LOS ANGELES, March 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City National Bank today announced that it has awarded 80 Reading is The way up® literacy grants totaling more than $86,000 to support literacy-based projects at elementary, middle and high schools in California, Nevada, New York, Tennessee and Georgia. This year's literacy grants comes on the heels of City National's 60th Anniversary celebration.
(For a list of all grant recipients, go to www.readingisthewayup.org/literacy.php.)
Reading is The way up is the award-winning literacy initiative through which City National has donated more than 250,000 books to elementary school libraries in California, Nevada, New York, Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia, and awarded over 825 teacher grants to enhance literacy totaling more than $700,000 since the program's inception in 2002.
The grants ranging from $500 to $1,500 will help augment or expand literacy projects that were judged to be creative and engaging, and that would have a tangible effect on student achievement. The winning programs are expected to directly improve literacy to more than 10,000 students in 75 schools throughout California, Nevada, New York, Tennessee and Georgia.
The educators receiving literacy grants were selected from among the many full-time teachers, librarians, administrators and school media specialists who submitted an online application. The one-page application was available to educators in every school district throughout the bank's footprint in California, Nevada, New York, Tennessee and Georgia.
"There are some extraordinary literacy programs being taught at schools throughout our footprint, which is a real credit to the educators we have teaching students today," said Carolyn Rodriguez, vice president and manager of Reading is The way up for City National. "The only things lacking are the resources and funding needed to continue to improve the learning experience in the classroom. Education continues to be an integral part of City National's Community outreach programs."
Some of the City National literacy grants funded: 'Increasing Science Literacy and Relevancy' at a high school in California; 'Fluency Models for Struggling Reading' at an elementary school in Nevada; 'Science Literacy – Building a Classroom Library' at a middle school in a New York City; 'Literacy Through Native Language Materials' at a high school in Tennessee; and a 'Common Core e-Books' in an elementary school in Georgia.
About Reading is The way up®
Seeking to better the education of our future leaders, City National in April 2002 launched a multi-faceted initiative to restock the state's school library system. Since then, the award-winning program has:
- Donated more than 250,000 books to California, Nevada, New York, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia school libraries.
- Awarded over $700,000 to teachers at elementary, middle and high schools for creative literacy projects.
- Awarded $10,000 to the Children's Defense Fund-California Urban Lights Freedom Schools program in support of after school enrichment curriculum.
- Received the 2005 President's Volunteer Service Award, the 2005 Corporate Philanthropy Award from the Los Angeles Public Library, the 2006 Corporate Award from the Getty House Foundation, the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Corporate Citizen Award, and honored as the 2007 Corporate Visionary Partner by the Wonder of Reading.
- Received the 2013 Innovations Reading Prize Award presented by the National Book Foundation.
- Received the 2013 Outstanding Corporation of the Year Award presented by the Clark County School District-Community Partnership Program in Las Vegas, NV.
- Received the 2013 Angel Light Foundation Award for excellence in community service and educational outreach presented by the Angel Light Academy in Orange County, CA.
The Reading is the Way Up Fund is a 501(c)(3) administered by the California Community Foundation. For more information, visit www.readingisthewayup.org.
About City National
City National Corporation has $29.7 billion in assets. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, City National Bank, provides banking, investment and trust services through 77 offices, including 16 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville and Atlanta. City National and its investment affiliates manage or administer $64.7 billion in client investment assets, including $45.0 billion under direct management.
For more information about City National, visit the company's Website at cnb.com.