Smart Start celebrates Read Across America Day

News-Topic, Lenoir, N.C.
·3 min read

Mar. 6—LENOIR — In celebration of National Read Across America Day (Thursday, March 2), Caldwell County Smart Start hosted a number of activities to get students excited about reading.

Smart Start is North Carolina's nationally recognized and award-winning early childhood initiative designed to ensure that young children enter school healthy and ready to succeed.

Caldwell County Smart Start is excited to have partnered with volunteers from The Caldwell Senior Center, The Caldwell Chamber of Commerce, retired teachers from Caldwell County Schools, and Caldwell County Smart Start Board Members to read to children in child care centers in Caldwell County.

"As the volunteers read their stories and interacted, their love and enthusiasm for reading were passed to the children," said Wendy Smith, Family Support Program specialist. "Volunteers and children sang, danced, and acted out parts of the book together. The volunteers were excited about this opportunity because they acknowledged that reading aloud to children effectively builds relationships, language, and listening skills that last a lifetime."

Thanks to these incredible volunteers, reading was celebrated in Caldwell County across multiple generations for Read Across America day.

Smart Start is a public-private initiative that provides early education funding to all of the state's 100 counties. Smart Start funds are administered at the local level through local nonprofit organizations called Local Partnerships.

The North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC) is the statewide nonprofit organization that provides oversight and technical assistance for local partnerships.

Services at the local level range depending on local needs. Funding for Smart Start is currently $192 million in state funds. Smart Start has raised more than $200 million in donations since it began.

Currently, 82 local partnerships are established throughout the state to administer funding and programs. Smart Start funds are used to improve the quality of child care, make child care more affordable and accessible, provide access to health services and offer family support. Smart Start has achieved tremendous results in these areas and continues to strive to reach all children in North Carolina.

Caldwell Smart Start has garnered much national recognition and is considered a model for comprehensive early childhood education initiatives. In 2001, the NCPC established a National Technical Assistance Center to assist other states with the development of an early education initiative.

Caldwell County Smart Start also provides for the early literacy program, "Dolly Parton's Imagination Library," which aims to increase young children's access to book, increase kindergarten readiness, increase parent-child reading frequency, and increase community collaboration.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library mails age-appropriate books to registered children (ages 0-5) on a monthly basis regardless of family income. Caldwell County Smart Start collaborates with other local organizations that promote literacy and reading, such as the Caldwell County Public Library and the Caldwell County Family Literacy Program in order to maximize the effectiveness of the Imagination Library.

Interested individuals can register for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library by contacting Program Specialist Kristy Campbell at 828-426-5437 or kcampbell@caldwellsmartstart.org, or by going to https://www.caldwellsmartstart.org and clicking the picture of Dolly.