Washington, DC – The Institute of Museum and Library  Services (IMLS) has awarded more than $2.5 million to museums and libraries  developing innovative programs to prepare young children for school and to  ensure they don’t lose ground over the summer. These projects, part of an IMLS initiative to support the goals of the  Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, were among those receiving National  Leadership Grants (NLG) announced by IMLS last week.

In December 2011, IMLS announced that it would provide up to  $2 million over two years to museums and libraries for projects that further  the work of the campaign, which aims to increase the number of low-income children  reading on grade level by the end of third grade. Museums and libraries  throughout the U.S. answered the call with so many strong proposals that IMLS  awarded more than $2.5 million this year and plans to repeat the call again  next year.

Despite major public and private investments, more than 80  percent of children in poverty are not reading at grade level by the third  grade. This sets children up for failure in the later grades, fueling  achievement gaps and dropout rates. Aligning IMLS grants with the goals of the  Campaign for Grade-Level Reading makes it possible for libraries and museum to  stand together with the 124 cities, counties, and towns that have developed  plans to improve early literacy and young children’s chances for educational,  economic, and social success. IMLS plans to broadly disseminate the results of  these grants to continue to improve library and museum service nationwide.

“I am delighted at the response to this effort,” said IMLS Director  Susan H. Hildreth. “The projects we are supporting are as diverse as the  communities we will be reaching. They involve a wide range of partners such as schools,  Head Start, the United Way, and Boys and Girls Clubs. These initiatives demonstrate  the power of libraries and museums as community anchors that can help us reach  children early and be a consistent presence throughout the school year and  beyond.”

A total of $2,557,772 has been awarded to museums and libraries  in 19 communities across the United States, including eight that are working  with the campaign. Many of the awards involve partnerships at the local, state,  and national levels. Dozens of museums, libraries, and community organizations will  be engaged in coordinated efforts to act on the latest research and provide  opportunities that really make a difference for young children and their  parents and caregivers.

“We need to reach  these children before they enter kindergarten, and we need to keep them  learning through the summer,” said Ralph Smith, managing director of the  Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and a senior vice president at the Annie E.  Casey Foundation. “Museums and libraries are key partners for our communities.”

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, launched in early  2011, is a collaboration among foundations, national nonprofits, 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.

Summary of funded projects:

City of Arlington – Arlington, TX, Amount: $49,572 To encourage early learning, the Arlington Public Library will  partner in a planning project with the Arlington Independent School District,  the Mansfield Independent School District, the United Way of Tarrant County,  and Child Care Associates. The planning team will establish a coordinating body  for all partners to inventory current resources, programs, and families  currently being served.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library – Charlotte, NC, Amount: $244,452 To encourage early learning, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library will partner with municipal agencies and programs to create the “Read to me, Charlotte” program. The program will be part of a larger community initiative that promotes childhood success through a combination of programs focused on families, health, early care, schools, and community.

Colorado Board of Education –  Denver, CO, Amount: $41,146 To encourage early learning, the  Colorado State Library will partner with the High Plains Library District, the  Aurora Public Library, the Pikes Peak Library District, and the Lake County  Public Library to plan for Project SPELL: Supporting Parents in Early Literacy  through Libraries. The planning team will review existing and new research to  create a blueprint of promising practices for libraries working with other  agencies to deliver early literacy information and resources to low-income  families with young children.

Erie Art Museum – Erie, PA, Amount: $245,348 The Erie Art Museum has partnered with the three largest early  childhood providers in Erie County and four social service agencies serving  recently resettled refugees to provide children, aged 0-5, with programs to  promote school readiness through music and song. The project will train staff  at the partner childcare providers and reach parents through an outreach  campaign. At the same time, the museum will train refugee women for positions  in American daycare where they can promote school readiness through music and  song from their diverse cultures.

Franklin Institute – Philadelphia, PA, Amount: $249,534 The Franklin Institute will develop a pre-K version of a program  that integrates children’s literature and hands-on science activities and  promotes student and family engagement in science and literacy. LEAP PreK will  be piloted in 10 sites including public libraries, science museums, children’s  museums, school districts, afterschool providers, and public television, all of  which demonstrate access to underserved populations.

City of Houston – Houston, TX, Amount: $250,000 To encourage early learning, the Houston Public Library will  partner with the Children’s Museum of Houston to establish the “Pop-up  Library” program. Designed to reduce summer reading loss in children in  Grades K-3 and to involve families in summer reading programs, the Pop-up  Library will be a transportable unit that brings library materials, resources  and programming into a variety of public spaces.

Idaho Commission for Libraries – Boise, ID, Amount: $250,000 To encourage early learning, the Idaho Commission for Libraries  will partner with the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation and Idaho Kids  Count on a program titled, “Routes to Reading: Idaho Paves the Way with  Access to Print.” The project will be designed to significantly increase  the number of books shared with young children. “Books in a Bag” kits  will be made available at 250 Head Start centers, preschools, childcare  centers, and home-based childcare sites. The project team also will create a  web-based virtual story time to try and reach families who do not attend story  time at the library.

Kansas City Public Library – Kansas City, MO, Amount: $41,935 To encourage early learning, the Kansas City Public Library will  partner with The Family Conservancy in a planning project to identify and  evaluate existing community programs that support school readiness. The  planning team will produce a blueprint for collaboration among early educators,  parent support groups, literacy organizations, social services, and others that  share a common goal of promoting early language development.

Middle Country Public Library – Centereach, NY, Amount: $450,000 The Middle Country Public Library will work with twenty-eight  libraries across seven states to implement and evaluate Family Place  Libraries™, a library-based early childhood and family support service model.  This program will focus on parents/caregivers as first teachers, will be  organized around the developmental needs of the child, and will link library  services with other regional and local family support agencies.

Minnesota Children’s Museum – Saint Paul, MN, Amount: $50,000 The Minnesota Children’s Museum, in partnership with the Saint  Paul Library System, the Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood, the Hennepin County  Library System, the Northside Achievement Zone, and the Center for Education and  Early Development will target low-income parents of very young children with a  mobile communications application and support system to stimulate increased  engagement in and support of children’s early education and literacy  development, leading to increased school readiness.

Museum Association of New York – Troy, NY, Amount: $49,999 The Museum Association of New York, in partnership with the New  York Library Association and Museumwise, will explore the feasibility of  developing and sustaining a model statewide program in which history museums  and libraries collaboratively create traveling exhibits and related programming  aimed specifically at young learners and their families.

Richland County Public Library – Columbia, SC, Amount: $50,000 To encourage early learning, the Richland County Public Library  will partner in a planning project with the University of South Carolina’s  Office of Program Evaluation and the Midlands Reading Consortium of the United  Way of the Midlands. The planning team will pilot and evaluate Project Summer  Stride, which will focus on reducing summer reading loss through effective  tutoring, reading programs, and other interventions.

City of Richmond  –  Richmond, CA, Amount: $50,000 To further increase digital literacy and access to computers among  children and families in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, the Richmond  Public Library and the Building Blocks for Kids Collaborative will lead a  planning group that includes community residents, to assess currently available  services and resources, identify best practices for achieving higher digital  literacy rates in communities, create a plan to identify local needs, and  develop an action plan that includes consideration of issues that cannot be  resolved with current resources.

City of Richmond – Richmond, VA, Amount: $39,960 To encourage early learning, the Richmond Public Library will  partner with the Boys and Girls Club of Richmond, the YMCA of Richmond, and  Woodville Day Nursery to develop a plan for working with a variety of community  summer programs to combat summer reading loss among third-grade students in the  city’s Promise Neighborhood.

Saint Louis Science Center – Saint Louis, MO, Amount: $249,815 Science Beyond the Boundaries Early Learning collaborative is a  partnership of twenty science centers to share programs, research, and lessons  learned. Building on the early learning expertise of five of the partners, all  museums will enhance their science and school readiness programs for children  aged 0-4. The collaborative will provide individual assistance to museums by  linking them to knowledgeable colleagues and helping to customize materials.

City of Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara, CA, Amount: $50,000 To encourage early learning, the Santa Barbara Public Library and  the Santa Barbara Museum of Art will plan, pilot, and evaluate the potential  for full implementation of a new program called the “Siblings  Project.” This initiative will promote grade-level reading skills in  children age eight and younger by recruiting, training, and encouraging older  siblings to read with younger members of families.

Springfield-Greene County Library District – Springfield, MO,  Amount: $97,091 To encourage early learning, the Springfield-Greene County Library  District will partner with the County Health Department’s Women, Infants, and  Children (WIC) program, to train WIC staff and provide new early literacy  programs for low-income families. This project will lay the foundation for  expanding early literacy programs to additional community social service  agencies in the future.

Walters Art Museum – Baltimore, MD, Amount: $50,000 The Walters Art Museum, in partnership with the Johns Hopkins  University Brain Science Institution and the Department of Cognitive Science,  will establish an arts-enriched museum preschool to measure the impact and  outcome of an arts integration curriculum on the development of early cognitive  skills in children.

Worcester Museum of Natural History (EcoTarium) – Worcester, MA, Amount: $48,920 The EcoTarium will explore  the feasibility of expanding its role as a STEM-focused preschool educator.  Working with an education professor and the early childhood specialist of the  local school district, the museum will undertake a series of planning  activities including preparing a demographic research report, reviewing the  literature on preschool teaching and learning, scanning the museum’s current  preschool offerings, developing a preschool advisory panel, developing a  STEM-focused early childhood strategic plan, compiling a short list of  college/university, and creating a list of criteria to explore the feasibility  of developing a learning laboratory.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the  primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500  museums. Our grants, policy development, and research helps communities and  individuals thrive by providing broad public access to knowledge, cultural  heritage, and lifelong learning. To learn more about IMLS, please visit www.imls.gov.