The Literacy Campaign has new chief -- my old boss

Joe Livernois, former editor for The Monterey County Herald and funny man, was just named interim executive director for the the Literacy Campaign for Monterey County. Which means I'll get to be his boss now!

I'm excited. As a reporter, columnist, editor and writer, Joe knows the importance of literacy to change people's lives, so he'll be great for the organization. In a press release, he said "As a journalist and writer, my advocacy for literacy might be considered a rather selfish venture. But, at its core, the mission of journalism is to educate readers to both the realities and the magic of our world. Literacy and an enthusiasm for reading are significant tools that empower citizens to function in society."

We've been doing great work at the Literacy Campaign. Just last week, we hosted about 40 families for an all-day conference to empower parents to be more engaged in their children's education. Although the organization's mission is to serve as a catalyst among literacy providers throughout Monterey County, it's events such as the parent's conference that remind us why we need to continue doing our work.

With so many stories lately about the challenges  Monterey County children face to improve their educational attainment, everything we all do to encourage more reading helps. What we're doing at the Literacy Campaign is giving families and literacy providers the tools they need to be inspired to read more, learn more, become better prepared academically, for the sake of their families.

Welcome a board, Joe!

Monterey County libraries need litercy tutors

Did you know there are more than 100 people in Monterey County waiting for a literacy tutor?

Help change someone's life by becoming a tutor with the Monterey County Free Libraries Literacy Program. Find out more about being a tutor on the library website here and attend new tutor training sessions September 8th and 10th.


Or call 831 883-7597 for more information.

Hartnell hosts Family Science, Health and Literacy Day

There will be the "bed of nails" physics demonstration, free fruits and vegetables, free books and parent’s tips on helping their children to become better readers, free blood pressure screening, free lunchtime hotdogs, puppet shows and Banda music during the 8th annual Family Science, Health and Literacy Day from 11 a.m. to 3 pm. Saturday, May 3 at Hartnell College’s Alisal Campus, 1752 E. Alisal Street, Salinas.

Physics demonstration featuring “The Bed of Nails”
Soccer Fun with Hartnell College’s Championship Team
Silicon Valley Turtle and Tortoise Club
Diesel and Construction Technology Demonstrations
Hands-On Computer Workshops in the state-of-the-art Tech Mobile
Math Magic and Math Games
Free Books for All Ages and Reading Activities
Live Banda Music
Free Food -- while supplies last
Time to Read Puppet Show
Farm Stand for Kids
Astronomy, Biology, Nutrition, and Healthy Living Activities
Many Hands-On Science and Family Fun Activities

The Alisal Education Foundation will hold an awards ceremony to honor special teachers and staff of the Alisal Union School District.

Admission and parking for the event are free. The event is organized by Hartnell College, the Alisal Education Foundation and the Literacy Campaign for Monterey County.

The Literacy Summit: the first step on a long road ahead

If you attended the Literacy Summit, thank you!

If you didn't, you missed a very informative event. Although we heard from people who are near and dear to Monterey County -- Sylvia Panetta and CSUMB President Eduardo Ochoa, for instance -- there were also newcomers to the community and great experts in the issue of demographics and literacy.

The aim of the Literacy Campaign of Monterey County was to bring speakers who would discuss the issues of low-levels of literacy in Monterey County -- and the nation for that matter. As many of you already know, we face great challenges in our community as we try to educate our young and prepare them for an economically productive future. Only about a third of third graders in Monterey County score proficient or above in English language arts, and experts believe students start falling behind after the third grade if they don't read proficiently.

Francine Rodd, executive director of First Five Monterey County, made a presentation about how the learning has to start even earlier: as soon as babies are born, or when they're still in the womb. The first few years of a child's life are critical for brain development, and if mothers don't read to their children or don't engage with them, the children will have a hard time catching up later, according to a video presented by Rodd.

But the most compelling presentation -- in my opinion -- came from USC Demographer Dowell Myers: today's babies are tomorrow's taxpayers. If these children don't grow up to be educated adults, they won't be able to hold productive lifestyles, and they won't be able to support the retiring generation. They won't be able to pay into Medicare and Social Security to support the older generations, they won't earn enough to buy the homes, the "nest eggs" of retiring boomers.

Helping the next generation is not altruism. It's self-interest.

In order for the next generation to be productive, we need to help our children now. Better child care needs to be available. More programs for young parents to help them raise their children. A movement to make literacy Monterey County's first priority.

Friday's even was a great first step. At the end of the day, attendants chatted in small groups about what they're willing to do to promote literacy. There was a lot of enthusiasm and energy in the group, so it'll be interesting to see what ideas come to life.

Here's a snippet from Dowell Myers presentation. Enjoy!

On literacy, childhood education, and the future of Monterey County

The numbers are not very encouraging. In Monterey County, two out of every three children do not read proficiently by the end of third grade, the year when they are making the important transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." And we all know how important it is to read for our future prospects as wage-earners.

Two out of every three are low income. In the Salinas Valley, the numbers are even more dire.

Members of the Monterey County Children's Council lay it all out for the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in this video.  The annual report starts around minute 20.

Well, the demographic reality is not very rosy, and you probably know some of it already. The good news is, there's many community leaders trying to push initiatives aimed at making a difference.

And I'm going to tell you about one that's near and dear to me. The Literacy Summit.

On Oct. 25, we're all going to have a chance to hear from top demographer Dowell Myers about the importance of having our children read at grade level by the time they're in third grade. It's our future we're talking about. And he'll make a compelling case during the Literacy Summit. We at the Literacy Campaign for Monterey County (yours truly is a board member) are hoping to inspire many community members to get involved in our effort.

So please join us on Oct. 25. Here's more details. You'll also have a chance to hear more about what else other community members are doing to improve the lives of our children and the future of our community.

See you on Oct. 25!

Gathering ideas to boost literacy in Monterey County

The Literacy Service Providers Network of Monterey County will host Symia Stigler of Sacramento at its monthly meeting Tuesday, April 30.

Stigler will discuss the process Sacramento is using to develop and implement its 10-year plan to have all their third graders at grade-level reading.

Stigler will outline how Sacramento READS! and the stakeholders in Sacramento were able to draft, organize and implement a Third Grade Literacy Campaign as a ten year initiative with a vision of making Sacramento the first city in the country to have every third grader reading on grade level by the end of third grade.

It promises to be an interesting presentation, particularly as Monterey County gears up its literacy campaign. With the recent hiring of Ron Eastwood to lead the organization, there are already several major events planned for this year. Like the Sacramento campaign, the main goal of the Literacy Campaign for Monterey County is to have all children achieve literacy by the third grade. (Fully disclosure: I'm on the board of directors of the campaign, and very excited about how we're moving forward).

The monthly meeting will take place from 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, at the conference room, of the Salinas City Elementary District Office, 840 South Main Street, Salinas. RSVP to Crystal Macias Diaz at cmacias@literacycampaignmc.org or 595-2665. Lunch will be provided and sitting is limited. RSVP needed to plan lunches.