The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

June 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.

Washington Post Live Event Shows Commitment to Third-Grade Reading

A bipartisan group of governors and chief state school officers put a stake in the ground on third-grade reading at a June 4 forum, hosted by the Washington Post and sponsored by the GLR Campaign, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. At the Reading Milestones event in Washington, D.C., state leaders discussed different approaches to ensuring more students read proficiently by the end of third grade.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell urged an approach that emphasizes early education and healthy development. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez described her Reads to Lead initiative, which provides literacy coaches to help teachers identify struggling readers early. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who signed a third-grade retention policy into law this spring, said any students held back should receive intensive literacy instruction. The panel of governors was followed by a roundtable discussion among six chief state school officers. Read more about the event here. The Post also ran a full-page ad on the GLR Campaign on Sunday, June 9.

Attendance Awareness Month Gains Momentum

Communities across the country are pledging to celebrate Attendance Awareness Month inSeptember with summits, attendance contests, public messaging and other strategies. In Palm Beach, Florida, mayors and commissioners from 38 municipalities are coming together for a forum on attendance. Grand Rapids, Michigan, is also planning a summit, as well as public service announcements and other activities.

A new interactive map allows schools and organizations to post their plans and see what their neighbors are doing. The Count Us In! toolkit has been downloaded more than 4,000 times since April, and a revised version is coming in July. A webinar on getting your message out is planned for August 7. Register here!

Communities Invited to “Tell Your Story”

Starting in July, GLR Network communities are invited to share what is happening in your community to advance grade-level reading—whether through video, print or photos. We want to post compelling stories and materials that capture the progress and momentum your community has achieved over the past year. And we want your peers and community members to see how you are delivering the important message about early literacy—and vote on who is doing it well. Look for further information from the Network Communities Support Center.

Summer Learning Day Brings Action from Mayors, Dozens of Communities

The nation’s mayors and GLR Network communities are stepping up to combat the “summer slide” and boost learning during the summer months!

The U.S. Conference of Mayors voted unanimously Monday for a resolution asking mayors to celebrate summer learning, catalogue opportunities across city agencies and commit to expanding those opportunities. And more than 80 GLR communities marked Summer Learning Day or promoted summer learning with special events and activities. For example:

Delray Beach, Florida, is infusing two hours of learning each day into its city-run summer camps to reach 850 young children, up from 200 last year. Activities such as Literacy Coalition-hosted reading nights at each camp will engage parents in the learning process.
National Summer Learning Day was the launch date in Stockton, California, for a series of “Family Literacy Parties” for families with preschool-age children. Attendees will receive information on the importance of attendance, local literacy programs and a new children’s book.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is sponsoring a summer reading club with 10,000 children receiving free books and activities throughout the summer at libraries, schools, summer camps, museums and farmers markets. Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, Zoo Atlanta, United Way of Greater Atlanta and The Wylde Center will all host activities for children, ages 1 to 8.
Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock has granted $350,000 to six local nonprofits and two city agencies to mitigate summer learning loss and keep kids active during summer break. All Denver children ages 5 to 18 now have free, year-round access to the city’s recreation centers, pools and libraries.
In Tampa, Florida, a partnership among United Way, various provider agencies and a local college provides teachers to tutor struggling readers at nearly a dozen different agencies throughout the summer.
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has awarded more than $900,000 for 2013 summer learning programs, which will benefit more than 950 students. All recipient programs will provide families with unique, nontraditional methods to enhance the learning experience.
In Syracuse, New York, the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County and others are encouraging students to participate in the New York State Senate’s Summer Reading Program, where they can record their reading online to earn a certificate of completion from a state senator.
In San Antonio, Texas, Mayor Julián Castro has launched the annual Mayor’s Summer Reading Club for 2013 to make learning a year-round activity and keep parents engaged. Children who complete the program will receive a book to keep and a certificate signed by the mayor.
Mayor Greg Fischer and the city of Louisville, Kentucky, are offering 80 summer learning programs for youth this summer, from safari camps at the Louisville Zoo to reading programs in libraries. The city released a booklet for children and families that lists all of the programs available.

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

The federal Institute of Museum and Libraries Services (IMLS) and the GLR Campaign last week released a report documenting 10 key ways that libraries and museums are supporting young children. Growing Young Minds: How Museums and Libraries Create Lifelong Learners also offers case studies and provides a clear call to policymakers, schools, funders and parents to make full use of these vital, existing community resources.

The report’s release event at a Washington, D.C., library drew officials from the White House, the U.S. Education Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who extolled the value of libraries and museums for building early literacy. It also highlighted the partnership between the GLR Campaign and IMLS. Last year, IMLS issued $2.5 million in grants to institutions seeking to improve early literacy and has committed another $2.5 million for 2013. Several of those libraries are working with partners in GLR Network communities. More about the report is available here.

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.

Two i3 Grant Winners Offer Support for Communities

Two proven programs for boosting early reading—Success for All and Reading Recovery—have grant money available to help communities through the Investing in Innovation (i3) grants received from the U.S. Department of Education.

The Reading Recovery grant is designed to cover all initial professional development costs for Reading Recovery training, including graduate course tuition, a starter book collection, supplies and teacher stipends. More information on Reading Recovery can be found at www.readingrecovery.info.

Success for All is offering $50,000 grants for Title 1 elementary schools toward the cost of implementing its school improvement model that focuses on ensuring grade-level reading for all students through tutoring, cooperative learning and systematic phonics. If your community is interested, contact Success for All at (800) 548-4998, ext. 2372 or e-mail sfainfo@successforall.org.

The PreK-3rd National Work Group released a four-page brief this month summarizing a series of their webinars held over the past year on reducing the achievement gap by fourth grade. The webinars featured teachers, administrators and researchers offering ideas to improve the quality of early childhood education. Webinar topics ranged from effective administrative leadership, to parent engagement, to the implications of the Common Core State Standards for PreK-3rd grades.