Last weekend, Reach Out and Read (ROR) Wisconsin’s Advisory Council hosted a learning and fundraising event at 702WI, a creative space in Madison, Wisconsin. ROR Wisconsin donors and guests gathered to learn about the program’s impact on early literacy, clinical care and parent support. Together, they raised hundreds of dollars to keep ROR Wisconsin programming strong throughout the state.
ROR Wisconsin supporters gather to learn more about our work and how they can help
During the event, Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD, ROR Wisconsin medical director and Dennis Winters, MS, chief economist for the State of Wisconsin, gave a presentation about the link between high-quality, early interventions like ROR and future economic benefits to the community. For example, every dollar invested in early interventions yields a $7 return on investment to society (Heckman, 2012). Investing in early interventions have shared benefits across sectors. Not only is personal success impacted with better employment opportunities and improved health outcomes but communities as a whole see lower crime rates, less social intervention and higher civil contributions. The business community also sees long-term benefits with a more skilled workforce, higher worker productivity and less employee turnover. To learn more about ROR Wisconsin and our impact please visit our website.
Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD, ROR Wisconsin Medical Director presents to ROR Wisconsin supporters and donors
If you were unable to attend this event, you can still support ROR Wisconsin. Please click here to make a donation today. A gift of just $5 will help provide a local child with a new book and parental support.
Thank you to the in-kind donors who made this event possible: Mary Morgan for the event space, Johnson Public House for coffee and Madison Chocolate Company for chocolates and other treats.
If you would like to receive an invitation to the next ROR Wisconsin event, please email Alex Rogers.
On behalf of the Reach Out and Read Wisconsin team, I am sending thoughts to everyone in the state dealing with the aftermath of the unprecedented storms in August and September.
We have been thinking of you and your communities throughout the last month as we heard of torrential rains, floods, road washouts, mudslides, evacuations, sheer winds and tornadoes in multiple areas of the state. We know that several of our participating clinics were flooded, along with their entire towns. Superficial cleanup has been astounding, but real recovery will take time.
Perhaps, now, you have a few extra moments to let us know your situation and needs:
Were your clinics damaged?
Did you lose book inventory?
Do you have many families who lost homes, including all the books in their homes?
Will your usual book funding sources be diverted to emergency relief efforts?
How are the children in your community faring?
We know of at least one school system that delayed the start of school – acknowledging that the children were too traumatized by loss of homes and sense of normalcy to focus on academics.
Please remind your families that books not only build better brains, they build better bonds. Sharing stories, even without a book in hand, develops and reinforces strong, comforting, nurturing parent-child relationships. These relationships act as protective shields for children living through natural disaster. Reach Out and Read Wisconsin functions on an extremely tight budget. However, what we lack in a financial cushion, we make up for in the strength of our collaborative network, interest in sharing your stories and unstoppable, creative, problem-solving energies. Please tell us of your needs and/or send pictures if possible. We may be able to offer some assistance. Here’s wishing for a month of clearer skies. Karin Mahony and the Reach Out and Read Wisconsin team
This article was originally published by the Cap Times on April 23, 2018.
PHOTO BY COBURN DUKEHART — WISCONSIN CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Recently, I encountered a new-to-Wisconsin mother and toddler who had left behind a not-so-good environment. As we established trust with one another, it came out that she was concerned about her child’s mild speech delay. The upheaval in their lives meant they hadn’t been able to find a primary care clinic and schedule his regular checkups yet. What could I do that might offer some immediate benefit for them?
As many know, I do a lot of work around early literacy promotion. In the last few weeks, there have been two relevant, notable studies released in this field. The first article is a meta-analysis — a combining of several studies together — showing interventions in parent-child shared reading have clear benefits, not just to the child’s language and literacy skills (we’ve known this for some time), but also psychosocially. There were better social and emotional skills and improved behavior in the children. Less expected was the benefit to parents, who had less stress, less anxiety, and greater confidence in their ability to parent.
The second study was on the Video Interaction Project (created by an NYU friend and colleague, Dr. Alan Mendelsohn). It uses video recording of a parent playing and reading with their child, followed by watching the recording together with a parenting coach who points out notable moments in the interaction. The researchers found decreases in child aggression, hyperactivity, and difficulty with attention.
These both support the value of working on early literacy skills, the foundation of the almost-30-year-old Reach Out and Read program, which makes discussion about early literacy an integral and routine part of checkups in early childhood. (Note: I am the founding medical director of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin, and serve on the national board.)
However, I’d like to point out that these studies emphasize a critical element that’s not always present in the countless literacy programs out there. While you may view Reach Out and Read as a child literacy program, it’s really secretly a parenting program: a program designed to gently and collaboratively support strong shared reading between a parent and a child.
I don’t object to programs that bring high-quality books into a child’s home, but that emphasis is often misplaced; the book itself does little if handed to a child without any other interaction. A child learns the magic and power of reading only when a loving, nurturing, responsive caregiver (usually a parent, but could be anyone) reads aloud with them. A book that sits on the shelf is useless — it only does its magic when open in the hands of a parent and child reading together.
Equally important is a parent who knows how to read effectively to a young, squirmy toddler, a technique known as dialogic reading. Simply reading at a child doesn’t work for a child with a naturally short attention span. Knowing how to read with them and interact is an important learned skill. Merely providing books accomplishes only part of the job — supporting parenting confidence is absolutely essential.
It’s not just about the books. It’s about the act of reading together. A book without a caring adult…is just a book.
The key point: Parents benefit most when we offer clear modeling, coaching and encouragement. It’s not enough to say what to do; careful intentional skill-building is crucial for success. This explains the incredible outcomes seen from high-quality home visiting programs, for example. So question projects and recognize that they are not all the same. Ask yourself if they merely provide resources or whether they are building capabilities or capacities in families
So what of the family I encountered? I took the board book we had given him and pointed out her child’s brief interactions with the book. Then I modeled talking about illustrations and I reassured her that his turning away quickly was just his normal short attention span. Finally, I complimented her on her good parenting when she described how he would bring a book to her and “ask” to be read to.
She beamed with pride. And that’s how I knew we were doing right by her.
Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD is the medical director of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin
Dr. Michelle Hill pediatrician at the Prevea West De Pere Health Center
Reach Out and Read (ROR) has been one of the most fun and helpful additions to our pediatric practice at Prevea Health. The response from families and children who are receiving our books at their visits is so overwhelmingly positive. We wanted to work on even more ways to integrate this program, not only into our health centers, but also into our community.
Prevea Health has sponsored a children’s play area at Bay Park Square Mall in Green Bay for a few years. This play area is partially enclosed, with little slides and play pieces for kids to climb on. In brainstorming ways to best utilize that space, we felt it would be a great place to expand our messaging about the importance of families reading aloud with their children. Not only would we get to have fun interactions with children in the community, but also we would have the chance to promote the importance of early literacy promotion and model engaging reading behavior.
The mall is a central location to our patient population in Green Bay, which means we can reach people throughout the whole community. This includes children who may not see Prevea Pediatricians and who do not benefit from the ROR program in the clinic setting. It also offers families in the community something fun and educational to do, especially during the winter months in Wisconsin!
Prevea Pediatrics and the mall tried to find a way to incorporate story telling along with play time. Knowing how active children can be and that sometimes sitting still for a story is a challenge, we decided it would be a good idea to add some structured play to these events. This would give the children a chance to get their wiggles out before the story. Then, we could settle right in the middle of the play area to read several books.
Prevea Read and Play
We decided to call the event Prevea Read and Play, featuring our pediatricians or child life specialists reading books for the storytime portion. I find it important for the pediatricians to participate in the reading, in part, because it’s just fun to do, but also because I think it magnifies the message of how important reading is when parents see a doctor taking time out of their day to read to children. It also takes us out of the clinical setting and more into the real world of these families and shows them again that reading is a key part of childhood development. I also feel it’s important for children to know that reading is fun and exciting, so this is one more way to keep them interested in new stories.
As of now, this is a monthly program and the community response has been very positive. I participated in our most recent story time in March, around the time of Dr. Seuss Week. After doing some movement activities with the children at the play area, I read two Dr. Seuss stories to about a dozen children of various ages. Some of them had heard the stories before and were eager to chime in about trying Green Eggs and Ham or capturing Thing 1 and Thing 2. We were also able to take a moment to talk about trying different foods because you just might like them, like at the end of Green Eggs and Ham. I was very impressed with the children’s level of attention during my reading. They were all very engaged, even the younger ones who may not have been as interested in these longer stories.
The parents also seemed to enjoy watching storytime and taking a break from chasing their children around the play area. Some of the people attending this Read and Play were repeat visitors who knew about the storytime, but many happened to be passing by and stopped or were pleasantly surprised when they came to play.
After we finished reading, our child life specialist led the children on a fun scavenger hunt through the play area to get them up and moving again. They were able to find various objects like a teddy bear or a stethoscope. Then, they each were rewarded with a certificate and a ROR bookmark to finish up our Prevea Read and Play event. Literature was also available for the parents regarding the ROR program and our Prevea Pediatricians.
Overall, it was a very fun morning at the mall and another great way to expand reading farther into our community. I do think seeing reading in action from a physician sends a great message to our families and I am glad ROR has given us even more encouragement to send that message.
Dear Reach Out and Read Wisconsin Staff, Advisory Council, Donors, Partners, Clinics, Care Providers, and Families,
This is a fan letter. Read on to be reminded of how fantastic all of you are for being part of Reach Out and Read (ROR) Wisconsin!
The Origins of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin
Eight years ago, a group of leaders came together to officially launch ROR Wisconsin. We had great thought leadership and advocacy from Dr. Dipesh Navsaria. Dipesh is now the medical director of ROR Wisconsin. We had early adopter health care providers and clinics who were into ROR well before being into ROR was cool. But we did not have paid staff or an organizational home. We knew we were not reaching all the kids and families who could benefit from ROR. Several of us thought a partnership between the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and the American Family Children’s Hospital would catalyze the creation of a Wisconsin affiliate, build a more secure home and expand the scope of this excellent program.
And so, we brought partners together – children’s health care providers, thought leaders, experts in early literacy, a sponsoring organization – and we launched the Wisconsin affiliate of ROR in 2010.
Karen Timberlake and family, with Jim and Jessica Doyle, at the 2010 announcement of the Reach Out and Read Wisconsin affiliate.
Connecting ROR Wisconsin to Jim and Jessica Doyle’s Commitment to Kids
I had the privilege of serving as the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services from 2008 to 2010; during the time when the ROR Wisconsin affiliate was created. Of all the important work I did in partnership with others during my time as secretary, helping to launch this affiliate ranks right up there as one of the efforts I am personally most proud of.
One of the honors of working for Governor Jim Doyle was the chance to make positive change happen, at scale, for kids and families across Wisconsin. Governor Doyle’s commitment to kids – their health, their education – and Jessica Doyle’s career as an educator – were an inspiration for my colleagues and me in pushing this affiliate across the starting line.
We had terrific leadership from Peggy Troy, CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Donna Katen Bahensky, then-CEO of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. We found the perfect organizational host in the Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin (Alliance)– another organization built on trust, evidence, collaboration and the greater good. We found great staff and appointed a wonderful advisory council to work with Dipesh, still the capital-C Champion of this work, to make it all happen.
Simple Yet Powerful Success Factors
This effort was made possible by some simple but important fundamentals…as simple and fundamental as reading and just as worthy of lifting up and celebrating. What were the success factors that made ROR Wisconsin possible and continue to sustain it today? Leadership. Trust. Putting the greater good ahead of any one organization or person. Committing to and scaling up an evidence informed program. Learning from others’ successes and challenges, to make the Wisconsin program better.
ROR: An Innovative Program that Addresses a Critical Root Cause of Child Wellbeing
I am drawn to innovation. One of my favorite quotes is from Thomas Edison, who is reported to have said, “There is a way to do it better. Find it.” ROR is a great example of one of my favorite types of innovations. It goes to a root cause, early literacy, of important priorities for every family and every community: child readiness for school and ongoing school achievement. It meets kids and their care givers where they are, in the doctor’s office or clinic, without requiring them to go anywhere else to get a quick literacy assessment, a book and a boost for their early learning. It bridges professional disciplines and organizational boundaries in the name of what really matters – promoting early literacy for kids and supporting their parents and caregivers. It’s cost effective, conducts and uses evaluations of effectiveness and stretches every dollar and volunteer hour as far as it can be stretched.
Celebrating Reading in My Children’s Lives
I am also a proud mom of a son and daughter who are both voracious readers. I have seen the impact of reading in my children’s lives from their earliest years.
Karen’s mother and daughter reading together at a 1st birthday celebration.
I have observed the ways reading builds their imagination, their knowledge and their independence. I want every child and every family to have the relationship with reading that my children have.
Karen’s daughter sharing a favorite book with her first grade class.
We know kids need love, support and positive early learning experiences. We are learning more and more about how truly essential those early experiences are to children’s lifelong health and happiness. ROR takes those principles to heart and delivers, child by child, family by family.
Good For You!
So as I said, this is nothing but fan mail for all of you supporting ROR Wisconsin and continuing the great work Dipesh and others started many years ago. Good For You, all of you who have helped get ROR Wisconsin to this point. Kids and families across Wisconsin are the better for your efforts.
For an update on ROR Wisconsin’s latest impact click here.
As a project coordinator who has visited more than 90 Reach Out and Read (ROR) clinics in Wisconsin, I am always impressed by our clinics’ commitment to early literacy and their fidelity to the ROR model. Our team is grateful to the more than 200 clinics in the state, who on top of their already numerous responsibilities have embraced ROR and are committed to the success of their youngest patients.
After completing these visits, I have noticed there are a few things that high performing clinics do. Some of these are obvious, like having adequate funding or staff who are engaged. But what separates the highest performing clinics? Below are four things I have consistently seen successful clinics doing.
Leveraging their local community
If you attended our annual meeting last year, this was a key message. Even in the smallest communities clinics can work with local groups and town residents to help the clinic’s ROR program thrive. Groups and places of business that have worked with ROR Wisconsin programs in the past include:
Public libraries
Technical colleges
National Honor Society clubs
Literacy councils
Lions clubs
Rotary groups
Even if your clinic does not have a library or adult literacy organization in town, promoting the nearest option is still a good idea. Check out Wisconsin Literacy’s map to find an adult literacy program near you.
Collaborating with community organizations and individuals is key to building strategic partnerships. It is likely you will find the work your clinic is doing through ROR accomplishes a goal that many community members share; giving every child a good start and providing tools they will need to succeed in the future.
Working with community members also creates buy-in for your ROR program. Collaboration will build awareness in the community for your clinic’s positive work surrounding early literacy and school readiness.
Talking about ROR and its impact
Clinics with successful ROR programs frequently talk about the program, reading aloud and the positive impact on brain and child development. Whether during provider or medical assistant meetings, through internal or external newsletters, the local newspaper or on social media, successful clinics share their ROR story and the impact it has on local children and families.
Reading aloud to children at the local library or in the clinic is a great way to generate enthusiasm for the program
Northlakes clinics in Northern Wisconsin promoted their commitment to literacy through an article their AmeriCorp volunteer wrote, which highlighted their ROR program
Clinicians read aloud during library story time
Even the most experienced ROR clinics benefit from talking about ROR at staff meetings
The obvious answer here is eliminating workflow issues. In order for a ROR program to work well, it has to be kept simple. Follow these tips to avoid common workflow issues:
Store books near exam rooms or nurse’s station
When possible, do not keep books in a locked office or cabinet
If providers are forgetting to give the book or talk to families about reading aloud, add it as a SmartPhrase in Epic
If your clinic does not use an electronic medical record system, place the book outside the exam room in a clear plastic bag or install small baskets outside the door
When your book distribution is low, use a tracking sheet and tally it more regularly. Instead of just counting once every six months, count weekly or monthly (depending on patient volume). It will be easier to identify problems, if tallies are counted more frequently.
Engaging as many of the clinic staff as possible
At every clinic there will always be certain people who are champions of early literacy and ROR. However, clinics that are successful and get the most out of the program engage a wide variety of staff. A few ideas to get more staff involved:
When ordering books ask the medical providers which books they enjoy or their patients seem to enjoy.
If your clinic is collecting gently-used books, have a drop-off point at the reception desk and ask the staff there to sort the books, using ROR guidelines.
Some clinic’s reception staff help by creating the literacy-rich environment in the waiting room or by keeping a literacy bulletin board updated.
Keep literacy stickers at the reception desk for children to get after their visits.
Ask building maintenance to build shelving units for your literacy-rich environment, like the clinic in Minong did.
Ask volunteers to build a Little Free Library like UW Health Oregon did this past spring.
Sauk Prairie Healthcare Lodi Clinic waiting room which the reception staff created and helps maintain
What does your clinic do to make your ROR program successful? Share your tips in the comment section below.
Welcome to the newest addition to Reach Out and Read Wisconsin, our new blog, “Books Build Better Brains.” Through this platform we plan to offer tips, tools and resources for anyone looking to encourage reading and early learning in our youngest children.
The tagline Books Build Better Brains was created years ago by our Medical Director, Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD. We believe it is the perfect blog title because reading books aloud positively impacts everything from language and socio-emotional development and school readiness, to buffering against toxic stress and fostering healthy relationships.
While our early literacy program is implemented in primary care medical clinics (you can read more about our program here) we are excited about our ability to use this venue to expand our audience. Early literacy and learning is not limited to only one environment. Learning language and developing literacy skills, the building blocks of kindergarten readiness, can happen anywhere; during breakfast, in the car, while grocery shopping or in your doctor’s office. Our goal is to empower and support parents and families in their role as a child’s first teacher.
Our blog will provide a variety of resources, including tips for reading aloud with young children and ways to make learning fun. We will share firsthand accounts from clinics and their medical staff about why they enjoy working with Reach Out and Read. We will analyze timely research and relevant data in the fields of early brain and child development so you are equipped with knowledge to support early learning wherever and whenever you can make it happen. We look forward to introducing you to many of our partners across the state and the nation who inspire our work every day.
We love our collaboration with the Appleton Public Library and thank their physician liaison, Abbey Unruh for this book list. This list is helpful for clinics when ordering books or for families visiting their local public library. We plan on sharing other book lists like this in the future. We hope you find a title to share as a bedtime story tonight.
