The Campaign for Grade Level Reading is alive and flourishing in Palm Beach County, Florida.  Home to a Campaign Pacesetter, Children’s Services Council, and a 2012 All-America City Award Finalist, Delray Beach, the county is abuzz with reading activities and initiatives.  Children’s Services Council has teamed up with the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County to form a steering committee to guide a county-wide public education campaign that supports the Campaign’s three primary initiatives:  school readiness, summer achievement and school attendance.  The steering committee has representation from a major local newspaper, The Palm Beach Post, the United Way, the School District of Palm Beach County, business leaders and local libraries.  The committee will be drawing in many other partners such as law enforcement and the health arena as the campaign unfolds.

The Literacy Coalition has had an active Mayors’ Literacy Initiative for five years and has further developed this initiative to support the Campaign for Grade Level Reading.  In September 2012, the coalition had National Campaign Spokesperson Ron Fairchild speak to one hundred mayors and city commission members about the importance of Grade Level Reading.  As a result, local municipalities appointed liaisons from their cities to work with the Literacy Coalition in implementing the Campaign for Grade Level Reading in their cities.  A follow-up meeting was held with the cities at which Delray Beach outlined their work as a model for the other municipalities to follow.  Many cities, such as West Palm Beach, are hard at work implementing the fourteen specific steps that they have been given to promote reading in their municipalities.  E. Wayne Gent, Superintendent of the School District of Palm Beach County recently has joined  57 other superintendents across the country in signing the Attendance Works Call to Action. By doing so, he is indicating the commitment of the School District to address chronic absence in an active way.  The entire community is involved in making this a county that leads through reading!

For further information, contact Darlene Kostrub, Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, dskostrub@aol.com or John Bartosek, Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, john.bartosek@cscpbc.org.