Federal Street Press gives third-graders its word
By Richard Lee
Assistant Business Editor
January 25, 2007
Federal Street Press in Norwalk and its publisher, Deborah Hastings, want to
use the city's schools as a base to give U.S. school children a well-rounded
vocabulary.
The unit of Merriam Webster Inc. will work with The Dictionary Project, a
nationwide non-profit organization, to provide dictionaries to every
third-grader across the nation.
Federal Press is a publisher of language reference books and ideally suited
for the project, said Hastings, who plans to recruit corporations to help
donate more Merriam Webster paperback dictionaries to the kids
"We want to go to the big corporations and get them involved, particularly
in the big cities," said Hastings, who with her staff at Federal's Rowayton
office will contact the companies.
Hastings joined Merriam Webster in 1998 and oversaw publication of the first
Federal Street Press books in 1999. She learned about the Dictionary Project
when she was introduced to its director, Mary French, by a mutual friend.
"I thought, wow, this is a tremendous opportunity. We created a dictionary
appropriate for their age, and she put it on her Web site," said Hastings,
adding that the company also sells the dictionary to school systems and the
public. "We've sold hundreds of thousands - most through the Dictionary
Project."
The dictionary is one of several dictionaries and reference books published
by Federal Street Press and donated by Dictionary Project sponsors.
The Dictionary Project began in 1992 when the late Annie Plummer of
Savannah, Ga., gave 50 dictionaries to children who attended schools close
to her home. The idea was expanded by South Carolina resident Arno French,
who formed a nonprofit organization in 1995.
Working with the Dictionary Project, Hastings oversaw the development and
execution of Norwalk's first "Dictionary Day" on Oct. 16, 2006 - the
anniversary of Noah Webster's birth. The Rotary Club of Norwalk assisted and
donated nearly 1,000 dictionaries to third-graders in the city's schools.
Federal Press has provided paperback dictionaries to the Dictionary Project
since 2003, French said.
"By the end of 2008, we'll have a dictionary in the hands of every
third-grader across the country - no doubt about it. I definitely see this
going all around the world," she said.
French, whose organization works with more than 20 non-profit organizations
across the country, said that since linking up with Federal Press,
production has not been a problem, but distribution can be a challenge,
particularly in cities where school administrators are saddled with myriad
duties.
French recalled how difficult it was to ensure that the dictionaries were
distributed to third-graders in the Bronx, N.Y.
"The (administrators) have so many other concerns. I couldn't find a civic
organization who was interested, so I used my used my own money," said
French, estimating that she spent $6,000.
The organization has distributed dictionaries to 4.9 million children,
including 1.94 million last year. Some of those went to children in Canada,
Costa Rica, India and The Philippines.
The 130,000-member Verizon Pioneers, a volunteer group of phone company
employees headed by Darien resident Steve Kohn, has played an integral role
in the process, French said.
"The Dictionary Project is something we're very proud of. We focus on lower
socio-economic groups, and it's the first book that some of these kids get,"
said Kohn, who worked for Verizon and its precursors for 33 years.
In 2006, the Verizon Pioneers distributed more than 100,000 dictionaries.
