Young Readers Initiative Expansion

FAIN: ZH-252978-17

South Dakota Humanities Council (Brookings, SD 57006-4107)
Jennifer Widman (Project Director: May 2016 to March 2025)

The expansion of the Young Readers Initiative to 2,000 students on the nine South Dakota reservations, which includes distribution of each year’s selected “One Book,” a reading guide, visits by the One Book author, a Young Readers Festival of Books, and translation of the parent guide and supplemental educational resources into Spanish.

The South Dakota Humanities Council (SDHC) is applying for an NEH Access Grant that will provide three years of programming support for an expansion of our Young Readers Initiative. The SDHC will reach more young readers, and specifically those on all nine South Dakota American Indian reservations, as well as Spanish-speaking English Language Learners through translated educational resources. In 2019, efforts will include selecting a One Book by a tribal writer to distribute to our Young Readers constituency, increasing exposure to American Indian culture for all participating second-graders. Expansion efforts will include serving an additional 2,000 students on the nine South Dakota reservations. In all, the SDHC’s goal is distribution of books to approximately 5,700 second-graders and a significantly larger number of schools and communities involved in Young Readers events