Campaign for Grade Level Reading

Ron Fairchild, Director, Network Communities Support Center

Momentum Is Building152 communities, representing 39 states across the nation, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico

and the U.S. Virgin Islands with 1,600 local organizations (including over 100 local funders)

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The

Campaign for

Grade-Level

Reading

• Third grade is a critical juncture on the

road to high school graduation. It is the

pivot point.

• Approximately 83 percent of low-

income children miss this critical

milestone and do not read proficiently

by the end of third grade.

• Approximately 74 percent of students

who fail to read on grade level by the

end of third grade will not finish high

school on time.

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Encourage Proof Points:

Readiness, Attendance and Summer Learning

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1. School Readiness – Too many children start school

already far behind their peers and never catch up.

2. School Attendance – Too many students fall

behind during the year because they miss too much

school and too much instructional time.

3. Summer Learning – Too many children lose ground

over the summer months, returning to school in the

fall further behind than when they left in June.

Community

Solutions

Areas

By 2016, at least two dozen communities report measurable

progress on:

• School readiness: more children ready for school at age

5 and developmentally on track, including fewer children

entering kindergarten with undetected, undiagnosed and

untreated conditions and developmental delays that can

impede learning

• Attendance/chronic absence: more children attending

school regularly, including fewer children missing school

because of preventable and manageable health

challenges such as asthma and tooth decay

• Summer learning: more children participating in summer

programs that meet their academic and social needs and

fewer children experiencing summer as a high-risk period

with major challenges to good nutrition and fitness

• Grade-level reading; early progress in the early

grades.

Encourage

Proof Points

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Buffalo, NY:

• “Read to Succeed Buffalo” initiative, called Project CARE,

offers training and resources to integrate language and

literacy into family day care curricula.

• 85 percent of the children in these programs met one or

more of their developmental literacy milestones and are on

track for kindergarten readiness.

San Antonio, TX:

• Harlandale Independent School District, 92 percent

Hispanic, offers Dual Language (DL) Head Start with two-

way Spanish/English learning model.

• 83 percent of participating kids met or exceeded

developmental and learning expectations before

kindergarten.

School

Readiness

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Cincinnati, OH:

• Every Child Succeeds offers home visits, which take place

from the time of pregnancy through the child's third birthday.

• At any one time, close to 2,000 families are receiving home

visits. Each month, more than 160 referrals are made to ECS

and 2,900 total visits are provided. Referrals come from

community agencies (27 percent), hospitals (34 percent) and

prenatal clinics (39 percent).

• Preliminary findings yield positive results.

– The infant mortality rate is 4.7 per 1,000 live births, less than

one-third of the Hamilton County infant mortality rate

– 96 percent of children have a medical home; 83 percent receive

required immunizations by 2 years old

– 97 percent or more developing normally in gross and fine motor

skills, communication and other areas

– 97 percent of parents are actively involved in their child's learning

– 98 percent of homes contain appropriate learning materials

School

Readiness

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Vernon, CT:

Problem: Too many schools do not track chronic absenteeism and

offer support to families of children who miss too much school.

Solution: Vernon has implemented new school policies and

procedures that support students in attending school every day,

and is working with families who are at risk for chronic

absenteeism. The district carefully monitors data, follows up with

families and intervenes with support.

Impact: As a result, rates of chronic absenteeism dropped from

8 percent to 5 percent for K–3 students.

School

Attendance

Percentage of Students with Moderate or Severe Chronic Absence Over Time, by Grade Level

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New Britain, CT:

• To reduce chronic absence, adapted strategies including

actionable attendance data, school attendance teams, home

visits and professional development for principals and staff,

among others.

• As a result, the school district experienced a drop in chronic

absenteeism in grades K–8 from 20 percent to 13 percent –

including a drop from 30 percent to 18 percent in kindergarten.

School

Attendance

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Delray Beach, FL:

• Implemented multi-year summer reading programs at local

camps, with support from the school system on pre- and

post-reading assessments in 2012 and 2013, serving

nearly 600 students.

• 11 percent increase in number of students assessed as

“early fluent” (from 28 percent to 35 percent) or “fluent”

(from 12 percent to 16 percent) readers.

Southern Pines, NC:

• Implemented summer reading program in 2013 with

reading activities led by teachers and teacher assistants;

one-hour weekly book club sessions led by library staff;

and 30 minutes daily of “Stop, Drop and Read” time at a

Boys & Girls Club summer camp.

• As a result, 76 percent of youth participants maintained or

increased their reading levels, based on pre- and post-

program test data.

Summer

Learning

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Dubuque, IA:

• Five-week Summer Academy pilot program, staffed by

certified teachers, for at-risk children who just completed

kindergarten and first grade in six Dubuque Community

Schools.

• 84 percent of students maintained or improved their reading

proficiency using DIBELS assessment.

Marshalltown, IA:

• Rogers University provided summer reading program for

kids K–3, staffed by certified teaching staff.

• 89 percent of students met individualized reading goals.

(2014 plans include use of DIBELs reading assessment for

pre- and post-program assessments.)

Summer

Learning

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Build the Big Tent

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Third-grade reading proficiency and addressing

the health determinants of early school success

are a priority for key constituencies, including:

philanthropy, policymakers and public agencies,

sector-leading organizations and local nonprofits,

schools and school districts, advocates, media

and engaged citizens.

2015

Milestone

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“On course” to having grade-level reading

emerge as a priority.

• Real “stickiness” around the core aspects of the

message:

– Early reading predictor of high school graduation

– More inclusive 0–8, birth to third, early years/early

grades as more helpful frame

– Left alone, schools cannot succeed with the most

vulnerable children

Build the Big

Tent

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Governors, legislative leaders, chief state school

officers and state attorneys general are putting a

stake in the ground on reading proficiency by the

end of third grade:

• Legislation, executive order or other policy

action in 36 states and the District of

Columbia

• Increased funding for preschool in the 2013–

2014 school year in 30 states

• Multiple gubernatorial and mayoral

proclamations marking Summer Learning Day

and Attendance Awareness Month

Broad

Support:

Policymakers

and Public

Officials

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Major policymaker support organizations are on-

board

National Governors Association

• Published the Governor’s Guide to Early Literacy

• Developed a state policy audit tool and working

with 6 states on early literacy strategies

U.S. Conference of Mayors

• Unanimous resolution calling on mayors to promote

and support summer learning

National League of Cities

• Arranged for more than 200 senior city staff to

participate in a local GLR Network community

coalition or meeting

Broad

Support:

Policymakers

and Public

Officials

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More than 50 sector-leading organizations

joining the Campaign as partners and aligning

their work and messaging with the Campaign

• Partners account for more than 40 percent of

17,000 individuals reached in 2013 “retail

evangelism”

• 400 local affiliates of national partners are

leading or participating in local sponsoring

coalitions

Broad

Support:

Sector-

Leading

Organizations

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• 104 superintendents have signed the Attendance Works Call to

Action

• Bipartisan group of 5 chief state school officers co-chair the

Advisory Committee on Eliminating Chronic Absence (AECEA)

and have committed to action in their states

• Working with the Foundation for Excellence in Education to

develop a common-sense consensus around retention/social

promotion

• Ongoing engagement with

– American Association of School Administrators

– Chiefs for Change

– Council of Chief State School Officers

– Council of the Great City Schools

– National Association of Elementary School Principals

– National Association of State Boards of Education

– National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

– National School Boards Association

• Collaborating with

– National Education Association

– American Federation of Teachers and the Federation-

related Albert Shankar Institute

Broad

Support:

Educators,

Leaders and

Leading

Organizations

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Engage Philanthropy:

Local & State Funders Providing Money & Muscle

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• State and local funders bring money and muscle to

GLR communities

– 100+ local funders

– 100+ United Ways

– Funder-led efforts in AR, ME, Oakland, Sarasota

– Funder coalitions in AZ, IA, Springfield, Tacoma

– 25 quasi-public funders (First 5 California, Children’s

Services Council, FL)

State and Local

Funders: More

Than Money

Private46%

Community

Foundation

25%

Corporation/Corporate

Foundation21%

Other*6%

Public Foundation3%

*Includes: Donor-Advised, Health

Org., Chamber of Commerce,

Quasi-Governmental NPO

Total = 114

Local Funder

Profile

• Sustain progress in states and communities

• Support state-level clustering and impact

• Leverage investments, connections and credibility to:

– Push for more seamless Bt3 systems and supports

– Engage caring adults: parents, volunteers, donors

– Invest in evidence and proof points

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State and Local

Funders: More

Than Money

• Des Moines joined GLR in 2011 with an investment of

$500,000; by 2014, five other Iowa cities had joined with a

total investment of $6.8 million.

• Dubuque is doubling down on the investment in the

Campaign to expand and reach two rural communities —

Jackson and Dyersville thanks to an anonymous donor.

This grant will be matched by the Community Foundation

of Greater Dubuque and will support three years of

Campaign activities.

• The Dubuque Campaign has also hired a full-time GLR

coordinator.

• The Iowa Council on Foundations’ education committee

made GLR a priority by joining with the Iowa Reading

Corps, Child & Family Policy Center — Third Grade

Literacy Forum and the Iowa Reading Research Center to

work together to help improve grade-level reading.

IOWA ─

example

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• Reading Success by Fourth Grade Campaign is led by

the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation.

• The Funder Collaborative for Reading Success includes

officials from more than a dozen banks, businesses and

foundations. The collaborative meets regularly to

consider proposals and make grants to strengthen and

advance early literacy skill development.

• Since its formation in 2010, the group has contributed

$773,786 and committed another $108,962 to help

families support children’s language and literacy skills;

boost the ability of early childhood, after-school and

summer-learning programs to provide high-quality

programs for young children; and increase children’s

access to these programs.

Springfield,

MA

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Provide local funders with:

• Information that will answer key questions —

What works? Where? Why?

• Tools to use in driving results in communities

• Supports that encourage and facilitate peer

engagement, sharing and replication

Build National

Community

Support

Center (NCSC)

Capacity

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Network

Communities

Support

Center

(NCSC)

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The NCSC functions as a hub, broker and

accelerator that supports communities in producing

results.

“Hub” by serving as

the curator of learning

communities and as the

navigator for the

distribution channel

“Broker” by offering

communities access to tools,

experts and information

needed to develop the

capacities (leadership,

resources and skills) to

execute their plans.

“Accelerator” by finding

and creating catalytic

events, awards and other

opportunities designed to

increase the scope and

pace of change

Questions and Comments

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