CALIFORNIA DICTIONARY PROJECT RETURNS TO OAKLAND TO HAND OUT 4,600 DICTIONARIES TO PUBLIC SCHOOL THIRD GRADERS

Third Annual Donation Brings Total Dictionary Distribution to 41,000 in San Francisco Bay Area

Oakland, Calif., November 18, 2004 - The California Dictionary Project (www.californiadictionaryproject.org), a non-profit organization aimed at donating and distributing a dictionary annually to every third grade student in California's public school system, announced its latest round of distribution of 4,600 free dictionaries to every public school third grader in Oakland. In partnership with the Oakland Heroes and the support of OUSD Superintendent Dr. Randolph Ward, state-appointed administrator for OUSD, the CDP will return to Oakland for the third time with a series of multiple classroom visits and interactive presentations with students.

The Oakland distribution brings the total number of dictionaries distributed by CDP to 41,000 since October of 2002. The project has been warmly embraced by students in Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco and hopes to encourage overall educational development of California students while improving the state's below-average literacy rates.

This year's Oakland distribution was donated in part by the Rogers Family Foundation.

Touting the motto, "Today a reader, tomorrow a leader," the CDP views dictionaries as perhaps the first and most powerful reference and active educational tool that a child should own. Across California, 53 percent of third graders currently read below national grade level.

"We've found that students are immediately adding to their vocabulary skills and expressing new levels of interest in word comprehension," said Mark Robinson, president of the California Dictionary Project. "It's our hope that by introducing the kids to the dictionaries, we can provide a reference tool that is a catalyst for increased learning and leadership."

"We appreciate the time, resources and energy that have been donated by the volunteers today," said Dr. Randolph E. Ward, state administrator of the Oakland Unified School District. "Our community is grateful for the efforts of the California Dictionary Project, Oakland Heroes, and the Rogers Family Foundation, who have invested in the future of our students."

The founders of the CDP were inspired to create the organization as a result of the work by Mary French, a South Carolina woman that began a non-profit to buy dictionaries for every third grade student (www.dictionaryproject.org). Her efforts have been the basis of similar programs in more than forty states.

As funding for the organization grows, the CDP expects to expand beyond the Bay Area to other parts of California in the coming years.

About The California Dictionary Project

The California Dictionary Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving literacy in California's public schools, one child at a time. With the motto "Today a reader, tomorrow a leader," the California Dictionary Project believes that by reaching children early, providing them with tools (dictionaries), personalizing the delivery (volunteers from the local community) and teaching them how to use those tools (classroom presentations), they can grow "readers." Since its inaugural year of 2002 - 2003, 41,000 dictionaries have been distributed to third grade students in California public schools. Operating revenues to run the California Dictionary Project come mainly from charitable donors committed to encouraging literacy in California's public elementary schools. In addition to cash donations, the organization seeks foundation and corporate grants, national and local sponsors, endowments, and gifts-in-kind.

For more information, please visit www.californiadictionaryproject.org, or contact Barry Graynor at (415) 693-2136.

About HEROES

HEROES (Helpers Engaged in Reaching Oakland’s Excelling Schools) is the volunteer placement program for the Oakland Unified School District.  Its mission is to enhance the positive development and quality of educational experience for students in the Oakland public schools by encouraging and promoting volunteerism in the community.  The HEROES program recruits, trains and supports volunteers assisting in Oakland schools.

For more information, see www.oaklandheroes.org, or contact Donna Russell, Director, at (510) 879-2908