The Imagination Library of Grant County (ILGC), a local nonprofit organization, has delivered over 55,000 free, age-appropriate, high quality books to the homes of 75% of Grant County €™s preschool children. Bianca and Caleb Narvaez, pictured here, enjoy story time several times every day. Bianca says her older son €™s preschool provider is impressed with his letter recognition, which she attributes to his love of books. "Aden gets so happy every time the Imagination Library books arrive in the mail. The books are like little presents every month."
Studies support their assumption that the more books there are in the home, the longer a child will stay in school (Evans and Kelly), and children from a literacy-rich environment will enter kindergarten with a vocabulary ten times greater than those with few books in their homes (Hart and Risley). While these findings are compelling, the ILGC wanted to study the impact of their own program, close to home. They partnered with Dr. Ann Harvey of Western New Mexico University to explore academic benefits of participating in the local Imagination Library program. They are now completing the 2nd year of a 3 year longitudinal study. Results are encouraging, particularly the high reading proficiency levels of book recipients.
Two studies sorted first graders by their enrollment in the Imagination Library. In each study, one group was comprised of the students who had participated in the Imagination Library program while the comparison group had not participated in the program. The percentage of students who passed the grade level requirements was also compared in each study.
The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills tests (DIBELS) are a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade. The first grade DIBELS tests were given three times during the year. The scores of the Imagination Library students were found to be higher on all seven subtests except two. 72% of the Imagination Library students were rated proficient, while the proficiency rate for non-Imagination Library students was 55%.
The first grade computerized Discovery test covered six subtests. The average scores of the Imagination Library group were compared with the non-participating group. The Imagination Library group scored significantly higher on the end of first grade test. Testing for grade level competencies showed that the Imagination Library had 75% of the students with passing proficiency scores while the non-Imagination Library group had 55% of students passing the proficiency markers.
According to the latest Annie E. Casey "Kid €™s Count" data, 79% of New Mexico 4th grade students are not proficient in reading. Local Champion and ILGC Board President, Barbara Nelson, says, "We find our results to be convincing reasons for continuing and expanding the Imagination Library. Just Imagine!"
Further details are available by calling the Imagination Library office at 575.519.4464 or visit: www.ImaginationLibraryGC.org.