A new project of the American Library Association will bring librarians into pre-natal clinics to encourage expectant parents to read to their children and visit libraries.
The Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the A.L.A., plans to award five $30,000 grants to public libraries to establish model partnerships with health-care providers in their communities.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will serve as the honorary chairwoman of the project, “Born to Read.” The initiative is being supported with a $560,000 grant from the Prudential Foundation.
For more information, call April L. Judge at the A.L.A., (800) 545-2433, ext. 1398. The deadline for grant applications is Oct. 14.
The Chevron Corporation has won the first “Leaders for Change” award given by the Council for Aid to Education.
Chevron was recognized for its support of the Accelerated Schools Project, developed by the Stanford University professor Henry Levin. The project offers at-risk children the kinds of enrichment programs usually reserved for students considered gifted.
Over a five-year period, Chevron has contributed $2.1 million to create “satellite centers” for the project in teacher education programs at four universities.
Since 1990, the centers have collectively helped 25 schools in their surrounding communities implement the Accelerated Schools Project.
The council, a New York City group that tracks private support of education, plans to offer the award annually to honor outstanding corporate support for education.
A report from PATHS/PRISM, a Philadelphia public education fund, examines why a teacher-driven reform effort succeeded in some schools but not in others.
PATHS/PRISM helped five elementary and two middle schools implement “The Cluster Initiative,” a project involving curricular reform, school-based management, and parent outreach.
Among the ingredients necessary for success were a supportive principal, a history of positive faculty-principal relations, and the presence of one or more teachers or administrators committed to following up ideas and plans.
Copies of the report are available for $5 each from PATHS/PRISM, 7 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Suite 700, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103-1294; (215) 665-1400.
--Meg Sommerfeld
