The National Urban League and Scholastic Inc. Team Up to Boost Early Literacy

Business Wire,  Dec 5, 2000  

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WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2000

Through its Campaign for African American Achievement,

League to Make Early Literacy a Main Focus

The National Urban League and Scholastic, Inc. today announced a partnership designed to help promote and encourage early literacy.

Under the terms of the partnership, Scholastic Inc. is donating 50,000 books to 38 Urban League affiliates nationwide that run education programs serving children aged 12 and younger. Affiliates can use the books for lending libraries for parents and young people, in after school and day programs, as give-aways to students and parents, and in other programmatic efforts.

The programs are part of the National Urban League's Campaign for African American Achievement, a community mobilization and advocacy initiative. Price conceived the "Achievement Campaign" to counter the anti-achievement messages young people receive and to ensure that educators and policymakers provide quality education, youth development opportunities and adequate support to young people of color.

A second activity under the National Urban League/Scholastic partnership is the development of a Parent's Guide to Early Literacy, which will be available by March 2001.

"Deficiencies in early literacy are readily apparent on national exams," Price said. "Three times as many white pupils as black meet the fourth grade proficiency standard in reading on the National Assessment for Educational Progress. As if that gap isn't alarming enough, the proportion of black students who meet it is appallingly low."

"This is why the National Urban League has embraced early literacy as a main focus of our Campaign for African American Achievement Campaign. And we are extremely excited that Scholastic is joining us in our efforts to bridge this achievement gap."

Proctor added, "Scholastic is proud to support the League's work not only with this donation of books for young readers, but just as importantly, by working together helping parents enhance their children's early literacy skills, which will set them on the road to achievement."

Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. The U.S. Scholastic web site serves 1.5 million parents, teachers and children each month at http://www.scholastic.com.

Founded in 1910, the Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream.

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