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Literacy is a key component of a successful education system, and never more so than today. With society’s growing demand for an educated citizenry and work force, children must begin to develop a love of reading long before stepping into a classroom. The 21st century classroom is now only one piece in the education puzzle. To equip our children with the skills that will ensure they keep up and grow to become productive global citizens, education must start early, must start in the home and must be constantly reinforced.
Regardless of their own educational levels, all parents want their children to have a good future. And many parents think that children will begin to read when they begin school. In reality, precursors to reading happen before that, and a child who is not reading proficiently by the end of first grade has only a one in eight chance of ever becoming a proficient reader. Without intervention, that child could remain behind throughout school and into his adult life.
The state of literacy in Central Texas
Child literacy levels in Central Texas show a long way to go, and there is little comfort in knowing that local rates reflect the poor showing nationally. According to AVANCE-Austin, which provides parenting skills services to low-income families, 40 percent of children entering the Austin Independent School District are a year and a half behind where they should be.
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the largest children’s literacy nonprofit in the United States, says two-thirds of American children who live in poverty have no books at home, and to compound the problem, the number of families living in poverty is on the rise. Here in Texas, nearly 30 percent of first-graders are living in poverty. Experts estimate that nearly 40 percent of U.S. fourth-graders do not achieve basic levels of reading proficiency, according to RIF. The number is higher among low-income families, certain minority groups and English language learners.
The nonprofit Literacy Coalition of Central Texas notes the socio-economic impact of low childhood literacy rates, beginning with higher rates of dropouts and juvenile delinquency. Children lacking basic literacy practices when they enter school are three to four times more likely to drop out. Illiterate children become illiterate adults, and these adults perpetuate illiteracy’s economic drain. In Central Texas, over 120,000 adults age 16 years and older struggle with reading or cannot read at all, says the Literacy Coalition.
H-E-B’s Read 3 program provides key early intervention
What can be done to stem this tide of adult illiteracy? H-E-B believes that literacy starts 
early, says Kate Rogers, H-E-B’s Vice President of Partner Communication and Engagement.To better promote early childhood literacy, H-E-B has introduced the Read 3 program, which is dedicated to providing books and to supporting home environments that will help children develop the learning skills they need now and bring lifelong opportunities to succeed.
Physical books are still very important for children, despite the increase in adults choosing e-books. One of the simplest ways to determine where children are on their literacy journey is to see what they do with a book, Rogers says. Do they automatically turn it right way up? Do they know how to turn the pages?
Eighty percent of brain development occurs between birth and age 5, so it is discouraging to see the achievement gap showing up by kindergarten, Rogers says.
“In some places, 50 percent of children fall short in their Texas Primary Reading Inventory basic skills test,” Rogers says.
Creating an environment for learning
As a part of H-E-B’s Read 3 program, and to start the learning process earlier for Texas children, H-E-B is partnering with many local organizations to put books in the hands of Texas’ youth to help them succeed in school, and ultimately, as adults. The three main goals of H-E-B’s Read 3 program are to help ensure that all Texas children begin their school experience ready to read and learn, to provide access to books and to get families excited about reading.
To date, H-E-B has opened 14 literacy centers in stores across Texas. The centers have now become hubs in their communities for reading activities and celebrations.
“We have in-store appearances, including book characters and children’s authors. Over 700 families came out in Laredo to see the Stupid Smelly Bus Tour,” says Rogers, referring to the nationwide tour based on the best-selling children’s book series.“Learning needs to happen everywhere: in the home, in schools and even in grocery stores.”
H-E-B is also working hard to ensure that families and children have easy access to books.
“If we want people to read, they have to have books,” Rogers says. More than 7 million Texans enter H-E-B’s doors every week, so the company is well positioned to stress the importance of reading and to make reading easy by providing a selection of affordable books for all ages.
With the help of its partners, especially book publisher Random House, H-E-B has collected more than a million books in the past year for the Read 3 exchange, Rogers says.
“Anyone who needs a book can contact us to get one from the exchange. We’ve distributed over 800,000 of the books so far,” Rogers says.
H-E-B also helps organize Read 3 family literacy workshops at elementary schools and community centers. After the workshop, the child takes home a minimum of 12 books, and the families walk away with some basic — yet very important — skills. They learn to interact with their child and their books, and to ask their child questions about books, even if they themselves cannot read.
H-E-B continues to expand its literacy efforts across the continuum of ages and skills, Rogers says. “Our Read 3 program really focuses on children ages 3 to 5. … That is why we have started partnering with organizations such as Reach Out and Read, a program that works with physicians to get appropriate literacy materials into the hands of families that have children age 3 and younger during their well baby checkups.”
Last summer to support vital writing skills, H-E-B created the “Read. Write. Win.” essay contest for secondary students. Winners of the contest received a total of $50,000 in scholarships at the Texas Book Festival in October,.
“Texas’ school teachers and school principals are doing the best that they can to teach literacy with limited resources, but — simply put — learning has to start earlier than kindergarten,” Rogers says.
In a state with the second-highest birthrate in the country, H-E-B is committed to the childhood literacy cause long-term and continues to increase efforts to improve individual literacy, educational outcomes and community growth.
