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CARNEGIE
CORPORATION OF NEW YORK ESTABLISHES AN ADVISORY COUNCIL ON READING
TO LEARN
New
York, NY—June 25, 2003. Carnegie Corporation of New York’s
Education division has announced the formation of a Carnegie Advisory
Council on Reading to Learn to help the foundation analyze how best
to use its resources to develop and disseminate knowledge aimed
at closing the many performance gaps in intermediate and adolescent
literacy. The formation of the Council, which comprises scholars,
practioners and representatives of the public, is a key element
in Carnegie Corporation’s Advancing Literacy: Reading to
Learn strategic plan. The Corporation seeks a broader knowledge
base for teaching successful reading beyond the third grade, greater
awareness among educators, policymakers and the general public about
the literacy crisis and fostering more favorable state and federal
policies to assure funding streams and support systems for better
literacy practices beyond grade three.
“Literacy skills involve more than being able to decode words:
they must include the ability to sift through the richness of language
to develop an effective vocabulary and understand the meaning of
texts,” says Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation
of New York. “Although many students in American schools successfully
master the mechanics of reading, too many never read to learn, which
leads to failure in middle and high school and beyond. It is rather
unfortunate that the country is not meeting this most vital of challenges.
We believe it is crucial to the nation’s future that we develop
and expand on literacy education programs underway at the Corporation
for the past two decades so that every child in every school in
the U.S. is given the opportunity to become an educated citizen
who can participate fully in every aspect of our national life.”
“The
Corporation’s strategy in pursuit of strengthening intermediate
and adolescent literacy, from fourth grade through twelfth grade,
is built largely on developing a sound framework for the nation
to invest its resources wisely in treating the problem,” says
Daniel Fallon, chair of the Corporation’s Education division.
“We plan to support ventures in research, policy and practice,
while we simultaneously build national awareness of the importance
of this focus on teaching children not only to read words but to
understand what they’re reading. We have established the Carnegie
Advisory Council on Reading to Learn to ensure we lay a solid foundation
for our initiative.”
“The
Council will be the vehicle to develop work surrounding three important
themes: research, policy and practice,” says Andrés
Henríquez, program officer in the Education division at the
Corporation, who leads the adolescent literacy work. “The Corporation
is looking forward to working with a panel of experts and colleagues
in the field to support research, bridge the research-to-practice
gap, inform the field at large and infuse ‘best practices’
work into classrooms regarding intermediate and adolescent literacy.”
Over
a three-year period, the Council will advise the Corporation on
how it can best use its resources to produce widespread improvements
in intermediate and adolescent literacy. Drawing on Council members’
own experiences, reviews of the literature, the work of Carnegie
Corporation grantees and the testimony of individuals and groups
that appear to be effective in enabling adolescents to achieve greater
literacy, the Council will propose promising strategies for the
improvement of intermediate and adolescent literacy. The Council
will also assess the existing state of adolescent literacy in the
United States, identify key barriers to improvement and possible
means to overcome those barriers.
The RAND Corporation, a research institute, will provide the initial
technical assistance to support the Reading to Learn Council. In
preparation for the project, leading researchers at the RAND Corporation
will conduct a careful review of the scientific literature and a
scan of effective practices and, informed by this work, assist Carnegie
Corporation in developing the Council’s mission and help identify
and select Council members. Appointments to the Carnegie Advisory
Council on Reading to Learn will be completed by spring 2004.
Carnegie
Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to
promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding."
As a grantmaking foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out
Carnegie's vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim "to
do real and permanent good in the world." The Corporation's
capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million,
had a market value of $1.6 billion on September 30, 2002. The Corporation
awards grants totaling approximately $80 million a year in the areas
of education, international peace and security, international development
and strengthening U.S. democracy.
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