Reading Sets Children Up For Success

READING SETS CHILDREN UP FOR SUCCESS

By MARIE WOOD

George Peterson and his daughter, Kristin Cain, are on a mission to make sure all to read – one child, one family, one community at a time. To accomplish this mission, they created imagineOne, a non-profit dedicated to promoting literacy.

“Literacy is one of the most important life skills, and Illiteracy is one of the root causes of unemployment, poverty and inequality in our country today,” George Peterson said.

George and Kristin come by their passion for reading and literacy naturally. In 1932, their family founded Creative Education, an educational book publishing company. Today, The Creative Company and its sister company, The Child’s World, publish high-quality children’s books. Both companies are headquartered in North Mankato.

For decades, The Child’s World’s flagship product has been a 26-volume set of books written by Jane Belk Moncure, an award-winning author. The series, “My First Steps to Reading”, takes a phonics approach to reading; each book introduces and focuses on one letter of the alphabet and the sounds it represents. The book series comes with a parents’ teaching guide, as well.

In 2019, father and daughter became aware of the literacy rates of graduates from Mankato Area Public Schools. At the time, literacy rates were 76%; meaning that 24% of graduates were not able to read proficiently. These alarming figures inspired the duo to create imagineOne and to use “My First Steps to Reading” as the means to accomplish its mission.

Placing “My First Steps to Reading” into the hands of every family in the Mankato area and educating parents about the importance of teaching children to read became the goal of imagineOne. To accomplish its goal, imagineOne brought together our schools and local partners to turn the page.

Greater Mankato Rotary, Mankato Area Public Schools (MAPS), Mankato Area Foundation, Taylor Corporation, Glen A. Taylor Foundation and several private donors are all partners in the mission to promote literacy.

MAPS Superintendent Paul Peterson is grateful for the family’s dedication to making this literacy effort a forever initiative. “My First Steps to Reading” is given to families in the district’s early learning programs – MAPS preschool, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) and Early Childhood Special Education.

“What makes this so remarkable is this isn’t a one and done. In the last few years, it has been a really important part of our programming as we welcome students into their first experience with learning. The ability to provide them with literacy and books is something that’s pretty special,” Superintendent Peterson says. “In our MAPS Center for Learning, our preschool kids are coming with their families and we are providing books to the parents. It’s something what we’re really proud to be a part of.”

“Early intervention and preschool programming are absolutely critical for setting a student on a path to learning success,” he adds.

Additionally, imagineOne focuses on teaching parents how to teach their children fundamental reading skills. In collaboration with MAPS, family engagement events are organized and A Parent’s Guide to “My First Steps to Reading” is used as the foundation to the parent education classes offered.

"Books alone do not teach a child to read. Children need to be taught the letters and sounds of language," Kristin Cain explains.

Service

ImagineOne was looking for a community partner with the same drive and passion for literacy and found that partner in the Greater Mankato Rotary Club. Rotary is dedicated to nine causes; literacy and supporting education is one of them. Partnering with imagineOne is a good fit, Greater Mankato Rotary President Paul Osdoba believes.

“Rotary members may change, but if we have a good program, we’re going to focus on that need in our community for as long as needed, much like we have done to eliminate polio in the world,” says Pam DeMarce, Greater Mankato Rotary member and leader.

Greater Mankato Rotary will be helping imagineOne place “My First Steps to Reading” with 1,000 families in our community. The club has pledged $50,000 to the Mankato Youth (MY) Place’s literacy room by donating $10,000 each of the next five years. MY Place provides free out-of-school programming, safety, support, food, academic programs, assistance, advocacy and opportunity to children facing barriers.

A strong supporter of MY Place, Alliances and Outreach for Kids (A-OK) was formed by retired educators to promote and support learning experiences for children in the Mankato area. A-OK volunteers are reading with children at MY Place.

Pam has learned that one-on-one tutoring can make a big impact on literacy. “We have some wonderful educators in our system who are doing their best to educate our children. But they need our help,” Pam says.

As part of their partnership with imagineOne, Greater Mankato Rotary hosted a program on literacy which featured a panel of educators to raise awareness. Audience members were in tears as passionate educators told their stories on helping kids to read.

“This is something we can all get engaged in. These are our kids,” Pam says.

To learn more, visit imagineone.org

I’m a huge supporter of reading and early literacy. When we read with babies and toddlers, they tend to read earlier and excel in school. Parents, caregivers and older siblings help to lay the foundation for reading, well before children enter school. Reading aloud with little ones, being silly and exploring books together improves language development and literacy.

From birth to 3-years old, the brain is most receptive to language learning. So reading, talking, singing, rhyming and interacting with this age group is so important! Remember, it’s totally normal for babies to chew on books, toddlers to turn five pages at a time, or your 3-year-old to want to read the same book over and over. It all counts!

Did you know that even a 3-minute story every night before bed can help instill a love for reading in your child?

And it doesn’t matter if, as a parent or caregiver, you’re not the best at reading. Even pointing out pictures in a book or making up your own story are beneficial for language development.

If you need support in early learning, talk with your pediatrician or primary care provider. We also encourage you to contact your local school district or county Head Start.