NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
16 October 2002

FREE DICTIONARIES GIVEN TO 3RD & 4TH GRADERS AS PART OF LITERACY DRIVE

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that all third and fourth graders in the Harrisburg School District have been provided their own dictionary, which they may keep for the rest of their lives.

The effort is part of the city school district’s on-going efforts to reform and improve the city district and to place a specific focus on literacy for students.

Reed said the dictionaries were secured by a joint effort of Altrusa, a citizen group dedicated to improving literacy, and the Committee for A Better Harrisburg, the Mayor’s Campaign Committee. The Committee paid for the books and Altrusa secured a discount for them. No public funds were used.

Reed said that, in the future, all third graders will get a dictionary as they begin their Harrisburg School District studies.

“Literacy is the most important skill in life, as one’s success in all other subject matter depends on it. I wanted our students to have the best source of definition for all the words we use. They may keep the book,” Reed said.

Reed said the District is expending significant sums on providing books, including many available from print-outs from the Internet, and on teacher training to bolster the literacy efforts in all grade levels, with particular emphasis on the third grade because many studies indicate that this is when students begin formulating their language proficiency.

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