Education Coalition Calls on Congress to Align Pre-K to 3
The Pre-K Coalition, representing leading education organizations and teachers unions, is calling on Congress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) with a strong early education component. That includes an emphasis on aligning pre-K with the primary grades, a step we believe is crucial to ensuring children read well by the end of third grade. At a Capitol Hill briefing on Tuesday, the coalition released its new report, Ensuring America’s Future, Policy Statements and Recommendations... ... More »

Two Million People Will Read for the Record on Thursday
Millions of children in low-income neighborhoods are at risk of school failure before they even start kindergarten. Ensuring that all children become proficient readers by the end of third grade –an essential milestone for future academic success—starts early, even before a child enters school Jumpstart's Read for the Record, in partnership with the Pearson Foundation, is rallying millions of Americans around the need for quality early education for all children. On Thursday, more than 2 million... ... More »

What’s in a Zip Code? Education Nation Panel Discusses Poverty and Education
Poverty and educational opportunity were the themes of a powerful discussion at NBC’s Education Nation Summit yesterday. Brian Williams moderated the panel of prominent education experts and foundation leaders titled: “What’s In A Zip Code? A Look at Inequality Across Our Public Schools.” Target’s Laysha Ward provided opening comments. Ralph Smith, a senior vice president at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, participated on the panel. In short, Smith... ... More »

Ralph Smith Wins Fred Rogers Award
Congratulations to Ralph Smith, a senior vice president at the Annie E. Casey Foundation,who this week received the 2011 Fred Rogers Leadership Award in Philanthropy for Children, Youth, and Families for the integral role he’s played in building the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. The award—given annually by the Grantmakers for Children Youth and Families— recognizes Smith’s leadership in bringing together a collaborative network of 80 funders and partners to target investments that will ensure more children are reading proficiently... ... More »

Webinars Outline 2012 All-America City Reading Award
In 2012, the National Civic League will present its well-known All-America City Awards to cities that develop the best plans to ensure that more children become proficient readers by the end of third grade, a critical milestone for later academic success. Our webinar series, hosted by United Way, the National League of Cities, the National Civic League, and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, provides an introduction to the 2012 All-America City Grade-Level Reading Awards. Go to the archived... ... More »