Jacksonville, FL - Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) held a recognition ceremony to honor everyone who has generously donated to
Read It Forward Jax!. Read It Forward Jax!, the district's reading initiative, was launched one year ago and has already had an astounding impact on our students.
Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals and School Board members celebrated all past and possible future contributors in this ceremony to acknowledge and honor the success of the program thus far.
Since the launch last year, Read It Forward Jax! has raised more than $76,000 to be used to purchase reading tools and materials to distribute to students to ensure they have the necessary resources to perform at the highest level. The donations have come from nearly 20 organizations and 14 individuals from throughout Jacksonville and the surrounding area.
"We are grateful to those organizations and individuals who contributed to
Read It Forward Jax! in its first year, and need to keep up the enthusiasm and excitement this coming year to continue to provide our students with the highest quality education," said Superintendent Pratt-Dannals. "We ask for continued support from our business and community partners in our mission to improve the literacy skills of all students, whether it is a donation of money, resources or time, every little bit counts."
With these donations we have been able to purchase a total of 130 classroom libraries and 27,000 books to distribute to 16 schools throughout the district.
In addition to the materials purchased, DCPS also held a great launch event at Matthew Gilbert Middle School and first day of school celebration at Pinedale Elementary; two extremely successful events with Chick-fil-A promoting community conversations and family reading; multiple school events that highlighted
Read It Forward Jax!; produced various public service announcements for television and radio to engage the community in reading; provided backpacks and tools to students in need; and developed two parent brochures with tips and resources for parents to use at home to help improve literacy skills.
DCPS also trained more than 260 reading volunteers to work with the students on key reading strategies that will enhance their reading comprehension skills. An additional 200 TVtextbooks were purchased for fall distributions.
With an increased focus on reading, including this initiative, the district has seen an increase in reading gains by six percentage points. DCPS plans for
Read It Forward Jax! to have another successful year of building partnerships and relationships with the community.
To learn more or find out how to contribute to Read It Forward Jax!, visit
www.readitforwardjax.org.
