Read Across Siskiyou: 14 Years Promoting Childhood Literacy

Every once in a while an idea comes along that transforms an individual, a community, and sometimes even the world. Since the childhood literacy program Read Across Siskiyou (RAS) was born 14 years ago, it has been a life-changing experience for hundreds of children.

This annual event was the brainchild of Dr. Stephen Perlman, a longtime First5 Siskiyou commissioner and county health officer. Perlman believed that a love of reading was vital in helping children achieve their full potential. He outlined an idea that would bring together parents, educators, childhood professionals and students who would all read the same book to children across Siskiyou County on the same day.  It was Perlman’s hope that RAS would promote the importance of daily reading and attract people  of every socio-economic status, race, gender and religion.

Perlman’s dedication to promoting childhood literacy was well-founded. Studies have shown that the single most significant factor in a child’s early educational success is being introduced to books and being read to at home before starting school. The National Commission on Reading found that children who enter kindergarten with poor literacy skills start behind in school and tend to stay behind, leading to decreased academic achievement, high dropout rates, and often a lifetime of economic struggle.

Reading to children early gives them a head start in life

According to Karen Pautz, Director of First 5 Siskiyou Children & Family Commission, RAS serves to bridge the connection between policy makers and children.

“No matter what work we do it is vitally important to consider the future of children in our local communities so that Siskiyou Country can prosper and grow,” she says. “Childhood illiteracy leaves children behind, which decreases opportunities for businesses, families and individuals now and in the future. Reading to children from birth onward is an important way to give children a head start in life because those rich language experiences that a child is exposed to lay the foundation for greater emotional and life achievement down the road.”

Partnering with family resource centers

Pautz says she believes Read Across Sisikyou has been such a success because  it partners with First 5’s family resource centers  to get the word out. They make sure that every young child from birth to age five has a place to go where they can be read to and has a free book of their own.

Steven Bryan, Regional Director of the South Siskiyou County-Siskiyou Community Resource Collaborative, is charged with finding readers and site procurement for RAS. With the advent of COVID, the Siskiyou Media Council has stepped up to film books being read and then uploads the videos to the internet so children everywhere can hear exciting and funny tales that stretch their imaginations.

Ed Valenzuela, First 5 Siskiyou’s District 2 Supervisor, has been a book reader for the event for more than  12 years. Valenzuela, a father of two, says, “As I age I am even more appreciative of the teachers  and the children in our community. There is nothing like seeing the sparkle in a child’s eye and their minds spinning as they grasp new ideas that are being read to them from a new book.”

Partnering with the Imagination Library

In addition to the annual event, First 5, Delta Kappa Gamma-Gamma Nu Chapter and Siskiyou Community Resource Collaborative partner with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to distribute 1,000 free books to children in the county every month. Monthly activity kits are also available, as are outdoor play groups, and various ZOOM readings for children.

This mother of a four-year-old explains how Imagination Library has influenced her son: “My son loves to receive his book every month through the Imagination Library. He has a bookshelf where he keeps all his favorite books, and he picks out his favorites to read. He has books he likes mommy to read and books he prefers daddy to read. One of his very first books was The Bravest Fish. The fish’s name was Stanley and now my son names all fish Stanley. He’s only four but he can’t wait to learn to read.”

Read Hedgehugs on November 17

This year’s Read Across Siskiyou book is Hedgehugs by the husband and wife team of Steve Wilson and Lucy Tapper. The event will be held November 17 and more than 2,000 books will be handed out on that day. This year’s event is being held in remembrance and honor of Dr. Steve Perlman.

For more information about this year’s Read Across Siskiyou, and to register for the Imagination Library, visit first5siskiyou.org