A  grade-level reading partnership in Springfield, Massachusetts, was featured during a recent meeting at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where representatives of the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation described their Talk/Read/Succeed! program.

As part of the agency’s “Meet the Funder, Know the Work” series, the foundation and Springfield officials met with more than a dozen HUD officials on January 16 to explain the collaboration among community partners and the Springfield Housing Authority. Two local housing authority sites feature learning labs where families can learn about and participate in activities designed to promote literacy among children from birth to age 8.

The Meet the Funder session addressed the development of successful collaborations, especially how to bring together and involve those who might be considered unlikely partners. The Talk/Read/Succeed! program has nearly 30 community partners and is aligned with Springfield’s community-wide reading proficiency initiative, which was recognized with the All-America City designation. The initiative has helped increase the proportion of the city’s children reading on grade level by the end of third grade from 33 percent to 40 percent since 2009.