Alisal Union Assistant Superintendent, Jeanne Herrick,

Receives Childrens Literacy Leader Award

The Read to Me Project Honors Jeanne Herrick for Championing Early Literacy as Part of its Share the
Magic Between the Pages Holiday Giving Campaign Event
Monterey, CA, November 26, 2014 - The Read to Me Project will be honoring Jeanne Herrick,
Assistant Superintendent of Alisal Union School District, for her early literacy leadership and
support for programs designed to increase the number of children who begin kindergarten
prepared to succeed. The award will be presented on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at the
Hampton Inn & Suites Salinas as part of the Read to Me Projects "Share the Magic Between the
Pages" 2014 Holiday Giving Campaign.

"The Read to Me Project is very proud to present Assistant Superintendent Herrick with the First
Annual Childrens Literacy Leadership Award for her commitment to promoting early literacy
experiences for infants, toddlers and preschoolers who live in the Alisal community, said Barbara
Greenway, Founder of the Read to Me Project. Jeanne clearly understands the educational
importance of family members reading to children daily to prepare them for kindergarten and
school success.

The Read to Me Projects Share the Magic Between the Pages 2014 Holiday Giving Campaign
Kick Off event will take place on Thursday, December 4, 2014 from 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. at the
new Hampton Inn and Suites, 523 Work Street in Salinas. The Childrens Literacy Leader Award
will be presented at 5:30 p.m. Through its Holiday Giving Campaign, the Read to Me Project is
inviting everyone in the community, including local companies, parents and teachers, to donate
and support this cost-effective, high-impact program. The event and holiday campaign is
sponsored by Hampton Inn and Suites, KSMS TV Univision 67, KSES Jose 107.1 FM and KLOK La
Tricolor 99.5 FM and KDJT UniMas 33.
To RSVP or for more information, call (831) 275-1300 or email
barbara@readtomeproject.org.
Contact Information: Barbara Greenway, Executive Director, barbara@readtomeproject.org
Marcy Rustad, Director of Development, marcy@readtomeproject.org
About Jeanne Herrick:
Jeanne Herrick has more than 40 years of experience in public education working for the San Jose
Unified School District and Alisal Union School District. She is a leader in K-12 district reform and
has championed the Reading First effort through grant development and implementation. Ms.
Herrick is recognized as a statewide expert in the areas of English Language Learner academic
language and literacy development. In the Alisal Union School District (AUSD), Ms. Herrick shaped
the initial K-3 reading program that supports stronger reading achievement in the early grades.
She has received state level recognition for her work. Ms. Herrick has been instrumental in the
expansion of the Read to Me Project in Alisal, supporting its growth from 23 to 52 classrooms with
730 AUSD students reading to 850 young siblings.
About the new Hampton Inn & Suites Salinas:
The new 105-room Hampton Inn & Suites Salinas opened in early 2014 at the corner of Work and
John Streets, right off of Highway 101. The Hampton Inn offers hot breakfasts every morning,
complementary Wi-Fi, an indoor pool, hot tub, and fitness center as well as HD Direct TV channels
and other amenities. It is located just 15 miles from Monterey and close to all Salinas attractions
including golf, wine tasting and local events including the California International Air Show,
Monterey Sports Car Festival, and the Steinbeck Festival.
About The Read to Me Project:
The Read to Me Project is an early literacy program that helps prepare young children to enter
kindergarten with the knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension skills that will help them
succeed in school and become literate and successful adults. The Project provides structure and
opportunity for infants, toddlers and preschoolers to be regularly read to at home by their
elementary-aged brothers and sisters. The Read to Me Project is currently reaching 82 classrooms
in East Salinas, Gonzales, Greenfield, Carmel Valley and Big Sur with more than 1000 students
reading to 1350 young siblings.
The Read to Me Project is easy and inexpensive to implement, immediate, direct, and powerful;
reaching large numbers of young children where they learn best, at home. Families become
engaged in providing their young children with the foundation for learning and life-long literacy.
The Read to Me Project fosters loving and positive relationships among family members and
nourishes lifelong bonds between siblings. It is an organic, simple and preventative approach as
opposed to in-school remediation programs that are costly, require children to fail first, and are
often provided too late.
How the Read to Me Project works:
The Project is implemented in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classrooms in primarily low-literacy school

districts. Students are taught about early brain development, the importance of reading to young
children and The 9 Best Ways to Read to Young Children.
Participating classrooms are provided with age appropriate books carefully chosen for content,
developmental level and ease of reading by students with limited reading skills. Each week
students check out a book which they read to their infant, toddler or preschool age brothers and
sisters as part of their nightly homework.
Project coordinators work closely with teachers and students throughout the year, providing ongoing coaching, training, support and motivation. Students are recognized for their commitment
and participation with an end of the year award and bag of books so they can continue to read to
their siblings during the summer.
The Read to Me Project has been carefully developed and designed to provide continuous sibling
to sibling engagement. Young siblings may be read to over a span of up to three years as
participating student readers move through grades 4, 5, and 6. This continuity provides young
children with extended exposure to early literature and increases the likelihood of successful
outcomes. The student readers gain confidence in their own reading skills, become young
mentors and model good family literacy practices. Family bonds are strengthened and schools and
communities are positively affected.
The Read to Me Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (Federal Tax ID # 47-1224251). For
more information or to make a tax deductible donation visit the Read to Me Project website at
www.readtomeproject.org
Contact:
Wendy Brickman
Brickman Marketing
395 Del Monte Center #250
Monterey, CA 93940
831-633-4444
http://www.readtomeproject.org
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