A communitywide initiative to increase the number of third graders who read at or above grade level.
Reading at grade level by the third grade is a leading indicator of school success and high school graduation, but despite steady gains in grade-level reading in Miami-Dade County, too many children fail to achieve this critical benchmark. This pivotal year in a child’s life is when they must make the shift from learning to read to reading to learn. If they don’t, the consequences are dire. Eighty-eight percent of children who never graduate from high school were poorly performing third-grade readers, and high school dropouts earn less than half of college graduates.
Summer learning loss, poor school attendance and inadequate school readiness are the three major reasons why children do not read at grade level. Do your part. As your child’s first and best teacher you can help them succeed in school and in life by reading with them every day, and by following these simple guidelines:
- Read together every day for at least 20-30 minutes.
- Join the #Read30 Movement
- Create your own home library of children's books.
- For very young children, select books with faces, animals and objects you can point to and talk about.
- Read with fun in your voice by using different voices for different characters.
- Talk to your child and answer their questions. Ask questions of your own and listen to your child's responses.
- Talk about the words on the page, letter sounds and how we read from left to right and from top to bottom.
Download these and other tips as a printable brochure by clicking here: English, Spanish, Creole.
- Library Partnership
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Books are the key to unlocking a child's imagination and opening their eyes to a world of learning. Introduce your children to the power of your nearest library. To learn more about what the Miami-Dade Public Library System has to offer, follow the links below:
- Visit the Library for Children portal
- Read our joint monthly children’s book reviews
- Learn about the Summer Reading Challenge
- Learn about Story Time Express
- Book Club
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Register your child in The Children's Trust Book Club to receive free books. Click below to learn more.
- Books for Free
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Another program supported through this initiative is Books for Free, which places bookshelves full of free books throughout Miami-Dade County. To find out more about where these shelves are located or how to donate gently used or new books to this program, visit www.miamibookfair.com.
- Miami-Dade Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
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A coalition of community members comprised of agencies, organizations, providers, institutions and individuals, hosted by The Children’s Trust, that meets regularly with the goal of elevating literacy for all Miami-Dade County’s children. Read more
Read to Learn partners include Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Public Library System, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Miami Dade College, Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership, United Way of Miami-Dade and The Children's Movement of Florida.