MILWAUKEE PUBLIC

LIBRARY

BEYOND THE LIBRARY

WALLS: LITERACY

LEADERS FOR SUMMER

READING

MARY MADIGAN & VICTORIA SANCHEZ

LIBRARY EDUCATION SPECIALISTS

AGENDA:

• Overview of Milwaukee Public Library Philosophy of Youth

Services

• Scope of Outreach Services

• Child care summer outreach

• School age summer outreach

• Questions/answers

READ

LEARN

CONNECT

~MILWAUKEE PUBLIC LIBRARY

MISSION STATEMENT

Goal:

Create a culture

of reading in the

life of a child.

CREATING A CITY OF READERS

LOOKING AT READING THROUGH THE LENS OF A CHILD

Institute for Research on Poverty

www.irp.wisc.edu

LOOKING AT READING

THROUGH THE LENS OF A

CHILD

What does it look like:

• reading material

• adult models

• conversations and reading

out loud

• library cards

HOME:

Opportunities:

• Classes – Lunch and Learn

• Introducing performers

• At sign-up

• Booklists

• Story Time/ Play & Learn

• Adult education

LOOKING AT READING

THROUGH THE LENS OF A

CHILD

What does it look like?

• Regular user

• Feeling of belonging

• Know how to navigate

• Support of reading and

the library

COMMUNITY:

Opportunities: Partners promote

library events

• Medical clinics

• Restaurants

• Church bulletins

Partners provide

programs at the library

• Artists

• Theater groups

• Unique groups

Library spaces have a

“customer focus”

• Inviting

• Easy to navigate

LOOKING AT READING

THROUGH THE LENS OF A

CHILD

What does it look like?

• They have access to books and someone reads to them daily

• They see library staff visit

• Library posters are displayed

• They participate in library card drives

CHILD CARE, SCHOOL AND

SUMMER CARE:

Opportunities:

• Visits to child cares and schools

• Class visits to the library—including story time

• Library card campaigns

• Booklists

READ LEARN CONNECT

EDUCATION & OUTREACH

SERVICES

BIRTH TO FIVE

OUTREACH SERVICES

Books2Go & Ready to Read • Special Books2Go

library card for child care centers.

• Continuing education workshops for providers.

• Play and Learn for families.

• Early literacy experts model outreach story times at child care centers.

Deposit Collections • Monthly delivery and

pick up of books

• Ready to Read ‘graduates’.

SCHOOL AGE

OUTREACH SERVICES

• Deposit collections to youth serving agencies

• Outreach events/family literacy events

• After school reading clubs (new in 2012-2013)

• Library card drives

SERVICES FOR

SENIORS

• Van service/remote library

• Deposit collections to nursing homes

SUMMER READING….

READ LEARN CONNECT

SUMMER READING OUTREACH

Which is especially devastating for children from low income households.

SUMMER LEARNING LOSS

CHILD CARE SRP OUTREACH GOALS

Children:

• Love books, “reading,” and being read

to

• Seek out books as an enjoyable

activity.

• Excited about Library story times at

their centers.

CHILD CARE SRP OUTREACH GOALS

Child Care Providers:

• Read to class daily

• Reading with their class is a FUN

event

• Model for providers how to conduct an

enriching story time

CHILD CARE SUMMER

READING OUTREACH

• Story time outreach to 80 child care classrooms/ about 1000 children ages 2-5 years.

• Enroll the other infant and toddler classrooms while we are there.

• Track time spent reading aloud and/or singing to children 0-5.

• Teachers earn books for their classroom libraries.

ACTIVITIES DURING VISIT

FOCUS:

PRINT

MOTIVATION

A GIFT FROM MPL

SURVEYS

ADMINISTERED AT

LAST STORY TIME

THE RESULTS:

Based on participant responses:

50% understand what Print Motivation is.

68% understand how to build Print Motivation in

their students.

INTERPRETING RESULTS

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

We changed attitudes and behaviors!

~I will follow the steps that Ms. Anna took when she was getting ready to read to the children and while she was reading. The children were so happy to see her and from all of us at (child care name), we would like to say Thank you Ms. Anna.

~The first thing I’m going to do is make a reading area in my class. It’s going to have chairs, a book shelf and puppets to go along with the

books. Also I’m going to make sure they’re kid friendly.

When asked to list ways to develop Print Motivation, one provider wrote:

• Involve the children during story time • Encourage the older children to read to this group • Ask the children to tell me what they learned from the story • Ask the children to tell me what the story was about

COMMITMENT TO

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

• Print Motivation still the key

• Child Care providers

appreciate the outside

connection!

• Story Time props and

extension ideas-VERY

useful to the providers

• Staff saw need to go

WEEKLY

SCHOOL AGE SRP OUTREACH

GOALS

Children will have:

• Time to read and highly motivating,

age-appropriate reading material.

• A desire to read.

• Knowledge about the library and SRP.

• Understanding of the importance of

summer reading .

SCHOOL AGE

SUMMER READING

OUTREACH

• Children ages 6-12

• Majority of cost to attend is subsidized through W-2

• Enrolled in 4-8 week summer enrichment programs run by:

• Community Learning Centers (CLC) in collaboration with Milwaukee Public Schools

• MPS Recreation camps

• Community-based programs such as Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCA

• Milwaukee Choice and/or private schools

HISTORY OF SCHOOL

AGE SRP OUTREACH

• Started in 2002.

• Was a means to grow SRP participation.

• Reach children who would not otherwise have access to the library and/or reading material during the summer.

MPL’S SCHOOL AGE SRP

OUTREACH MODEL

Visits:

• Time with students

• Build relationships with sites

• Model reading

• Accountability

Incentives:

• Reflect the goal of supporting reading

• Help students build background needed for future learning

ACTIVITIES DURING

VISITS

• Carry a message about reading

• Read alouds

• Connect to library

• Book talks

• Reader’s Theater

• Games with a book focus—Speed Book Dating

OTHER SRP

OUTREACH SERVICES

Deposit collections

MPL checks out and delivers a collection of high interest paperback books based on a profile completed by the sites.

Library card drives

MPL works with select sites to get library cards for the students. Applications are distributed by the sites and cards are presented at the site during the final visit.

SURVEYS/EVALUATION

2013 SCHOOL AGE SUMMER

READING OUTREACH

FAST FACTS:

• 81 sites joined the library for the SRP School Age Outreach

• 5,708 school age children participated

• 83.3% of children read 4 or more books

• 44,937 books were ready by children at the outreach sites

RESOURCES FOR SITES:

Books!

• 36 sites received a deposit collection (Tub of Books)

• 4,318 library books were delivered throughout the course of the summer

• 34 of 36 sites with deposit collections had completion rates of 80% or higher

Professional assistance!

• All sites received a resource binder with in-depth descriptions of an ideal reading climate, useful literacy practices, graded booklists, and a quick-reference guide with tips to incorporate reading throughout the day.

• All sites received a Book Bundle—a collection of 10 age-appropriate, high interest books including ‘guides’ to encourage staff to read aloud to children.

• MPL trained 160 staff members from various sites in how to use the Book Bundles and shared strategies for reading aloud with children.

NEW in 2012—continued in 2013:

• All children received a free book at the end of the summer.

• 4,352 books were given to children to help them build their home library.

INTERPRETING RESULTS

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

"The Super Reader program motivated students to read every day.”

~staff member at Camp Fernwood

“How thrilled they were to get their books and popcorn. As soon as

they selected their books, they automatically sat back down at the

tables, munched popcorn and read! After 15 minutes, the teachers

said it was time to stop and the kids moaned.”

~2013 School Age SRP Outreach consultant

What did you like most about being a Super Reader?

“The Library people.”

~response to question on student survey

COMMITMENT TO

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

• Weekly visits

• Smaller groups are more educationally sound

• Scheduling will be easier

• Book bundles

• Make sure site staff has high quality read alouds to share with children

• Staff training

• MPL will continue to train the staff at the summer sites so that they:

• Understand why summer reading is so important

• Gain confidence in reading aloud to children

• Teach how to use Book Bundle books

• Know how match to books to children’s interests

• 2012 Reading Lounge Project

• Intensive outreach model piloted through LSTA Grant

• MPL staff at summer sites 4 days a week

• Created reading areas at sites

• Facilitated how to read to children and match books to children’s interests

SUMMER READING

OUTREACH IS A

YEAR ROUND EFFORT

• Work to maintain year-round contact with most sites

• Deposit collections

• Library card drives

• After School Reading Clubs

• Using the concept of the Reading Lounges

LESSONS WE’VE

LEARNED….

• Understand your community & build relationships in the community.

• Share your message with your stakeholders.

• Have a presence year after year—it makes a difference.

• Public libraries ARE literacy leaders in the community.

RESOURCES

Annie E Casey Foundation- click on Kids Count Data Center

• http://www.aecf.org/

Ounce of Prevention:

• http://www.ounceofprevention.org/home/index.php

• Change the First Five Years and You Change Everything video

Six Skills for Early Literacy video:

• http://www.mpl.org/file/kids_b2g_sixskills.htm

National Summer Learning Association:

• http://www.summerlearning.org/

Summer Learning Loss Video:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahhj3wxxkdM

Inspirational Book:

• Igniting a Passion for Reading by Steven Layne

MPL 2013 School Age SRP Outreach:

• animoto video

QUESTIONS

CONTACT

INFORMATION

Mary Madigan

Early Literacy Education Specialist

mrmadig@milwaukee.gov

414.286.8420

Victoria Sanchez

School Age Education Specialist

vlsanc@milwaukee.gov

414.286.3904