Our Mission
To empower children and families to achieve productive, self-reliant lives.
What We Believe
The
philosophy of our organization is based on the research that
says reaching out to the “whole” child will help children develop
skills and abilities necessary for a happy and successful life.
Our direct work with our children is important – but working with
the child’s entire family is equally important. This will ensure
sustainable change and results, even after the child graduates
from our programs.
Further, working with our children and their families on a long-term basis will further prevent the
likelihood of engagement in unhealthy and risky behaviors, as well as academic failure.
What We Do
To reach this vision Reading And Beyond goes where families are, offering holistic, research-based
programs at multiple sites throughout Fresno and Madera Counties. Programs include:
• Literacy intervention for children
• Early childhood education
• Health education
• College preparation for children and parents
• Parent involvement
Reading And Beyond reaches out to families at apartment complexes, shopping centers, schools,
and community organizations and conducts educational home-visits.
At Reading And Beyond, children from families with limited education discover their potential as
students, and set new limits and expectations for themselves. And parents learn how they can help
their children succeed at school even when they feel academically unprepared to help them.
Reading And Beyond has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, The White House
Office for Faith and Community Based Initiatives, local businesses, school districts for our quality
services for parents and children. Independent and in-house evaluations and reports from parents
and teachers demonstrate the direct community benefit of the program.
Who We Serve
Reading And Beyond targets communities that are low-income to poverty-level and provides
programming for children aged 0 to 18 years, parents, and entire families.
As a grass-roots community-based organization, Reading And Beyond has developed strategies
and best-practices that successfully reach even the most difficult-to-reach families in rural and
urban areas – including those families that are low-literate and poverty-level.
We see ourselves as bridging the “achievement gap” for our children by providing holistic and
long-term programs.
The
philosophy of our organization is based on the research thatsays reaching out to the “whole” child will help children develop
skills and abilities necessary for a happy and successful life.
Our direct work with our children is important – but working with
the child’s entire family is equally important. This will ensure
sustainable change and results, even after the child graduates
from our programs.
Further, working with our children and their families on a long-term basis will further prevent the
likelihood of engagement in unhealthy and risky behaviors, as well as academic failure.
What We Do
To reach this vision Reading And Beyond goes where families are, offering holistic, research-based
programs at multiple sites throughout Fresno and Madera Counties. Programs include:
• Literacy intervention for children
• Early childhood education
• Health education
• College preparation for children and parents
• Parent involvement
Reading And Beyond reaches out to families at apartment complexes, shopping centers, schools,
and community organizations and conducts educational home-visits.
At Reading And Beyond, children from families with limited education discover their potential as
students, and set new limits and expectations for themselves. And parents learn how they can help
their children succeed at school even when they feel academically unprepared to help them.
Reading And Beyond has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, The White House
Office for Faith and Community Based Initiatives, local businesses, school districts for our quality
services for parents and children. Independent and in-house evaluations and reports from parents
and teachers demonstrate the direct community benefit of the program.
Who We Serve
Reading And Beyond targets communities that are low-income to poverty-level and provides
programming for children aged 0 to 18 years, parents, and entire families.
As a grass-roots community-based organization, Reading And Beyond has developed strategies
and best-practices that successfully reach even the most difficult-to-reach families in rural and
urban areas – including those families that are low-literate and poverty-level.
We see ourselves as bridging the “achievement gap” for our children by providing holistic and
long-term programs.
History of our Organization
Fall
1998:
Members of First Covenant Church to call togethercommunity leaders to explore prospective solutions to helping
neighborhood students who were struggling in reading.
Fall 1998: Luis Santana, current Executive Director of Reading
And Beyond, was asked to lead the endeavor.
March
1999:
Fresno Covenant Foundation (now Reading And Beyond)was established as a 501(c)3 with $20,000 seed money from First
Covenant Church.
September 1999: Literacy tutorial and parent programs are launched
with 30 families matched with 30 volunteers from First Covenant
Church.
Fall 2001: With a grant from Fresno Unified School District, we expanded our successful literacy
tutorial program from just one site at First Covenant Church to five new sites.
May 2003: Executive Director Luis Santana and Board Chair Don Larson receive recognition from
Fresno Unified School District as “model for other organizations.”
October 2003:
Funds received from U.S. Department of Education toexpand our parent program throughout Fresno County and launch our
Early Childhood Education Program.
March 2004: Purchased a specially designed recreational vehicle (RV)
to serve as our Mobile Classroom for parent outreach and parent
workshops.
August 2004: Expanded our after school/literacy intervention to include over 500 additional students
at five school-based sites
October 2004: We were one of only four organizations to receive national funding from the
U.S. Department of Education to develop our Early Childhood Education program into a replicable
model.
April 2006: Board of Directors Launches strategic planning process.
September 2006: Coordinated Parent Involvement Summit, with U.S. Department of Education
guest speaker Morgan Brown.
December 2007: College Prep “Upward Bound” Program begins in partnership with Central Unified
School District. Click here for PHOTOS from the progam
December 2007: Fresno Covenant Foundation changes its name to Reading And Beyond.
August 2008:
Partnership made with Butler Mennonite Church tooperate Small World Preschool. Click here for PHOTOS
October 2008: Commemorated the move of our administrative office
to South East Fresno with an open house.
December 2008: Visit and recognition by U.S. Dept. of Education
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education,
Kerri Briggs for Reading and Beyond’s “remarkable example of impact that faith-based
organizations have in a community.”
March 2009: Celebrated Reading And Beyond’s 10th Anniversary! Click here for PHOTOS of the event
June 2009:
Luis Santana receives James Irvine Foundation statewideleadership award “for advancing innovative and effective solutions to
critical state issues”. Luis is the first person from the San Joaquin
Valley to be honored with this award.
October 2009: Opened five childcare facilities in Fresno, Selma, and
Coalinga for families receiving County services.
Proven Results
Teaching Children to Read at Grade Level
Since 1999, we have tutored over 5,683 children at our tutoring sites.
Results: 70% of the children who have been in the program at least six months improved at least
one grade level in reading.
Engaging Parents to Help Their Children
Since 2003, over 16,632 parents have utilized Reading And Beyond’s parent involvement program
to enhance their leadership skills, learn ways to work with their child’s school and teachers, and
create a home environment that support children’s success.
Results: CREAD, an independent evaluator within California State University Fresno, confirmed that
children of parents who participated in the program performed significantly higher on standardized
test scores than children of parents who did not participate.
Preparing Young Children to Begin School
We have conducted 9,350 bi-weekly home visits for families with children 0-5 years old, to mentor
parents on how to help their child’s development and prepare them to start school.
Results: CREAD confirmed that children enrolled in our program showed statistically dramatic
improvements in their skills needed for success in kindergarten.
Building Health Habits that Affect a Child’s Education
We offer health workshops to the community that focus on nutrition, physical activity and fitness,
and disease prevention. Since 1999, 4,442 parents have participated in this program.
Results: 93% of the program participants reported that they applied the information they learned
from the Health Workshops.
Preparing for Higher Education
Beginning in 2007, we implemented the Upward Bound program in conjunction with Central Unified
School District to increase the number of students who go on to attend and ultimately graduate from
college.
Results: During the first year of this four-year program, all 60 participating students reported
improvement in motivation to attend college, academic performance, and in their level of confidence.
2009 Reading And Beyond - All Rights Reserved
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