The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

April 2013

The GLR Campaign is a collaborative effort by foundations, nonprofit partners, states and communities across the nation to ensure that more children in low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship.

Start Planning for Summer Learning Day

As the school year winds down and summer vacation approaches, we encourage our grade-level reading partners to keep children in their communities engaged and learning throughout the summer months. This can help close achievement gaps and support healthy development in communities all across the country. Friday, June 21, is Summer Learning Day, a national advocacy day that provides a chance to launch your programs, recognize your partners and raise awareness about the dangers of the “summer slide.” Some communities are bringing together summer learning partners across the state at luncheons. Others are hosting fairs or celebrating at schools and libraries offering programs. The National Summer Learning Association offers a list of ways to celebrate on June 21 for educators, community members and local organizations.

Iowa Recognized as State Pacesetter

The GLR Campaign last week recognized Iowa as a State Pacesetter for its leadership in addressing the challenges that keep many students from low-income families from learning to read proficiently. Gov. Terry Branstad accepted the honor, along with legislators, educators and policy leaders. The award reflects both the sustained commitment of state policymakers to early childhood education and the civic engagement in communities across Iowa.

“Iowa leaders have set a high bar for education reform and have acknowledged that early literacy is key to achieving that goal,” said Ralph Smith, the GLR Campaign’s managing director. “With measures designed to identify and help struggling readers succeed, the state’s broad plans for its schools are off to a promising start.”

Smith also visited the six Iowa communities that are charter members of the Grade-Level Reading Communities Network: Ames, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Dubuque, Marshalltown and Quad Cities.

State Policy Agenda Outlined for Birth-to-Third Frame

A new policy framework for supporting children from birth through third grade was unveiled this month by the Alliance for Early Success, formerly known as the Birth to Five Policy Alliance. The name change reflects growing consensus about the value of the birth-through-third frame that the GLR Campaign has been promoting. The Birth to Eight State Policy Framework – which emphasizes evidence-based approaches to improve health, learning and economic outcomes for young children – was developed in collaboration with a number of groups, including the GLR Campaign, and is designed to be the core of a common agenda around which various advocates can rally. An important step in that direction was a mid-April meeting co-sponsored by the Campaign and the Alliance that brought together White House officials, policymakers, administrators, researchers, and advocates to share strategies for improving early learning efforts. To view the agenda and materials from the panel discussions, click here.

Panel Discussion Highlights “Improbable Scholars”

The GLR Campaign and the Center for American Progress presented a policy discussion in early April that showcased the benefits of a long-term early learning strategy in one urban school district in New Jersey. The event featured David Kirp, author of Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools, and other speakers discussing how Union City, New Jersey, has overcome many of the problems that plague school districts in disadvantaged communities. The panel offered suggestions for replicating similar strategies in other communities. To view a full webcast of the event, please click here.

Book Baskets, Literacy Fairs Support Reading Goals

We have a new batch of communities set to join the Grade-Level Reading Communities Network in the next month or two. Meanwhile we are proud of the work that is going on now across the country. In Chula Vista, California, for instance, children have taken home more than 2,000 books from 40 participating businesses that offer book baskets in their lobbies or waiting rooms. In Phoenix, Arizona, Read On Phoenix has sponsored a half-dozen literacy fairs to raise awareness among at-risk families of the importance of early literacy. The fairs feature the mayor, celebrity athletes and other high-profile guest readers, and offer tips and tools to help parents nurture their children’s literacy development.

To share updates on your community’s efforts, email Phyllis Jordan at pjordan@gradelevelreading.net.

Stay on top of all that is new with the GLR Campaign and with grade-level reading by making a regular visit to the website: www.gradelevelreading.net. The site offers a comprehensive news source on issues related to early childhood, reading development and achievement. Also, please share news from your organization or community so that we can include it in the next newsletter. Contact Phyllis Jordan at pjordan@gradelevelreading.net.

Massachusetts Business Leaders Urge Support for Early Learning

Eighty-seven Massachusetts business leaders signed on to a letter urging lawmakers to approve further investment in early education— and a tax increase — as the best way to secure a future workforce. “Decades of research tell us that closing the achievement gap begins in early childhood,” the letter stated. “Participants in high-quality early education demonstrate improved school readiness, higher language and early math skills, and enhanced social-emotional development.”

Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed raising the income tax and reducing the sales tax for a net gain in revenue. About $350 million over four years would go to early education programs, with a goal of providing universal access to early education. Strategies for Children, an advocacy group that pushed successfully for a third grade reading bill last year, coordinated the effort to enlist business supporters.

Choice Neighborhoods Grant Applications Due May 28

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is accepting applications for planning and implementation grants for its Choice Neighborhoods program through May 28. The grant program, a partnership among several federal agencies, is designed to transform neighborhoods with strategies that address the interconnected challenges of poor-quality housing, inadequate schools, poor health, high crime and lack of capital.

Eligible applicants include Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), local governments, tribal entities, nonprofits, and for-profit developers that apply jointly with a public entity. Among the ingredients that should be part of any application are plans for quality public schools and education programs and high quality early learning programs and services. HUD has yet to release a dollar amount for this year’s grant program, pending further congressional action.

PBS Kids App Wins Accolades for Early Learning

The new PBS Kids app designed to help parents teach their children early literacy and math skills was named one of the top 10 apps for education. “The bilingual (English/Spanish) app makes it easy for parents to seize upon those daily ‘teachable moments’ through theme-based interactive games and simple hands-on activities that connect math and literacy skills to everyday experiences,” according to eSchool News. It was also named an “Editor’s Choice” by PC Magazine. The PBS Parents Play & Learn app, developed with support from the GLR Campaign, has been previewed at “Demo Days” across the country, often with Campaign representatives appearing to discuss how the free app helps equip all parents to help their children learn.

The GLR Campaign – working together with America’s Promise Alliance, Attendance Works, Civic Enterprises and Points of Light – has released a toolkit for Attendance Awareness Month in September that explains the problem of chronic absence and offers a variety of ways to improve attendance through better messaging, parent engagement, community efforts and data crunching. Count Us In! Working Together to Show That Every School Day Matters offers strategies that work not only at the start of the school year, but throughout the year to improve attendance. For more information or to receive updates on Attendance Awareness Month, click here.

A new report from Summer Matters reviews the effectiveness of summer learning initiatives in Fresno, Los Angeles and Sacramento, finding that the programs helped to improve the literacy skills, work habits and confidence of the children involved. To view the full report and the key findings, or for more information, please click here.