Remember the excitement and enthusiasm from the 2012 All-America City Awards? It’s hard to believe that it was only two years ago, when you joined us in a great journey to demonstrate that communities across the country, dedicated to a single outcome, could make a difference in the lives of children from low-income families.

Since then, we have been amazed and inspired by what is happening in the Grade-Level Reading Communities Network. We have seen summer learning opportunities expand and chronic absence rates decline. We have seen policymakers recognizing the importance of third-grade reading and community-based organizations equipping parents with the tools they need to get children ready for school.

We have another exciting opportunity to capture that momentum at this “Mid-point Moment” between the launch in 2012 and the upcoming 2016 AAC Award. And that’s with the GLR 2014 Pacesetter Community Honors. The annual Pacesetter Honors will go to communities that:

• Participate in the GLR Campaign’s messaging and mobilizing opportunities, such as Summer Learning Day and Attendance Awareness Month. (The easiest way to show your participation is to post on the summer  and attendance action maps.)
• Demonstrate progress in at least one of the three community solutions areas — readiness, attendance and summer learning. We’re also looking for progress in adopting or replicating proven and promising programs, as well as in strengthening stakeholder engagement, community engagement and cross-sector collaboration.
• Present a plan that integrates healthy, on-track development and successful parenting; relies on disaggregated data; and focuses on proven and promising interventions.

And to help you get there, we’ve created an online self-assessment tool  and a downloadable PDF that allows you to review the six aspects of your Community Solutions Action Plans (CSAPs): the problem, the destination, the strategy, the synergy, the use of data and the success and sustainability. The survey provides a quick, easy way to update your CSAP. It also provides the GLR Campaign with valuable data on where the Network communities stand and how to honor them as we consider the 2014 Pacesetters in December.

This midpoint marks a great time to refresh and refine those plans you laid out for improving early reading. You can reflect on the lessons you learned and focus on what you need to do before the 2016 All-America City Awards. You can also build successful parents and healthy on-track development into your plans.

Two years from now, we’ll convene the Network again to recognize the communities that have made the most progress in reaching the goals laid out in their CSAPs. We want you to be there with us. The 2014 Pacesetter and the self-assessment are our opportunity to couple your hard work to date with the tools and TA needed to cross the finish line to victory in 2016.   Click here to open the online self-assessment tool.