A Catalyst for the GLR Network
We asked each of our five founding partners to write a guest post describing how they support our goal of improving third grade reading rates. Gloria Rubio-Cortes, president of the National Civic League, describes how the All-America City Awards brought together communities dedicated to this critical milestone. The All-America City Awards (AAC) is the flagship program of the National Civic League, and every year it recognizes communities for outstanding civic achievement. In 2012, AAC was part of... ... More »

The Power of the Unexpected
We asked each of our five founding partners to write a guest post describing how they support our goal of improving third grade reading rates. David Kass, president of the Council for a Strong America, describes how “unexpected messengers” are spreading the word about this critical milestone. A big city police chief…. The former CEO of a Fortune 500 company…. A four-star general…. The pastor of a megachurch…. An Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater…. What do these leaders have in common? When... ... More »

Healthy Readers Resource Guides Now Available
We know that learning begins at birth, and that healthy development improves children’s ability to learn. Children who are on track in their physical, social and emotional, cognitive and verbal development are more successful learners from their earliest years, and they are more likely to become proficient readers. We also know that at every age and every stage of development, children from low-income families often receive less, and lower-quality, health care and services. As a result,... ... More »

Reading 1:1 With Preschoolers
Building on the “It takes a village” approach, Camden, New Jersey’s Grade-Level Reading Campaign, Born to Read, has launched a volunteer-based one-on-one reading program for preschoolers as part of its multi-faceted early literacy initiative. Inspired by successful evidence-based volunteering and mentoring programs, Born to Read is recruiting and training volunteers from throughout the region to be one-on-one readers. “The goal is to build a large volunteer-based literacy intervention to increase reading exposure, strengthen literacy foundations for... ... More »

Volunteer Tutors at the Library
This is a guest post by Susan H. Hildreth, director of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. It also appeared on the IMLS blog. I’m delighted to join with our partners at the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, during National Volunteer Week this week to cheer on the work of the thousands of volunteers who provide literacy tutoring across the county.  The Campaign’s efforts are aimed at raising awareness of the importance of volunteerism  that... ... More »