Hartford, Connecticut:

In the recent Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), well over half of 10th Grade students from Greater Hartford region performed below State goal.

In Hartford 91% were below the State goal.

Likewise more than half of State’s 4th grades did not meet proficiency goals in language arts.

9% of State’s Black 8th graders and 10% of Latino 8th graders meet reading proficiency standards compared with 48% of white students.

Reachout and Read (ROR) is a program run by Pediatricians. ROR is imbuing millions of children and parents with a love for books.

Along with immunizations literacy is the most important issue which can be addressed during well child visits.

ROR works like this: Each time a child comes to a medical clinic for a well-baby visit beginning at 6 months age, volunteers or the staff of the medical clinic reads to the child in the waiting room. During the physical examination the Doctor gives the child a book to keep and helps evaluate developmental progress by how the child responds to books.

Pediatricians try to weave the message that reading aloud to children daily is vital. Some parents are hearing such information for the first time.. This is borne out by studies that show that children whose reading skills are not nurtured at home begin to fall behind their classmates steadily by third grade.

With ROR, Pediatricians encourage parents to read to their children. Without such intervention, children from poor economic families too often begin a cycle of failures in their lives.