We're counting on you to read!
East Hill Elementary School is getting our kids
ready for the 2010 Census with this year's Parent as Reading
Partners (PARP) theme "We're Counting on You to Read!" the week of
March 15-19.
"PARP's goal is for parents to make a special effort
to promote reading at home," said East Hill principal Ginny Nyahay.
"We encourage parents to read to pre-readers, to read with early
readers, and to discuss books with advanced readers. Children get
excited about reading when they see their parents' interest."
This year's PARP theme is doubly important. Not only
does it encourage reading, it teaches important lessons about the
U.S. Census. Participating in the census is an important part of
being a citizen.
"As our children learn about the census and how
important it is to our community, we hope that they will carry that
message back home to their parents," said Mrs. Nyahay.
What is the census?
Every 10 years, the Census Bureau takes a physical
count of all of the people living in the United States. Information
from the census is used to determine how state and federal agencies
distribute their funds (including school aid) to the various towns
and cities in the nation. This year's census begins April 1.
How does the census work?
Most residents will receive a census questionnaire
in the mail. Others will have a census taker physically knocking at
their doors. The simple form asks some very basic questions about
who lives at that address.
This year's form consists of just 10 questions. It
asks for:
-
Name of each person living at that address,
-
Age and birth date of each person living at that
address,
-
Gender of each person living at that address,
-
Race and Hispanic origin of each person living
at that address,
-
Relationship of each person at that address to
the person completing the form.
-
Whether anyone listed on the form sometimes live
at another location;
-
Whether the residence is owned or rented,
-
Number of people living at that address,
-
Whether anyone living at that address was not
there on Census Day, April 1, 2010,
-
Contact telephone number in case of questions
related to the form.
