Mrs. Bush launched this initiative in December 1998 to help parents and caregivers prepare infants and young children for reading and learning when children enter school. Children who enter the Cone Center score in the bottom one percent on national measures. By the time they finish kindergarten, those same children score in the 73rd to 77th percentile.
Volunteers read to children in waiting rooms.
After well-child visits, young patients take home a free book. Mrs. Bush helped initiate the ROR program in Texas in 1997. More than 20 Texas sites have been granted start-up funds by the ROR National Center. Mrs. Bush is asking more Texas hospitals and clinics to replicate this program. This public awareness campaign by the Texas Department of Health is designed to give parents information on such topics as child health and safety, early brain development, and language and pre-reading skill development.