NEW YORK, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Some of America's leading foundations, corporations, educators, scientists and researchers were brought together by the Rockefeller Foundation and The Haan Foundation For Children to discuss what the private sector could do to ensure President Bush's promise that "no child be left behind."  This was the first substantive event sparked by the recent signing of the Education Bill by President Bush.

Called the "Power4Kids" Collaborative Conference, representatives of America's public corporations and private foundations heard the leading reading and education experts in the country discuss how a key point in the education bill, the accountability of reading programs, can be achieved, and the role the private sector can play.

Dr. G. Reid Lyon, Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said, "Rigorous scientific review is needed before we decide which reading programs work best for America's children."  Mr. Lyon, sometimes called President Bush's "reading guru" added, "When we give our children medicine to improve their health, we make sure that it is scientifically proved; should we ask anything less regarding their educational development?"

Cinthia Haan, Director of the not-for-profit Haan Foundation For Children, told of her personal odyssey of trial and error, private tutors and special remediation programs she experienced with her own children that inspired her and husband Ron to start their Foundation.  Mrs. Haan explained that the Foundation was dedicated to doing the research necessary to identify the reading programs that work best for America's children.  "The tools to improve students' reading, and by extension their overall learning experience are out there, ready to go.  We just don't know for sure, which ones they are.  Now is the time to scientifically identify them and put them to work for our future," Mrs. Haan said.

Dr. Joe Torgeson, one of the world's foremost scientists in the field of reading research explained how the research project would work in various cities across the country.  Dr. Torgeson, the Robert M. Gagne Professor of Psychology and Education at Florida State University, said, "We expect the results will give teachers the tools they crave to be more effective teachers and make good the promise that no child is left behind."

Randi Weingarten, President of the New York City United Federation of Teachers and Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers pointed out how important the Power4Kids initiative could be in providing teachers what they need to provide the best instruction for their students.  "Teachers want the training that best equips them to do their jobs, and parents and kids know that dedicated teachers with the right tools can make a huge difference in the lives of students," said Ms. Weingarten.

Harold Levy, Chancellor of the New York City public school system which represents about 2% of all public school children in the country, said, "We shouldn't experiment on our kids.  There are so many different flavors of programs out there, that choosing the right one is more like shooting craps than science.  That ought not be the case."

Allen Breslau, COO of The Haan Foundation For Children said, "We must take the guesswork out of schoolwork when it comes to deciding what reading programs are most effective for America's children.  The Power4Kids initiative will do just that."

Former congressman John Porter told the conference that, "I promise to do everything I can to get congressional approval to help fund the Power4Kids initiative of The Haan Foundation For Children."

Some of the 37 corporations and foundations attending the four-hour session on January 30th included: AOL-Time Warner Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, IBM International Foundation, KeySpan Foundation, Charles Mottt Foundation, Rosie's For All Kids Foundation, Scholastic Corporation, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Sony Music Corporation, Tremaine Foundation, Washington Mutual and the Verizon Foundation.

SOURCE The Haan Foundation For Children

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