Prescriptions to Read: Early Literacy Promotion outside the Classroom.

This descriptive study examined the impact that an early literacy promotion program, Reach Out and Read (ROR), had on the literacy beliefs, frequency, and quality of literacy activities among low-income, multiracial families, particularly the Latino community. The study also explored parents’ perceptions of ROR and its impact on them, their children, and their families. ROR is a pediatric-based early literacy promotion program. This study focused on one ROR program in which pediatricians-in-training provided free books and literacy advice to parents through “prescriptions to read” with their child at least 10 minutes every day. Participants included 22 parents attending an ROR clinic and 15 parents attending a non-ROR clinic. Results were mixed, showing ROR had a positive impact on the children and families it serves by increasing access to books. Yet, results equally show that this positive impact is not as significant or as broad as it might be, demonstrating room for improvement. Factors such as the role of linguistic and cultural capital in the development of early literacy programs that serve ethnically and linguistically diverse families are discussed. In addition, the study raises questions around the implications of experts from other fields providing literacy guidance and advice to parents. Literacy Teaching and Learning Volume 13, Numbers 1 & 2 • 2009 82 © 2009 Reading Recovery Council of North America “They tell me I need to read 10 minutes to the children, that it’s very good for them. ” — Parent of a 4-year-old Research shows a clear link between early literacy development and later education achievement levels (Dickinson & Tabors, 2002; Valdez-Menacha & Whitehurst, 1992; Whitehurst, et al., 1988). In addition, families have been shown to play an important role in the literacy development of children (Dickinson & Tabors; Whitehurst et al.). One program aimed at supporting early literacy development is Reach Out and Read (ROR)/Vamos a Leer. ROR is a nationwide literacy promotion program carried out by the medical community. ROR began in Boston in 1989 through Dr. Robert Needlman’s initiative to “prescribe books to underprivileged children” (Fitzgerald & Needlman, 1991), as part of the family-physician interface in well-baby clinic settings. In addition to providing books, ROR physicians and nurses provide literacy guidance and advice to parents on strategies and practices to incorporate into the parent-child book interaction. While there exists a growing body of literature investigating the effectiveness of ROR, much of this research focuses mainly on parent reports of book reading as a measure (e.g., Golova, Alario, Vivier, Rodriguez, & High, 1999; High, Hopmann, LaGasse, & Linn, 1998; Sanders, Gershon, Huffman, & Mendoza, 2000). Furthermore, much of this research has been conducted by the very doctors implementing ROR. This study expanded upon previous studies of ROR by exploring in a more-holistic sense the activities, values, and literary materials among lowincome, ethnically and linguistically diverse families, particularly from within the Latino community. The aim was to identify parents’ perspectives on the impact of ROR participation, by exploring what ROR participants thought and had to say about the ROR program and its impact on them, their children and their families.