Raising a Reader (RAR) Aspen to Parachute was founded in 2004 to eliminate the achievement gap that develops in the first five years of life when children do not hear enough language and/or have inadequate access to storybooks and read-aloud time with a parent or caregiver. Our mission is to engage parents and children – newborn to five years old – in a routine of daily book sharing to foster brain development, parent-child bonding, and critical early literacy skills.
The Aspen to Parachute region is considered a childcare “desert,” with estimates of 25% of children ages 0-5 in the area being cared for in informal home environments by parents and caregivers often due to a lack of family resources. Preschool slots are also limited in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys for our youngest children. The outcome of these limited early childhood experiences shows up in kindergarten with up to 40% of local children lacking the basic oral language skills necessary for reading and school success.
Our multiple book programs provide support, resources, and high-quality books – all in the families' home language – to children ages 0-5 and their parents. Our two-generation parent outreach programs support kindergarten readiness and children and families' social and emotional health and well-being. These evidence-based programs are built on the foundational understanding that a child's brain is 90% developed by age five. On average, 90% of families who participate in our programs said they increased reading aloud at home as a family.
To find out more about our programs go to www.rar4kids.org or click on Our Success tab for more detailed information.
Book Programs--40 Preschools and Kindergartens=1400 children
Two-Generation Outreach Programs--10 Public Libraries + 2 Community Centers=180 children and their families
Two-Generation Outreach Summer Camps--4 Communities=120 children and their families
"We enjoy the new books each week. I like that there are many cultures and places in the world represented in your books. The books that you provide are ones that we wouldn't necessarily check out at the library, so we are exposed to new ideas, language, and world views."
"Summer camp is very interesting and fun. I appreciate that parents are expected to attend and be involved. It is great that it is in Spanish which really helps me and other families feel a sense of belonging."
"It has motivated me as a parent to read at home more with my children. My children love to read now and are better at expressing themselves."
Our mission is to foster early literacy bonds between children and their parents to ensure that all young children from Aspen to Parachute develop a love of books and the skills to become successful readers.
Raising A Reader programs improve reading readiness and early school success by providing books and encouraging an abundance of reading and positive verbal interaction among children and their parents. Parent-child bonds connected to learning help children develop the oral language skills, curiosity, secure attachment and cognitive capacity for academic and life success.
Raising A Reader Aspen to Parachute was founded in 2004 to help eliminate the achievement gap that develops in the first five years of life when children do not hear enough language and/or have inadequate access to storybooks and read-aloud time with a parent or caregiver. In numerous local schools from Aspen to Parachute, fifty percent of children enter kindergarten lacking the basic oral language skills necessary for reading and school success.
Our programming supports more than 1400 children and their families with either a weekly set of books on loan or new books to build at-home libraries and resources for their parents and their teachers to build the all-important bonds while reading at home together.
Organization name
Raising A Reader Aspen to Parachute
other names
Raising A Reader Aspen to Parachute, Roaring Fork Valley Early Learning Fund
2004
Tax id (EIN)
55-0873041
Category
Education
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
817 Colorado Avenue #205Mailing
PO Box 2533Garfield County, CO, US