Early reading proficiency is the single most important factor in the long term success of students, and is the primary goal of the Vista Unified School District (VUSD). This project targets all elementary schools in VUSD (covering both Vista and Oceanside) which are designated as Title I and Program Improvement (PI) schools AND have English proficiency scores less than 50%. First grade students will be the beneficiaries of this program and grant as ultimate recipients of a book of their own after a classroom reading session by local Rotarians and Interact club members.
Developing interest and competence in reading must start at an early age and VUSD enrolls an unusually high proportion of English as Second Language students, emphasizing the need to start intensive reading interventions at early grade levels. This grant, in combination with the discounted availability of books through Rolling Readers, permits us to serve a minimum of 1,500 first grade students.
Our program will involve local Rotarians and Interact students (our club sponsors two high school Interact clubs) reading and distributing books to each student in the classrooms. For many of these students, it is either the first book they have owned themselves or one of very few books in their home. Target dates for project reading and distribution of books is September, 2013 through December, 2013. We have offered this program for the past two years and because of the success of our previous efforts, the teachers and administrators of the district are totally committed to supporting us to ensure project success. The VUSD Superintendent and the President of the Vista Teachers' Association are both club members and assist in project implementation.
We have coordinated with the Rotary Club of Vista and have been assured that any Literacy grant they propose will be complementary to and not overlap with the purpose and activities of this project.
Please note that our club name has changed during the past year. We are submitting the grant under our new name, Vista Hi Noon, but checks must be written to Shadowridge Vista Rotary Club because IRS approval of the name change is still pending and we cannot change our bank account information until IRS approval is final.
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