Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe recently proclaimed August 12-16 to be  Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (AR-GLR) week.  Governor Beebe was pleased to make the proclamation because of his commitment to increasing educational achievement in the state.

The Campaign used AR-GLR Week to generate new energy and interest in the goal of all Arkansas children reading proficiently by the end of third grade. The week was launched with the video release of the Governor’s proclamation read by a group of elementary school children from Little Rock.

Each day of AR-GLR Week, the Campaign released an announcement via social media.

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the Campaign announced three grants made by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF), the principal partner and funder for the campaign, as part of the AR-GLR Community Solutions Initiative (CSI).  These grants were made to three AR-GLR initiatives around the state – ARKids Read, Marvell-Elaine Reads, and MLK Reads.

• AR Kids Read  is a volunteer‐based reading initiative that recruits, trains and mobilizes tutors throughout central Arkansas to support students reading below grade level in kindergarten through fifth grade.

• Marvell-Elaine Reads is a community-wide partnership of the Boys, Girls, Adults, Community Development Center (BGACDC), the Marvell-Elaine Elementary School and community volunteers to rally parents and residents to increase the number of students reading proficiently in Marvell and Elaine, Arkansas.

• MLK Reads is community partnership to train and activate members of Second Baptist Church and the broader community to provide direct support for aspiring young readers in grades kindergarten to third grade at Martin Luther King Elementary School in downtown Little Rock

AR-GLR Week wrapped up with a reception honoring the Campaign’s new Business Champions that are committed to support our goal and the action agenda.  These organizations include the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The week’s announcements led to interviews on several radio stations, a television story, blog posts, and articles in partner e-newsletters.  The Campaign also gained new social media followers, re-tweets and “shares” on Twitter and Facebook as well as new individuals who have taken the pledge to do their part to help all children in Arkansas read proficiently.