Reading Incentive Program

USBORNE BOOKS AT HOME
REACH FOR THE STARS (RFTS) READING PROGRAM

What is RFTS?
RFTS is a reading incentive program. Reading is the key that unlocks the mind! In a world where only one out of every ten adults walks into a bookstore, we need to help our children learn to love books. Here is a program that will help put fun, educational books into the hands of our children and the teachers who teach them. RFTS is a pledge-based reading incentive program that returns every cent pledged back to the organization. It also rewards children for reading with books. This is a 100% return! What could be better?

How does RFTS work?
There are two program options to choose from:

1) FUND RAISER - Your organization receives 30% in cash of the money pledged. The other 70% will be divided as follows; 50% will be given to the children in the form of books, and 20% will be allotted to your organization to stock bookshelves.

2) BOOK & READING BONANZA - 110% of the pledge money is used to purchase books and educational materials from the current Usborne catalog; 50% to the children, and 60% to the organization.

What are the goals of RFTS?
The primary goal of RFTS is to have children read, or be read to, a minimum of 30 minutes per school day - totaling 300 minutes of reading over the course of the two week period. Pledges are collected from friends, neighbors, and family. They may pledge a total amount ($10.00 regardless of how much is read), or base their pledge on the actual time spent reading (e.g., $5.00 for every 100 minutes of reading).

What do we have to do to implement RFTS?
The following steps will make it easy to get your RFTS program going:

1) About two weeks before the reading program begins, each student takes home a parent letter, a reading journal, a pledge sheet, and a book wish list and order form. The student and his/her parent will begin recording pledges, by the minute, hour, or flat rate on the pledge sheet.

2) When the program begins, each student will record time spent reading in their reading journal. Only 30 minutes a day for 10 school days is 300 minutes. This is very achievable! They can include the minutes spent reading/looking at favorite books and magazine, being read to by mom or dad, and even reading schoolwork.

3) At the end of the two week time period, students turn in their reading journals, book orders (they may spend 50% of the pledge money they collect on books for themselves!), and pledge money. The teachers fill out their orders based on the percentage of pledges collected in the classroom.

What does our organization have to do?
Your Usborne consultant will help you get packets of information (parent letters, pledge cards, reading journals, catalogs, etc.) together to send out to parents. She will also compile the book order, organize books when they arrive, and deliver them to your organization ready to deliver to students/teachers. Here is what your organization will need to do: You will need a volunteer (could be an administrator, teacher, or parent) to be the contact person with your Usborne consultant and to keep track of the reading journals and classroom participation.

What do we get out of it?
Children - even pre or emergent readers - get the satisfaction of reading or being read to as part of a routine. They also get free books and other prizes for participating. Your Usborne consultant will have a certificate of participation and a bookmark for each child when they turn in their pledge money and journals. Your organization earns money AND free books!

Why is a program like RFTS so important?
Consider the following:

• "If every child were read to daily from infancy, it would revolutionize education in this country." US Education Secretary Richard W. Riley.
  
• Some experts believe that the biggest obstacle to literacy is the scarcity of books and appropriate reading material in the home.
  
• "The 1998 Reading Report Card found that students with higher reading scores were more likely to report four types of reading materials in their homes - encyclopedias, magazine, newspapers, and at least 25 books." The NAEP.

Thank you for supporting kids and reading!

Pam Gilbert
Usborne Books, Educational Consultant