For Immediate Release

Mayor Young declares May 11 Literacy Day

Richmond County Public Schools Teachers and Principals to be Recognized at Georgia’s Golf Hall of Fame Botanical Gardens

Augusta, Georgia – May 11, 2005 − More than 300 Richmond County Public Schools principals, teachers, and teacher assistants will be recognized for their dedication to helping students achieve grade-level reading proficiency with a special “Spotlight on Literacy” celebration, May 11, at 6 p.m. at the historic Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Botanical Gardens in Augusta.

As the controversy surrounding the accountability standards of No Child Left Behind continues to garner media attention, Richmond County Public Schools is proving that high reading achievement is attainable. The district is using the Voyager Universal Literacy System â district-wide for reading instruction in grades K-3. The program is specifically designed to achieve what research says is possible—teaching more than 90 percent of students to become successful readers—and the district continues to see remarkable results.

For the previous school year, more than 96 percent of students at Walker Elementary School were reading at grade level, an often unheard of percentage. Five schools in the district attained 90-95 percent literacy, and nine other campuses had 80-89 percent of students reading on track at year-end.

The “Spotlight on Literacy” celebration will include music, skits, a proclamation by the mayor’s office designating May 11 th as Literacy Day, and an awards presentation, as well as remarks from Superintendent Dr. Charles Larke and Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services, Dr. Virginia Bradshaw.

Voyager Expanded Learning is a provider of core, intervention and supplemental reading programs, as well as ongoing professional development for school districts throughout the United States. The Voyager Universal Literacy System ® is the only reading program patented for its “method and system for preventing illiteracy.” Founded in 1994, Voyager has delivered extended-time reading and basic skills intervention programs as well as large-scale reading programs to more than 1,000 school districts in cities such as Dallas, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia, and the District of Columbia, resulting in dramatically improved student performance. Partnerships and collaborations with the Discovery Channel and the Smithsonian Institution enable Voyager to provide timely and powerful curricula for the American classroom. Voyager Expanded Learning is a subsidiary of Ann-Arbor based ProQuest Company. For more information, please visit www.voyagerlearning.com.