July 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.

Tell Our Story: GLR Communities Share Progress, Challenges

A year after the Grade-Level Reading Communities Network was launched in Denver, community leaders are participating in Tell Our Story, an effort designed to build awareness and excitement about what is happening in the Network. Communities will share their accomplishments, challenges and lessons learned for improving grade-level reading. Submissions are due August 15 and will be posted on the Network’s internal site for review by other communities. Later, the stories will be posted on the public website.

---

Attendance Awareness Month Efforts Include PSA, Call to Action

Many GLR communities and partners are making plans to recognize September as Attendance Awareness Month. Salt Lake City already has secured a public service announcement from Utah Gov. Gary Herbert. Del Ray Beach, Florida, is working with the local Chamber of Commerce to give mini-grants to schools for attendance incentives. Vernon, Connecticut; Dubuque, Iowa; Dayton, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York, have all posted plans on the Attendance Awareness Month map.

We also are encouraging communities to reach out to their school superintendents and remind them about the Superintendents Call to Action that the GLR Campaign and Attendance Works launched last year. Superintendents who sign up will be added to the scroll on the Attendance Works website and receive materials throughout the year to reinforce the attendance work.

If you are still in the planning stages, sign up for the Attendance Awareness Month webinar on August 7 for tips on communicating with parents and the media. And check out the updated Count Us In! toolkit just posted on the Attendance Works website.

State action to make early literacy and grade-level reading a priority continues to grow. Here are some recent highlights:

• Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell signed into law a bill that will improve state and district efforts to provide information on the importance of early literacy to parents and guardians of children in kindergarten through third grade.

• The California legislature approved a new school funding formula that includes parental involvement, chronic absence and fully credentialed teachers as top priorities for accountability. The new formula allows more local control and adds funds for high-needs students.

• West Virginia’s Board of Education enacted a requirement that all new teachers pass an assessment guaranteeing they are qualified to teach reading.  The new policy follows Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s State of the State address earlier this year that stressed the importance of reading at grade level by the end of third grade.

---

Stay on top of all that is new with the Campaign and with the progress of grade-level reading by making regular visits to our website: www.gradelevelreading.net. The site offers a comprehensive news source on issues related to early childhood, reading development and achievement. Additionally, get the latest updates on federal initiatives and state campaigns and read recent studies on child development and literacy.

---

Cities of Service Offers Grants for Volunteer Efforts

Cities of Service recently announced the newest round of grants from the multi-million dollar Cities of Service Impact Volunteering Fund to help cities use impact volunteering to tackle pressing local challenges. Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the grant sizes range from $25,000 to $100,000, with the potential for a $5,000 bonus if impact goals are achieved. Initiatives can address any of the following priority areas: education and youth, health, neighborhood revitalization, preparedness and safety, sustainability and veterans.

Only mayors whose cities are members of the Cities of Service coalition are eligible to apply. The application can be found here and must be received no later than Friday, September 13. For more information on applying or joining the coalition, email info@citiesofservice.org.

---

Springfield GLR Effort Benefits from Federal and Local Grants

The grade-level reading effort in Springfield, Massachusetts, will receive a boost from a federal grant providing additional AmeriCorps support for a tutoring program and from a coordinated effort among local funders to target early literacy. The Springfield College School Turnaround Initiative was one of 13 applicants to win a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for National and Community Service in the first round of the new School Turnaround AmeriCorps Program this month.

The $1.6 million grant will help expand tutoring support in several Springfield elementary schools, among other programs.

At the same time, foundations and donors in the greater Springfield area have come together as the Funder Collaborative for Reading Success and announced nearly $500,000 worth of grants to promote early literacy efforts. Programs receiving grants over a two-year period include the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative, Raising a Reader Massachusetts and Springfield City Library.

---

	“The Role of Community Schools in Place-Based Initiatives: Collaborating for Student Success” looks at various place-based strategies and their effectiveness. The paper demonstrates the importance of community schools and highlights potential in their alignment with other efforts.
A new report developed by FSG with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, “Markers that Matter: Success Indicators in Early Learning and Education,” offers 48 early childhood indicators that reflect the healthy development of young children. Click here for the full report.