KDK-Harman Foundation

AUSTIN, Texas, Mar. 24, 2008 — Every student attending Govalle, Widen, Sims and Pecan Springs Elementary schools this school year will be eligible to receive books of their own choosing through the generosity of the KDK-Harman Foundation, nearly 53,000 books in all for the 2007-08 school year. Govalle Elementary School was recently selected by the KDK-Harman Foundation to be the fourth elementary school to be adopted for the Book Trust Program. Book Trust is a Colorado based nonprofit that operates this unique literacy program and uses Scholastic book catalogs as the vehicle for the monthly book purchases.

The nearly 2,200 students at Govalle, Widen, Sims and Pecan Springs will each be allocated $7 per month from the KDK-Harman Foundation to select and purchase age appropriate books from Scholastic catalogs. This literacy program enables children from low-income families to create and/or expand their home libraries, with the goal that they will learn to enjoy reading, a key indicator of academic success. With the Scholastic points that accrue from their monthly book orders, all of the classroom teachers purchase Scholastic books for their classroom libraries at no additional cost.

Book Trust's Texas inauguration in 2006 was made possible with a $55,000 grant from Austin’s KDK-Harman Foundation, whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty through education while creating a culture of giving excellence. Sims and Pecan Springs Elementary schools were the first in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) to be adopted by KDK. In its second year of the program, KDK-Harman expanded to Govalle and Widen Elementary schools with a $68,000 grant.

Janet E. Harman, founder of KDK-Harman family foundation stated, "I believe that education is the key to success and the best method to break the cycle of poverty. Based on the research, the strongest indicators of poverty are low academic achievement and poor literacy skills. To enhance the academic success of area youth, we have been seeking proven literacy and other types of educational programs to support. Book Trust is a great program for Austin's economically disadvantaged children as school success is most often dictated by how often one reads and the number of books in the home. We selected Govalle, Widen, Sims and Pecan Springs Elementary schools because of the significant financial need, with 90% of all students living at or below the poverty level. We are excited to expand Book Trust to additional schools in Austin. Further I hope that individuals, corporate and family foundations, and local groups interested in literacy will consider adopting classrooms, grade levels or even entire schools in other needy schools in Austin and throughout Texas. This is a very straightforward literacy program with proven outcomes."

Adrienne Schatz, Book Trust’s Executive Director added, "Through their opportunity for choice and ownership, the students become their own motivators for change. They model reading to siblings and parents at home, and the excitement of reading spreads throughout the family. The children actually discover for themselves why reading is important.” Program evaluations indicate that Book Trust participants significantly enjoy reading more than non-participants – at a two-to-one margin. Research consistently shows that children who read more, will read at a higher level, learn second languages more quickly, and score higher on standardized tests. "The children are so excited to receive their monthly book order that they cheer when the custodian delivers the red and white Scholastic boxes to the classrooms." To exemplify this joy and excitement, a first-grade teacher from Widen Elementary stated her classroom experience as sheer chaos to the arrival of the student book orders, “I literally got a little teary eyed when I saw the excitement stirring over books (I am, afterall, a first grade teacher trying to get [students] to go from knowing the alphabet to reading fluently in a few short months!) Not only did every student know without a doubt they were getting something to read, but they knew it would be something fun and interesting, new and all theirs to keep!"

About KDK-Harman Foundation

KDK-Harman Foundation was founded by Janet E. Harman in December 2004. The Foundation provides financial and capacity-building resources to education focused nonprofits that assist disadvantaged Central Texas families, with a focus on women, to help them achieve educational success. The ultimate goal of such funding is to transform their lives from poverty to financial independence to enable a better life for themselves and future generations. The Foundation supports programs within Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, Caldwell, Burnet, and Llano counties.