June 25, 1999
Los Angeles — Governor Davis announced the opening of Reading Professional Development Institutes for teachers who teach beginning readers. The governor announced the launch of the Institutes at the kick-off of a new public education campaign to promote reading for young people in Southern California called "Reading by 9."
"One of my most important goals as Governor is to turn California into a land of readers," Governor Davis said. "Unless we do everything in our power to teach our children to read by age 9, then California's future could be a closed book. But government alone can't win this battle. We need well-trained teachers standing at the frontlines," Governor Davis continued. "Today, we celebrate the opening of the first Reading Professional Development Institute at CSU Stanislaus. Before the summer is over, reading institutes will have been conducted on 32 college and university campuses across the state."
Starting today through the summer, up to 6,000 kindergarten - 3rd grade teachers from public schools will attend a new Reading Professional Development Institutes. The Institutes are designed to provide intensive professional development to school teams made up of new and experienced teachers and a school administrator. The teams will work with faculty from the University of California, the California State University and independent colleges and universities. More than 60 reading institutes will be held at more than 30 California colleges and university campuses. The Institutes will include 120 hours of intensive work on reading instruction and assessment, beginning in the summer, and continuing through the school year.
The governor's Reading Professional Development Institutes were created by the enactment of AB 2X, and education reform bill designed to make sure Cali-fornia's children learn to read proficiently at an early age. The new law invests $200 million in intensive reading instruction for students and professional development for teachers of beginning readers. Bank of America has committed to donate $1 million to help fund the Reading Professional Development Institutes.
SB 2X was one of four education reform bills that became law during a special session of education called by Governor Davis.
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