“families & the news” an nie home delivery reading initiative from the daytona beach...
TRANSCRIPT
“Families& the News”
An NIE Home Delivery Reading Initiative
from
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
ABC Guidelines 2001
Audit Bureau of Circulations published criteria forNIE home-delivered
component
ABC Guidelines2001
Formal program design encouraging literacy, continuing education and life/job skill improvement
Schools developed programs using newspapers; supported by materials and services from NIE staff
ABC Guidelines2001
NIE classroom program participation
Teachers agreed to use newspapers in classrooms at least one day a week
ABC Guidelines2001
Minimum participation standards for student established by the school
NIE staff worked with school staff to set a target level or participation for schools and families
ABC Guidelines2001
Copy limits per participating family household
Established procedures to ensure such limits
•Separate parent households•Siblings
ABC Guidelines2001
Auditable records demonstrating student’s school enrollment
NIE staff kept physical and electronic records for audit purposes
ABC Guidelines2001
Newspapers classified as NIE Home Delivered shall not exceed 5% of average paid circulation
“Families & the News” made up about 1.5%
Families & the NewsTotal NIE ProgramTotal Circulation
Circulation Comparison
NIE Research1989
Dr. Barbara Palmer, Univ. of FL
•Reading & writing levels measured among 3 groups•Active & passive groups out-performed control group
NIE Research2003
Dan Sullivan, Univ. of MN, & the NAA Foundationpublished statistics
that clearly showthe “measurableand positive impact”that NIE programscan and do haveon the schoolsthat use them.
Planning2001-2002
Meet with
CFO•secure support•determine target audience•set target level of participation
Planning2001-2002
Meet with
MarketingDirector
•project budget
•market strategy
Planning2001-2002
Meet with
CirculationDirector
•starts and stops•duration•subscriber queries•rate codes
Planning2001-2002
With Title I: Identify schools
Establish procedures to implement
Planning2001-2002
Secure sponsorships
Develop logo Create forms
Planning2001-2002
Publish resource
materialsfor
families
Goals2001-2002
To promotefamily involvement in education
To improvestudent and family literacy levels
To growmore and better readers of
newspapers
Implementation2001-2002
Principals
•explain program
•secure commitment
•determine numbers
•designate contact
Implementation2001-2002
•introduce program
•distribute forms
•provide resources
Teachers
Implementation2001-2002
Class sets of newspapers
Implementation 2001-2002
Program Administration
Record parent subscriptions Handle delivery issues & starts/stops Distribute program materials
Implementation2001-2002
Curriculum Materials
Implementation2001-2002
Online curricula
and resource
s
Expectations2001-2002
Role of the teacher
•Use newspapers
•Encourage family participation
•Facilitate family communication
•Distribute & collect forms, materials
Expectations2001-2002
Role of the family•Use the home-delivered newspapers
•Communicate with teachers/NIE about program changes, concerns or successes
•Complete end-of-year participation form
Expectations2001-2002
The form was a newspaper activity sheet, designed to help familiarize families with the goods and services that The News-Journal provides to its readers.
Evaluation2001-2002
Forms collection
Teacher & parent feedback
Staff meeting
Implementation 2002-2003
Train circulation staff
Prepare internal report
Home mailingPrint new tab
Program“Extras”
Teacher Appreciation
Program“Extras”
Materials for families
Evaluation2002-2003
Classroom-delivered
papersHome-delivered papersTotal value
$ 31,444$ 91,399
$122,843
Expansion2003-2004
Train “guest” teachers
90-minute curriculumTie-ins to classroom and home
Expansion2003-2004
Pull teachers during school day
Give materials, show relevance to state learning standards
Expansion2003-2004
Teachers received state credit for attending the workshops.
Evaluation2003-2004
Meet with district curriculum specialist
Train more substitute teachersExpand subs’ curriculumInitiate research
Create advisory board
Expand to middle schools
Formalize teacher participationEnlarge web site “Families” section
“Families & the News”Growth
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004
Schools
Teachers
Families
Tips & Tricks
Create e-mail distribution lists of teachers/schools
Offer chances to win prizesWrite out sequences for teachers
& administratorsBe visible--keep in touch
Recordkeeping:Binders
Account/route informationFamily communications
Family signupsStarts/stops
Batching recordsParent participation forms
Recordkeeping:School folders
School & campus mapsTeacher lists, numbers
School schedule, planning
Family center staffSchool characteristics
Recordkeeping:Spreadsheet
• School, teacher, grade• Student name• Subscription name• Start, stop, cost• Family language• Repeat family• Forms returned• Can sort and note trends
Student Feedback
“My brother likes the comics. We found our dog
Bidgett through an ad.”
Parent Feedback
“We used the paper to reinforce reading skills as well as for entertainment.”
“We find the coupons in Sunday’s papervery useful.”
This is a way to show [children] there is more to life than just watching
television. Thank you!”
Teacher Feedback
“The students were excited to interact with any newspaper-based activity.”
“Some [students] came to school with the sports section each day to
discuss team winnings nationally.”
“Many of [my] students had improved reading scores.”
Admin. Feedback
“The students& the teachersare still talking
about it!”
A school principal said:
District-level Feedback
A Title I staffer said…“Teachers who use newspapers
in their classrooms feel that the papers have a positive impact on student achievement including FCAT scores.”
Challenges
Competing with other demands upon teachers’ time
Obtaining greater % of parent participation forms
Formalizing program for more visibility
Securing funding
Keys to Success
Commitment by The News-Journal
Buy-in from schools
Attention to ABC guidelines
Benefits toThe News-Journal
• Families read news stories & features together.
• Families became familiar with, and began to use, advertised goods & services.
• The News-Journal Corporation realized an increase in average daily circulation figures.
• Advertisers gained access to thousands of homes that do not typically subscribe to newspapers.
AboutThe News-Journal
The Daytona Beach News-Journal is a family-owned, daily paper published in Daytona Beach, FL.
Audited circulation figures for the period ending 30 June 2002 were:Daily, 100,581; Sunday, 118,016.
NIE atThe News-Journal
The NIE program, including its “Families & the News” component, is funded through:
•vacation donations•dormant accounts•subscriber contributions•community & corporate sponsorships
NIE Staff
Nancy Govoni, NIE Manager
Kristen Sternberg NIE Home Delivery CoordinatorElla Leffingwell NIE Assistant