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Reach For The Stars!!  (RFTS) Reading Incentive 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 at home and at school.   RFTS is a pledge-based reading incentive program that returns every cent pledged back to the organization. It rewards children for reading with books.  With at least 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 between the student participants (50%) and the school (20%).  Students use their allotment to select Usborne Books from their wishlists for personal ownership, and the school uses their allotment to select Usborne Books that will stock bookshelves in the library, classrooms, reading intervention program – the possibilities are endless.

2) BOOK & READING BONANZA100% of the pledge money is used to purchase books and educational materials from the entire Usborne catalog; 50% to the student participants, and 50% to the school.  An extra 10% in books is available with this program for additional teacher or student reading incentives.

What Is The Goal 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 during a two week period.  Student participants collect pledges from friends, neighbors, and family. Sponsors may pledge a flat amount ($10.00 regardless of how many minutes read), or may base their pledge on the actual time spent reading ($5.00 per 100 minutes read). 

How Do Students Participate in RFTS?
Your Usborne representative helps get the students excited about the program during a school assembly or classroom presentation.  Students see the wonderful books they will be able to select with half of their pledge dollars, then…

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

2)                Once the program begins, each student logs reading time in their reading journal.  Each student is given a goal of 30 minutes per day for 10 school days, for a total of 300 minutes. This is very achievable! Students can include the minutes spent reading favorite books and magazines, being read to by mom or dad, and even reading for homework assignments.

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.

What Does Our Organization Need to Do?
You will need a volunteer (could be an administrator, teacher, or parent) to be a primary contact for your Usborne representative, collect reading journals and pledges, and provide your Usborne representative with participation information throughout the program.  Your Usborne representative will provide master copies of parent information packets including parent letters, pledge cards, reading journals, catalog information, etc.  Your representative will also compile the book order, organize books when they arrive, and deliver them to your organization ready to distribute to individual students and teachers. 

What Do We Get From RFTS?
Students, even pre- or emergent readers, experience the satisfaction of reading or being read to and develop a reading routine.  They get excited about book ownership!  Each child will receive a certificate of participation and a bookmark when they turn in their journals. Your organization earns money AND free books!

Why Is The RFTS Program So Important?
Consider the following:

·                     “If every child were read to daily from infancy, it would revolutionize education in this country.” (Former 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)

·                     There's no better way to increase vocabulary, improve spelling and writing, and cultivate public speaking skills than by reading aloud to a child! (Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook)


              


Success Stories

Herberich Primary School - Fairlawn, OH
June 2005

Students read for more than 151,000 minutes and collected $10,225 in pledges.  Students received more than $5,500 in books, teachers selected more than $2,000 in books for their classrooms, and the school librarian selected $3,680 in Usborne books for the library!


Mason City School District Kindergarten - Mason, OH
March 2003

329 students participated and raised $9400 in pledges!  Students received the entire amount in books, and Usborne provided the school with a matching gift   of 25% in books!


Edgewood Elementary - Folsom, PA
November 2004

165 students participated and raised $6500 in pledges!  Students received $3250 in books, and the school received $3900 in books!


Keystone Academy - Belleville, MI
March 2004

89 students participated and raised $5714 in pledges!  Students received $2857 in books, the library received $2857 in books, and teachers received $571 in books for their classrooms!


Contact me today to make your school a RFTS Success Story!

 

 

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Kelly George, Usborne Books/EDC Educational Services
Independent Educational Consultant & Supervisor

937-681-4324  |  311 Pleasant Hill Dr., Centerville, Ohio 45459

Kelly@GrowWithUsborne.com

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