WHAT IS THE READY TO LEARN SERVICE?
By Sam Lemon
WHYY's Manager of Community Education Services

TV12 is proud to launch its Ready to Learn Service, as part of a nationwide commitment to enriching the educational growth of young children.

The project grew out of a recent book by Carnegie Foundation President Ernest L. Boyer entitled, Ready to Learn/A Mandate for the Nation. His goal is to have every child in America begin school socially, emotionally, physically and developmentally "ready to learn."

Using public television's exceptional TV programs as a springboard, WHYY supplements that experience by reaching out to the community with a variety of training programs. The station is developing and distributing publications, such as WHYY's Ready to Learn Family Times newsletter, that will encourage further learning and will teach families, care-givers and educators how TV12 programs can be used effectively in that process. The linchpin of this new initiative will be developing productive community partnerships.

Ready to Learn is for everyone, not just preschoolers. Anyone, at any age, can and should be "ready to learn" something new. Learning is a lifelong process that becomes a two-way street, where adults and children learn from others.

The future lies in the hands and minds of America's children, as long as they are given the right tools to do the job.

For more information, contact: Sam Lemon at (215) 351-0539.