Immunizing Against Illiteracy
Reach Out and Read Program at Heritage Pediatrics of Saint Mary’s Helps Grand Rapids Kids Learn to Read
35 percent of American children arrive at kindergarten without the basic language skills they will need to learn to read. Those critical early literacy skills include recognizing the letters of the alphabet, understanding that the pages in a book move from left to right, and being able to understand and tell stories.
Heritage Pediatrics of Saint Mary’s has partnered with a national, non-profit organization called Reach Out and Read (ROR) that encourages literacy as a standard part of pediatric primary care. Reach Out and Read promotes early literacy and school-readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents.
Doctors and nurses involved in the program are trained to advise parents about the importance of reading aloud and to give books to children in English or Spanish at pediatric checkups from six months through five years of age, with a special focus on children growing up in poverty. By building on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers, Reach Out and Read helps families and communities encourage early literacy skills so children enter school prepared for success in reading.
“Each child begins a series of Well Child Checks once they are six months of age,” explains Paula Pennington, Heritage Pediatrics site supervisor. These checks are routine exams scheduled at designated ages to measure children at specific milestones in development. Pennington said, “The check-ups give parents and medical providers a better idea of where a child is in their mental and physical abilities.” This information shows specific areas that need progress to give a child and their parents an idea of what they should be working on to prepare for preschool.
Click on the links for more information on how to become a donor, donate books, or volunteer at the Heritage Pediatrics of Saint Mary’s ROR program.
Health Care provider from Heritage Pediatrics shows off some books they have received for the Reach Out and Read Program.