September 2015

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort by funders, nonprofits, government agencies, business leaders, states and communities across the nation to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship.

2015 GLR Community Self-Assessment Tool Now Available 

Increasing the number of U.S. children, especially those in low-income families, who read proficiently by the end of third grade will take plenty of well-considered work over time. That’s why last year GLR Network communities across the country took stock of their efforts using theGLR Community Self-Assessment. Now, the 2015 Self-Assessment is available.

This year’s version of the Self-Assessment has been streamlined and improved based on feedback from more than 60 communities. The Self-Assessment serves as a tool to help communities review and refresh their Community Solutions Action Plans (CSAPs), share data and information across the GLR Network and inform the planning and delivery of technical assistance by state leads and the Network Communities Support Center.

The Self-Assessment also provides a guided process for addressing the success and sustainability factors being used for 2015 Pacesetter Honors. To be considered for this recognition, please be sure to complete the Self-Assessment by December 1, 2015.

Click here to begin using the 2015 Self-Assessment, and click here to read a recent Innovation Brief on the powerful impact of last year’s Self-Assessment on communities across the country.

Attendance Awareness Month Showcases Local Efforts to Fight Chronic Absence

GLR communities and state leaders used Attendance Awareness Month in September not only to promote the value of good attendance but also to expand their work on reducing chronic absence. Among the highlights:

• Rochester City Schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas personally went to the homes of families whose children struggled with chronic absence last year. The district is entering the second year of its Every Minute Matters campaign to boost attendance rates.
• On September 4, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a proclamation at the state capitol in Des Moines declaring September as Attendance Awareness Month in the state of Iowa. The local Iowa GLR campaigns have formed the Iowa Attendance Learning Network to provide communities in the state with customized technical assistance from Attendance Works to prevent chronic absence.
• School officials in Berks County, Pennsylvania, spoke to county commissioners about the district’s attendance efforts and urged parents and teachers to focus on attendance throughout the school year, not just in September.

Giving Challenge Provides Big Boost to Grade-Level Reading in Florida

The United Way of Manatee County raised more than $100,000 for the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading during the 2015 Giving Challenge, an online fundraising campaign serving more than 440 nonprofits in the region. The Patterson Foundation provided matching funds for all donations, resulting in a total of more than $6.6 million raised for local organizations.

In neighboring Sarasota County, a new program to help struggling first-grade students read on grade level will start at three elementary schools this year. The Reading Recovery Program consists of intensive one-on-one lessons with trained literacy teachers.

Tulsa’s Pre-K Program Turns 10 with Strong Results  

Researchers have been tracking students who entered Tulsa’s pre-K program since it began in 2005, and their findings appear to be a good sign for the city. Children who participated in the first year of the program are now entering high school and have benefited from huge gains in early math and literacy skills, according to the researchers.

Why the Word Gap Is Important for Public Health  

Georgia’s “Talk With Me Baby” program took the spotlight in The Atlantic’s in-depth look at the “30 million word gap” between children from low-income families and their wealthier peers. The program addresses the word gap as an issue of public health, involving doctors’ offices and nutritionists as well as parents and educators to encourage and support low-income families in talking with their babies.

Chronic Absence in California Documented in New Report 

Students in California are missing dozens of school days as early as kindergarten, according to a new report from State Attorney General Kamala Harris’s office. The report analyzed the attendance records of about 350,000 elementary school students in the state, finding that kindergartners missed 18 or more school days at a higher rate than any other grade. “If we can’t get these kids in school every day starting right at kindergarten, the attendance gaps we’re seeing become achievement gaps,” said Jill Habig, a special assistant attorney general.

Third-Grade Reading Bill Passes Michigan House Committee 

A bipartisan bill intended to strengthen reading skills by the third grade has passed the Michigan House Education Committee. HB 4822 encourages schools to adopt summer reading camps for students who fall behind and allows for third-grade students who fail state reading tests to advance to fourth grade under certain circumstances.

$3.5 Million Grant Will Fund Research on Reading Comprehension for Children Living in Poverty  

A Texas A&M University professor who developed an online program to increase reading comprehension for young children in low-income areas received a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue her work. Kay Wijekumar’s Intelligent Tutoring System for the Structure Strategy teaches students to look at the way a text is organized in order to understand its main idea.

Virginia Awards $5.3 Million to Schools for Year-Round Programs  

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe this month awarded $5.3 million in grants to support the development and implementation of year-round instruction in 54 schools across the state. “The extended year model helps reduce the summer learning loss many students experience, especially in our challenged schools,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples.

Low-Income and Minority Children Much More Likely to Be Chronically Absent

Disparities in school attendance rates starting as early as preschool and kindergarten are contributing to achievement gaps by race and income, according to a report from Attendance Works and the Healthy Schools Campaign.Mapping the Early Attendance Gap: Charting A Course for School Success finds that millions of missed school days are due to health factors like asthma and dental problems. The report, which includes state-by-state absenteeism profiles, calls for communities to address health and school climate issues rather than focus on punishing truancy.

Inside Minnesota’s Efforts to Close Persistent Achievement Gaps

Minnesota students are among the highest achieving in the nation on reading and math tests and they are more likely to graduate high school than students in most other states. But the state still struggles to address stubborn achievement gaps by race and income. A recent report from New America’s Early Education Initiative examines state and local initiatives to improve literacy outcomes for low-income and minority students in Minnesota.