October 20, 2014

Stephen L. Mansfield, Ph. D.

Chairman of the Board
Dallas Chamber of Commerce
500 N. Akard Street, Suite 2600
Dallas, TX
Dear Dr. Mansfield,
Education is paramount in molding the young minds of future generations. Here at
ExxonMobil we are proud to bring the Read to Achieve program to South Dallas. This
program is designed to give young students incentive to start reading at an early age in order to
improve literacy rates which in return will improve education in the Dallas area. Learning and
loving to read are essential building blocks for students to thrive in school, which will help
institute success in their future academic endeavors as well as prepare them for their careers as
adults. With this program, we are hoping to provide a constructive opportunity for children to
read and be rewarded for their efforts. In order to promote literacy in the South Dallas area,
ExxonMobil will be providing a free book fair at the David W. Carter High School gymnasium
for the surrounding elementary schools in that district. Following the book fair, students can
participate in the Read to Achieve program where the children can log hours read at local
libraries in efforts to receive prizes. We believe that the basic essentials to a productive life can
start with a childs ability to read, and that this ability will provide a foundation for which the
children can build on.
Background
The super structure of human civilization is built on the foundation of literacy
(Thengal, 2013, 124). Academic success is integral to the general improvement of societal
standards, and Exxon Mobil would like to show their appreciation for our communities by
providing tools to promote scholarly achievement in the city of Dallas that are academically
deficient. The societal standards that Exxon seeks to improve with this initiative are based on
academic performance, graduation rates, and unemployment.
Academic Performance
It is imperative to learn how to read at an early age in order for a student to progress in
his or her education. A Texas Education Agency report (2013) stated that only 53 percent of
students were passing the English/Language Arts portion of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI)
Higher Education Readiness Component. That is 8 percent lower than the state average of 61
percent. This is a college readiness exam taken by all high school seniors, and it is a
disappointing reminder that nearly half of the children in the area are not prepared to read at a
college level. Similar results were observed in students taking college admission tests, such as
the SAT and ACT. The average SAT Reading score was 873, which is 103 points under the state
average of 976. The average ACT Reading score came in at an underwhelming 17, 3 points
under the state average of 20. It is evident that improving the reading skills of schoolchildren

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October 21, 2014

from Kindergarten to 5th grade is an important step that needs to be addressed in order for the
students to remain academically competent throughout their education.
Graduation
Building up a solid foundation of reading and writing is an important first step to ensure a
better chance of working in a professional environment and having a promising future.
Professional jobs require at least a high school diploma and most require a bachelors degree or
higher. The first official degree students earn is their high school diploma, and ExxonMobil
wants to see more of the DISD students graduate high school and go on to college. According to
a district report made by the Texas Education Agency (2013), 11 percent of DISD students drop
out before completing high school and 80 percent graduate high school on time. The remaining
9 percent continue to complete high school at a later time. Exxon Mobil believes that building a
generation of better readers will make graduation rates exceed 90 percent, a realistic goal for
DISD. Graduating High School will allow these students to then begin focusing on other
avenues of education that will enhance their ability to start a promising career.
Unemployment
There is a direct correlation between unemployment and literacy. In order to combat
unemployment, every student should acquire the ability to read and write. Poor literacy rates
and substandard education can cause unemployment levels to increase (John, 2014). An
unemployment study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) finds that Dallas unemployment
rate is 5.8 percent, which is the worst out of the major metropolitan areas in Texas. The Dallas
unemployment rate is greater than the state average of 5.1 percent as well as Houstons 5.6
percent, and Austins 4.2 percent. The study stresses that when workers are unemployed, they,
their families, and the country as a whole lose. Workers and their families lose wages, and the
country loses the goods or services that could have been produced. In addition, the purchasing
power of these workers is lost, which can lead to unemployment for yet other workers (Bureau
of Labor Statistics, 2014). Unemployment rates define how we as a society are functioning, and
the lower the unemployment rate, the healthier we are functioning as a city and community.

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ExxonMobil is certain if this generation of elementary students in the Dallas Independent

School District improve their basic ability of reading and writing, it will greatly improve their
capacity to learn at higher levels of education. This in return will immediately improve
graduation rates which will raise household incomes, and lower unemployment rates in Dallas.
Proposal and Schedule
At ExxonMobil, we are introducing a fun and exciting way for elementary students in a
lower income area of Dallas to participate in our Read to Achieve program. We will start the
program off with a free book fair sponsored by ExxonMobil and the Dallas Chamber of
Commerce at the David W. Carter High School gymnasium. After the book fair, students will be
able to participate in the Read to Achieve program where they can earn rewards for time spent
reading recreationally. We are allowing only elementary students from; Ronald E. McNair,
Birdie Alexander, Umphrey Lee, and Martin Weiss Elementary Schools to participate in the
book fair and reading program.
The book fair will be held from December 13 through December 14, 2014 from 10:00
a.m. until 4:00 p.m. each day. The purpose of the book fair is to allow these students to become
excited with the idea of reading books recreationally on their own. At the book fair, students
from participating elementary schools will be allowed to receive two free books of their choice,
along with information regarding the Read to Achieve program. Fliers will be handed out at
the book fair as well as delivered to each school prior to the book fair informing parents and
students of this wonderful opportunity.
Following the book fair, the Read to Achieve program will begin and be held from
January 1, 2015 until March 31, 2015. During this time, students will be able to read at local
libraries on their own time and record all hours that they spend doing so. At each local library,
ExxonMobil will provide log sheets for the students to obtain while at the library. The log sheets
will show the time they arrived at the library and the time they left, along with the date that they
participated. The local librarians will sign the log sheet each day in order to validate the
students participation in the program. It is the responsibility of the students to keep their own
log sheets, and to make sure that the librarians sign their log sheets in the designated area each
day they spend reading.
As an incentive to inspire the children to participate in the program, students will be
awarded prizes for the time they spend reading. Students will be awarded prizes for each level
they complete. Prizes will be given to students who read five, ten, and fifteen hours at their local
libraries.

If a student reads five hours during the program, he or she will earn a ten dollar gift
certificate to Chuck e Cheeses.
At the ten hour interval they will receive a thirty dollar gift certificate to Toys R Us.

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If they reach the final interval of fifteen hours, the students will receive two free tickets to
Six Flags in Arlington.

Each student will only have to read five hours each month to receive all three prizes. In
order for the students to receive their prizes, they will bring their log sheets at the end of each
month to their home room teacher at their schools. The teachers will then make a copy of the log
sheet of each student, and return the original back to the student so they can continue logging
hours. The school will mail all the log sheets from each grade at the end of January, February,
and March to our offices located in Irving, TX. This will happen at the end of each month in
order to allow ExxonMobil to provide the students with prizes during the program as efficiently
as possible. ExxonMobil will provide the money for the copies of the log sheets as well as the
postage for each school. Once the bulk mail is received, ExxonMobil will process the log sheets
and then deliver all prizes to each elementary school participating in the program. This will
occur for each month of the program. All prizes will be awarded to the children during school so
they can be recognized for achieving their goals in hopes to inspire them to continue reading and
enlightening their future.

Staffing
The staffing for the book fair is comprised mainly of volunteers. Along with the
volunteers there will be 5 representatives from ExxonMobil, who will be in charge of the book
fair. They will oversee all operations to ensure a wonderful atmosphere for the students and
volunteers.
Volunteers will be mainly parents of elementary school children, and students from
David W. Carter High School. If there is an insufficient number of volunteers, ExxonMobil will
provide incentive for its employees to help with the book fair to ensure enough volunteers are
present. Participating in the book fair will be considered a volunteer opportunity for the David
W. Carter High School students, and they will be given credit towards community service hours.
Students can use these hours to meet their graduation requirements or for college admissions.
Parents and high school students will be notified about the book fair and volunteer
opportunity by fliers, and they will be able to sign up at VolunteerSpot.com. VolunteerSpot.com
lets us set up an online calendar that volunteers can easily access to choose their own time slots,
and responsibilities. VolunteerSpot.com sends an automatic email reminder two days prior to
their shifts. T-shirts with our events slogan, Read to Achieve, will be distributed prior to the
start of each volunteers shift, and refreshments and lunch will be provided as well for the
volunteers.
Volunteers will be collected based on first come, first serve basis, eliminating any
possible confusion when the number of volunteers exceed the maximum number we could

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accommodate. All the volunteers will be required to arrive at the event one hour before their
shift starts. This will allow time for them to be trained on their responsibilities at the book fair.
The book fair will last for two consecutive days. We are expecting a total of at least two
hundred volunteers to participate at the book fair. There will be approximately one hundred
volunteers for Saturday, as well as one hundred volunteers for Sunday. Since the book fair is
running from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 pm, there will be two shifts per day. So, fifty volunteers will
run the morning shift from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., and fifty volunteers will run the afternoon
shift from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Setup and breakdown of the book
fair will be from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day.
The volunteers responsibilities will include; set up and break down of tables, tents, and
book stands, information desk administrators, concession stand workers, safety and security,
book givers, and entertainment in the form of Santa Claus and Elves.

Fifteen volunteers per shift will provide the set up and breakdown of the tables,
tents, and book stands.
There will be five volunteers per shift stationed at the information desk at all
times, and they will be able to answer any questions concerning the book fair.
Ten volunteers will be stationed at the concession stands per shift, where they
will be serving pizza and beverages for the guests. Each guest will be given two
tickets upon entrance and can redeem those for one piece of pizza and one
beverage.
There will be ten different books stands, with one volunteer stationed at each
stand per shift. Each stand will have a variety of books that the students can
browse and choose between what books they prefer. Again, the students will be
given two tickets to choose what two books they want and will redeem the books
with the book vouchers.
For safety purposes, there will be two off duty police officers as well as two
paramedics on site in case of an emergency.
One volunteer will be lucky enough to dress as a Santa Claus and nine other
volunteers will be dressed as elves per shift. They will change during the shift
change from morning to afternoon. Their main responsibility is to walk around
the book fair and entertain children as they decide on what books they want

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Budget
Book Fair:
Books for K-5th grade
Food & Beverages
Costume Rentals
Fliers
Utensils
Ticket Vouchers
Graphic Designer
Banners
Decorations
T-Shirts
Police and Paramedics

$15,000.00
$4,000.00
$1,500.00
$2,000.00
$200.00
$500.00
$200.00
$400.00
$200.00
$1000.00
$600.00

Read to Achieve Program:

Dave and Busters Gift Certificates
Six Flags Tickets
Toys R Us Gift Certificates
Log Sheets
Total Postage Allocated to each School

$10,600.00
$2,200.00
$6,360.00
$2,000.00
$1,000.00
Total:

$47,760.00

The total amount estimated for the book fair and the Read to Achieve program is
$47,760. ExxonMobil is basing our estimations on the total student population currently
enrolled at the four elementary schools and at David W. Carter High School. There are
approximately 2,650 students currently enrolled at the designated elementary schools and
roughly 1,000 students at David W. Carter High School. These students are specifically
involved in the book fair and reading program either as volunteers or participants.
In order to make sure enough books will be available for all students, we estimated that
50 to 75 percent of the student population from each elementary school will attend the book fair.
Any books not taken by the students will be donated to charity.
While the work force is volunteered based, we are providing food and beverages for them
as well as T-shirts that they can wear during the book fair. Food will also be provided for the
guests at the fair. We are purchasing enough food and sodas to accommodate at least 2,000
people.
We are hiring a graphic designer to create the fliers, log sheets, ticket vouchers, and
banners associated with the book fair and reading program. 4,000 fliers are being purchased to
accommodate the David W. Carter High School and the four elementary schools involved in the
book fair and reading program to inform students and parents of the upcoming events that they
can participate in. The banners will be used along with the decorations for the book fair to create

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a Christmas themed event. 4,000 log sheets will be distributed evenly to local libraries for the
students to use to log their hours read during the program. The ticket vouchers will only be used
at the book fair to redeem books, pizza, and beverages. Off duty police officers and paramedics
will be at the book fair to ensure safety to all guests and volunteers.
Allocating the expenses for the prizes that will be handed out to students was based on
percentages of students completing the three different levels of recreational reading.

It is estimated that 40% of the student population participating in the program will
complete the first level.
20% of those students will complete the second level.
10% of those students will complete the third and final level.

Postage is also necessary for the schools to be able to mail the log forms to ExxonMobil in order
to validate and acquire the prizes necessary to fulfill the obligation to the students. ExxonMobil
will proudly cover any expenses incurred over the budget for both the book fair and the reading
program.
Authorization
We are certain that the Read to Achieve program will motivate young students to
participate in reading recreationally outside of their normal classes. This will enhance each
childs ability to read and become more successful in their studies as the reach high school and
college. Reading is an essential gift that every child should encompass in their arsenal of talents
as they grow older. This will undoubtedly lead to a stronger workforce and a more enlightened
future for the Dallas area.
Please authorize Exxon/Mobil to proceed with the Read to Achieve program and book
fair by signing this document below by November 10, 2014 in order to allow amble time to
prepare for the book fair and program.
Sincerely,
Rex W. Tillerson
CEO
ExxonMobil

Authorized by: ___________________________

Date: ___________________________
Stephen L. Mansfield, Ph. D.
Chairman of the Board
Dallas Chamber of Commerce
500 N. Akard Street, Suite 2600
Dallas, TX