The El Dorado County Library was presented with a proclamation from the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on May 22, for their success in cultivating a community where families read to their young children. According to Children Now, El Dorado County led the state in 2013 with an estimated 79 percent of families reading to their children on a daily basis, because of these community partnerships and work done through various programs. The library is a leader in California, where results of early literacy programs, partnerships and community collaborations have been formally recognized, and the California State Library looks to El Dorado County for guidance on other libraries' early literacy programs.
Parents and caregivers receive support from the library, reaching nearly one in six children, ages birth through 5 annually, offering early literacy programs at all six branches, including outreach to preschools and child care programs throughout the county. The library successfully and efficiently utilizes grant funds resulting in national Family Place Library recognition. Other grant funds support workshops for parents and their children, provide early childhood education staff development and establish mobile child development classrooms.
The event was held at the library, and community leaders, librarians, parents, teachers and children were joined by First 5 El Dorado Children and Families Commission members – an organization that partners with the library and advocates for young children by developing initiatives that meet the best interests of children 0 through 5 years of age and their communities. “Our county library and early childhood educational programs absolutely deserve this recognition for their unrelenting hard work, and this event supports what we have always known – parents are their child’s first teacher,” said El Dorado County Superintendent of Schools Jeremy M. Meyers, who is also a member of the First 5 Commission. “The very first years of a child’s development are crucial to their future success, and El Dorado County is the best place to spend those years.”
Following the event, children and families participated in the library’s “Mother Goose on the Loose” story time and the “Stay and Play” program at their mobile child development center. For more information about available services and programs, visit http://www.eldoradolibrary.org and first5eldorado.com
View Proclamation
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