Sure I enjoy whatever glitz I might receive from working in the “entertainment” biz, but I really am a research geek at heart. There’s nothing like having your hard work tested, then not only approved but given a confirmation that it is statistically effective by the top researchers in the country, and the icing…children will benefit from the work!

Just a few days ago, Barbara E. Lovitts, Ph.D. (Dir. of Research & Evaluation of the Corp. for Public Broadcasting) shared the analysis of our Super Why Summer Reading Camps with us. The thorough study entitled Reading & Learning: Building Literacy With Public Media by James Marshall & Diane Lapp (San Diego State Univ) details public broadcasting’s support of emergent literacy for 30 years and how Super Why!, through the support of PBS & the CPB, meets the needs of children.

While they probably won’t make today’s cover story, here are a few of our favorite snippets from the study:

“Super WHY! & its media-rich content has demonstrated consistent and replicable results over time.”

“Reading is power & Super WHY! is the only preschool program created to help children learn the fundamentals of reading through interactive storybook adventures.“

“Children showed significant gains no matter what their age or ethnicity…They achieved greater post test scores, relative to pretest scores, for each literacy focus area & the full assessment.“

“Children were able to transfer the episode-specific content to new & novel uses of the same skill set.“

Feel free to read (& share!) James Marshall & Diane Lapp’s entire study HERE and if you are willing/able, please support your public broadcasting station & the Corp. for Public Broadcasting

I doubt that whoever coined the phrase, “It’s who you know, not what you know” rarely ever dreamed.

When I started my career in television, I knew nobody in the business. I was soft spoken and often timid, but I had a dream and I was motivated to fulfill it regardless of the countless hurdles that I faced. The problem is that many people, especially women, either don’t believe they have a dream or they discredit such thoughts for a variety of reasons.

I find that I share many similarities with Harvard Business Review blogger, Whitney Johnson, after reading her book DARE DREAM DO. She started out in Wall Street as an uncertain secretary and after 15 years, she was at the top of her game as a much sought after analyst. She dared herself to dream, realized the importance of it and she achieved it.

The fact that a person has a hard time finding themselves and their voice is very concerning to Whitney, so this book is a result of yet another dream of hers. DARE, DREAM, DO is a heartfelt and motivational 3 step process which allows the reader to not only view their thoughts and dreams as a necessity, but it lays out a plan for them to accomplish those dreams. Powerfully and beautifully woven through Ms. Johnson’s personal experiences and those of others, DARE, DREAM, DO will be a requirement for my daughters because if they don’t dream, their feet will never leave the ground!

Building on Fred Rogers’ belief in the power of media to foster early childhood development, The Fred Rogers Center has been bringing experts together from educational, developmental, media fields, etc. to discuss quality digital media for young children and the construction of a framework to strengthen this endeavor.

June 3-5th the 2012 Fred Forward Conference will be held in Latrobe, PA.  On Monday afternoon, June 4th, I will be speaking with Cathy Cohen Droz, Kevin Morrison & Jesse Schell on the subject of What’s New at The Fred Rogers Company. Chances are that I may bring up Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood at least once during the discussion 😉

So honored to be on the same page as Barbara Walters, Ellen Degeneres & more in Variety’s Daytime TV Difference-Makers list.

Click HERE to read the Variety article.

Tony award winning scenic designer, David Gallo, literally set the stage for Super WHY! Live, translating much of the Super Readers’ world into a magical live production.  David worked with me on the successful theater production of Blue’s Clues and he delivered on Super Why! LIVE as well.  He’s joined with his experts/daughters to explain how he incorporated the Super Readers’ Why Flyers into the amazing production!

Click HERE for more Super Why LIVE! info