Author Name: Amanda Kaufman
Library System: Washington County Free Library
Learning Event website: http://www.hagerstownrotaryliteracyinitiative.org/
Top 3 things learned:
1. The achievement gap between low income and high income families is evident in children as young as 9 months.
2. Little Free Libraries - these are set up throughout Washington County, with more coming. They are small water-proof containers that contain free books for anyone to come by and take home and read. There is no due date and if the book is never returned their is no penalty. Read more here: http://littlefreelibrary.org/
3. WCPS has a birth to five program that covers the entire county. Free resources for children in need, such as a speech pathologist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist who will come into the home to work with children. In order to access this resource, a referral must be placed (this is normally done by a pediatrician).
How to implement:
One of the topics that came up repeatedly was how many at-risk children come from families where English is not spoken or is not the first language. Perhaps libraries could offer some support to parents who do not speak or read English well by offering adult literacy programs that could be co-sponsored with another organization in the area.
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