Collaboration in Long Beach, CA Brings Dictionaries to Local Students

The Long Beach Public Library Foundation has collaborated with the Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation to present dictionaries to third-graders attending both the public and private schools in the local area. The Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation provided a project grant to promote literacy with a goal to see all students leave third grade at the end of the year as good writers, active readers and creative thinkers. In the last eight years, over 107,000 Long Beach children have benefited from the program as a result of this collaboration. The Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) “Dictionary Day” event took place shortly after the December holiday break so that the lessons would be fresh in the students’ minds for the State Exams. The 2013 program provided dictionaries for all 3rd grade students in Long Beach. The distribution of the dictionaries, which included a thesaurus for the first time, included 6,360 books for 71 LBUSD, local parochial and private schools. Students were also given a coupon to bring to their local branch library to exchange for a colorful library card holder. We at The Dictionary Project commend the relationship between the Long Beach Public Library Foundation and the Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation. Together they are truly making a meaningful and measurable impact in the lives of Long beach families.