READ TO ME PROJECT

Read to Me Project’s vision: Every child entering kindergarten prepared to succeed.

7 out of 10 children in Monterey County are starting school as much as 2 years behind. Most never catch up. Read to Me Project is addressing the root cause of this situation that is driving most societal issues: low literacy. Nationally, 85% of those incarcerated are poor readers.

RtMP was founded in 2011 by a school district speech and language specialist because kindergarten teachers would send countless numbers of new students to her with the question, "What’s wrong with these kids?" What was wrong in most cases was a lack of literacy: 5-yr-olds from low socio-economic families with the language, vocabulary, and cognitive knowledge of a 3-yr-old. More than 22,000 pre-k aged little ones and 4 th, 5 th, and 6 th grade students have preventatively and remedially benefited by participating in RtMP. In fact, a third-party study that was released in October 2019 shows RtMP student scores improved 68% greater on standardized assessments compared to non-participants.

Read to Me Project has been expanding its parent education component through organizations with built-in access to parents, teen parents, and child caregivers. The informational sessions include easy ways to spark young minds during the all-important first 5 years of a child’s life when 85% of brain development occurs. Attendees are given the foundational key to a child’s success in school and for a lifetime of greater opportunities.