 200 children in the program are on track to meet or have already exceeded the Buffalo Public Schools' Kindergarten expectations despite the fact that 98% of these children live in poverty, and many were developmentally behind in literacy skills when the program began.

Project CARE (Community Action for Reading Excellence)

Project CARE prepares children for school from birth through pre-kindergarten by providing assistance to licensed home-based childcare providers in the designated literacy zone. The program was made possible by a $400,000 grant from the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation. Five Read to Succeed Buffalo coalition partners (United Way-Success By 6, the Child Care Resource Network, Every Person Influences Children, WNED-TV and Literacy Volunteers) have collaborated to increase the number of quality childcare providers in the literacy zone. They have created a literacy-rich environment for pre-school children, preparing them for Kindergarten.

Outcomes

• At pretest in September 2007, 47% of the children in Project CARE were on target developmentally. Ten months later, 85% of the children were on target developmentally.

• In addition, 91% of the parents whose children were involved in Project CARE said their children seemed more confident;

• 100% of the childcare providers said the program was working and would recommend it for other childcare providers. RTSB is making positive systemic change in ensuring children's success in school in future years.

Youth Engagement

Nearly 40 percent of Buffalo Public School students who start 9th grade drop out before completing high school. Outreach to Buffalo's youth has never been more critical. Without a high school diploma, teens and young adults have little future ahead of them and little chance to become productive, tax-paying adults. Read to Succeed Buffalo's newest initiative is aimed at our community's youth and will coordinate necessary services through and with our coalition partners.

Read to Succeed Buffalo has recently organized youth providers to create a high-quality and engaging system of after-school services for children in Kindergarten through 12th grade. The new model being developed collaboratively will include a framework for quality, i.e., a set of agreed-upon quality standards that will identify what a quality program looks like, a common assessment tool and a defined set of measures that will determine a program's success. RTSB is working to ensure that all youth engagement programs - whether they are academic programs, recreational programs or others - are infused with literacy activities and that they are aligned with New York State Learning Standards.

City-Wide Literacy Services Through Coalition Partners

Through Read to Succeed's coalition partners, our three-year plan calls for programs to support literacy, including parent/family engagement programs, financial literacy, health literacy and computer literacy, programs for out-of-school youth, and adult basic education, including services for English language learners.

Conclusion

Read to Succeed Buffalo is a national model for community literacy with its collaborative approach to transforming current systems that are simply not working. By listening to the needs of residents, providing services in trusted places such as libraries and community centers, and creating synergies through the collaboration of existing providers, Read to Succeed Buffalo is already seeing a positive impact in our community. Our work, however, is just beginning. We are focused on achieving the goal of 100 percent literacy for every adult and child in the City of Buffalo. Read to Succeed believes that improving literacy in Buffalo starts with each of us. The issue goes beyond the school system. We each have a role - and a responsibility - to improve literacy in Buffalo. Our community needs and deserves 100 percent participation from all in order to break the cycle of intergenerational illiteracy and poverty.