Three Books, Two Towns, One Community…READ is a communitywide reading and discussion program that encourages all residents to read one, if not all, of the three chosen books at the same time, and then participate in related cultural, educational and recreational activities
In 2007, Youth & Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth brought together Haddam and Killingworth public libraries, community organizations, businesses, residents, teachers, and school librarians in the first annual community read initiative for the towns of Haddam and Killingworth!
321…READ! came about after Youth and Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth, with permission from the Board of Education, conducted an asset survey. In May of 2006, the survey - titled Profiles of Student Life, Attitudes and Behaviors - was given to Haddam and Killingworth students in grades 7 through 12 with permission from the Regional School District 17 Board of Education.
This survey measured the number of assets (building blocks for success) that Haddam-Killingworth youth have. When community members help youth build their useful qualities and strengths (assets), they are less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as underage drinking, poor performance in school, and violence. One relevant statistic that emerged from the Haddam-Killingworth survey: 39% of students read 0 times per week! That number jumped to 50% for males.
In response to this finding, Youth & Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth brought together a group of community organizations, businesses, residents, and librarians from the two towns, to launch a community read initiative in Haddam and Killingworth.
At a Community Night in November of 2006, the survey results were released and community members identified reading for pleasure as an asset that they wanted to strengthen. They agreed that a Community Read Initiative would be a great strategy to accomplish this goal. Thus, 3 Books, 2 Towns, 1 Community… READ! was born.
Youth & Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth, Inc., The Middlesex United Way, Brainerd Memorial Library, Killingworth Library Association, Cornerstone Construction, the PTO's of all the Haddam-Killingworth schools, parents in the community, Haddam-Killingworth High and Middle School Media Center Directors are all working seamlessly and passionately together on this program.
For more information about this survey or the 40 Developmental Assets, please visit http://www.search-institute.org/ or contact YFS of HK (345-7498).
Research shows students who feel connected to their community tend to do better academically, according to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s(ASCD) executive director Judy Seltz. In a ASCD Commission on the Whole Child report published March 26, 2007 in Educational Week report found that a public-engagement campaign that encourages schools and communities to work together will ensure each student has access to a challenging curriculum in a healthy and supportive climate in order to be healthy emotionally and physically, inspired, engaged in the arts, and prepared for employment in a global economy.
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional organization of 80,000 educators—administrators, teachers, and professors—whose purpose is the development of leadership for quality in education. Among its activities are the National Curriculum Study Institutes, held throughout the United States, and the production of a variety of publications and training materials, including the award-winning magazine Educational Leadership.
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is calling on policymakers to fulfill a new compact that would enable us to use this criteria to measure success in our children, instead of achievement being measured solely on the basis of test scores.