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Open a book, open a mind

County’s first literacy summit to be held at CSUMB Oct. 25

An overwhelming body of research indicates that students who fall behind in their early elementary grades never catch up to their peers. That makes it particularly disturbing to note that nearly two-thirds of Monterey County students are not proficient readers by the time they complete third grade. To address the issue, the Literacy Campaign of Monterey County has organized the county’s first Summit on Literacy and the Economy on Oct. 25 at CSU Monterey Bay.

“This is a collaborative effort to confront a critical community problem and I am pleased our university can host it,” President Eduardo Ochoa said.

Dr. Ochoa will be among the speakers. In his remarks, scheduled for 8:30 a.m., he will talk about the Strive Network.

The network’s motto is “Every Child. Cradle to Career.” Strive Network communities promote a broad commitment among education, social service and government agencies to work together to achieve agreed-upon goals for student success.

The networks employ a collective impact stategy. Fixing one point on the educational continuum –such as better after-school programs – wouldn't make much difference unless other parts of the continuum improved at the same time.

No single organization can accomplish these improvements alone. Instead, the community needs to work together to coordinate improvements at every stage of a young person’s life, from "cradle to career."

Other speakers include:

• Mrs. Sylvia Panetta, co-chair and CEO of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy • Dr. Dowell Myers, director, Population Dynamics Research Group at the University of Southern California and author of “Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America” • Alicia Maldonado, National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading • Ron Fairchild, senior consultant to the National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and president and CEO of the Smarter Learning Group The summit will be held from 8:15 to 11:45 a.m. in the University Center ballroom. Driving directions and a campus map To register, or for more information, visit the literacy campaign's website.