National Children's Reading Foundation Awarded $3.8 Million for Early Childhood Literacy

KENNEWICK, Wash.

The U.S. Department of Education today awarded the National Children's Reading Foundation an Innovative Approaches to Literacy two-year grant for $3.8 million.

The Reading Foundation will use the grant to provide its groundbreaking literacy and early learning initiatives to serve 16 very high-poverty school districts and communities in states across the country. States include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico, Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and Maryland.

"Reading is a vital skill for success in school and life, and the strongest indicator of a child's future academic outcomes," said Nancy Kerr, the National Children's Reading Foundation president. "This grant will help us provide literacy skills and early learning tools to more families, ensuring every child succeeds in school."

The Reading Foundation early learning initiatives to be delivered as part of the grant include:

• READY! for Kindergarten classes. READY! provides training and tools for parents and caregivers, equipping them to help children birth to age five develop strong brain connections, ensuring school success. Studies show nearly 80 percent of children whose parents take part in READY! meet the kindergarten reading readiness standard regardless of family income or ethnicity, compared to 55 percent of children whose parents do not attend.
• Read Up program. This summer literacy program helps keep reading as part of daily summer routines by providing free books and weekly story times for children birth to eight. The program aims to reverse the "summer slide," a situation where students lose up to three months of reading skills when school is out.
• Testing and evaluation of an early learning mobile app.
• Formal educational evaluation of 4-year old students, partnering with Washington State University Tri-Cities.

Rick Donahoe, the National Children's Reading Foundation's grant director, will manage the grant's implementation.

"We know through our decades of work and research that parents and caregivers are a child's first, and most influential teachers," said Donahoe. "This grant will enable us to expand our reach to support even more young readers from birth to age five."

About The Children's Reading Foundation: The nonprofit National Children's Reading Foundation is headquartered in Kennewick, Wash. The organization was founded in 1996 with the vision that every child learns to read early and well, thereby reaching his or her full potential in school and life. The reading foundation developed and delivers national programs focused on reading skills and school readiness for children birth to age five. The organization also helps establish local Children's Reading Foundation chapters in communities across the country. Learn more at: http://www.ReadingFoundation.org.

Read with a child. It's the most important 20 minutes of your day.

To post a comment, you must register and login.