2019 Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference

Opening Books, Opening Doors is a community partnership and commitment to ensure that by 2020, all students in the Coeur d’Alene School District exiting third grade experience a deep love of reading and meet grade level reading proficiency goals, including comprehension and fluency. This initiative is anchored by a $600,000 grant to University of Idaho to implement the Coeur d’Alene Early Reading Project, now called Opening Books, Opening Doors (OBOD), in partnership with the Coeur d’Alene School District. OBOD will add to existing Coeur d’Alene School District reading resources for students and teachers, and will coordinate literacy efforts of parents, volunteers and nonprofit organizations in Coeur d’Alene to create a community-wide approach to ensure reading success for K-3 students. This session will share the background on how this project came to be, the key role of the community partners and collaborators, the importance of reaching beyond our comfort zone into the community, as well as our successes and challenges. Participants will leave with a framework to develop this project in their communities. 

By the end of this session attendees will:
• identify community partners and resources to implement an OBOD model in their community;
• understand the OBOD initiatives, timeline, and program requirements;
• have an OBOD project outline to implement in their community.