Chelsea

Raising A Reader MA's first community launch was in Chelsea in May 2006. Since that time, we are currently serving over 1,400 children and families, representing 40% of all children 0-5 in Chelsea.

Raising A Reader MA as partnered with all identified early care and education programs in Chelsea, serving infants, toddlers, preschool and public pre-k children of varying abilities. We have partnered with the following early childhood programs in Chelsea and surrounding areas:

- MGH Visiting Mom Outreach
- Community Action Programs Inter-City Head Start in Chelsea, Revere & Winthrop
- Community Action Programs Inter-City Child Development Center
- John Silber Early Learning Center
- Harbor Area Early Childhood Services
- Child Focus Center
- Best Friends Early Learning Center
- Chelsea/Revere Family Network
- Children Garden Family Day Care
- Healthy Families (ROCA)
- A Kangaroo's Pouch, Inc.
- Associated Early Care & Education (family child care providers)
- Child Development & Education (family child care providers)

Regular early reading between parents and children is a simple activity with profound, lifelong effects. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study found improvements in letter knowledge, site word recognition, and other reading readiness indicators became significant when children were read to at least three times a week. Evaluations of Raising A Reader's impact in Chelsea have shown the significant impact the program has had on children and families. In the Healthy Families home-visiting program at ROCA, 7% of parents reported reading 3+ times per week before beginning Raising A Reader and now 100% report reading 3+ times per week after participating in our program.

Head Start and the Child Development Center in Chelsea also saw Raising A Reader's impact on their families, with 26% more Head Start families and 36% more of Child Development Center families reporting sharing stories with their children at least 3+ times per week after participating in Raising A Reader.