Champaign County Children’s Literacy Foundation

Why create a Literacy Foundation? Economic Impact Improves the development of the wider community (begintoread.com) Literacy can lift individuals out of poverty As many as 75% of individuals on public assistance are functionally illiterate Improves the development of the wider community Greatly improves individual health/healthier individuals Reduces teen pregnancy rates Reduces crime rates Two-thirds of children who can’t read by the end of 4th grade will end up incarcerated or on public assistance 85% of all children involved in the juvenile justice system are functionally illiterate (3rd grade reading level) Did you know that states use the 3rd grade reading and math proficiency tests to estimate the number of inmates for prisons?

Age 0-5 Critically Important for Development Experiences in these early years establish the foundation for children’s capacity to learn and thrive when they reach school. Early reading and early math skills have been identified as foundational elements of future learning, and have been linked to both school readiness and future academic success Early childhood experiences shape language development and are associated with school readiness, early reading success, and effective grade progression A child’s readiness for school establishes a pathway to later academic achievement

Kindergarten readiness data: Champaign County

Kindergarten Readiness in Champaign County On average over 60% of the children entering Kindergarten in Champaign County are not Kindergarten ready

The Birth of a Movement 2016 – 2017 School Year Graham Local Schools United Way Partnership Established Community Connectors Grant Community Partners Establish Focused Literacy Goals Make early childhood literacy a community focus Increase 3rd grade reading scores Increase kindergarten readiness scores Books into the hands of preschool aged children

The Graham Story Coordinator ESC Facilitator Develop Strategic Plan Engage volunteers/service organizations & churches Train volunteers Designed Mentor curriculum Establish protocol in schools ESC Facilitator Development of coordinator position Fiscal oversight of Community Connectors Grant Hired Coordinator to ESC Staff

The Graham Story Hosted Family Literacy Nights Bingo for Books/STEAM family challenge Community Engagement through book giveaways & events St. Paris Community Christmas in the village YMCA Healthy Kids Day Speaking Engagements Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Expo Event Trained group of Urbana University Faculty Trained YMCA Before and After Care Staff Hosted “Write” to Read Week activities Developed Mentor Curriculum Trained, Managed and Evaluated Mentors Established Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program within District

The Foundation Today 2017-2018 Schools Initial Underwriter Enhanced Community Partner Network Diversified Funding Host Family Literacy Nights in all 5 districts as an add-on to existing parent nights Community Engagement through book giveaways & events Social Media Presence Speaking Engagements Service Organizations, Churches etc. Establish Mentor Curriculum in all 5 schools in district Train, Manage and Evaluate Mentors Fundraise for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program within District Plan/Organize Large Fundraiser Event

Community Partnerships United Way Madison-Champaign ESC All 5 Schools in Champaign County District Urbana City Schools Graham Local Schools Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools Triad Local Schools West Liberty Salem Schools YMCA Urbana University Champaign County Chamber of Commerce Champaign Economic Partnership Mental Health Drug & Alcohol Services Board of Logan & Champaign Counties Champaign County Library

Components of the Foundation Mentoring 40 Developmental Assets DPIL Literacy Research KRN

Mentoring Program Based at every elementary school in Champaign County Grades 4 and 5 Focused on 40 Developmental Assets Asset building directly correlates to literacy and community development Mentors –back ground check/fingerprinted 30 trained mentors

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Puts age appropriate books in the home of children ages 0-5 Inspires a love of reading Promotes family bonding Children enrolled in DPIL: 28% increase in children ready for Kindergarten Score 23% higher on 3rd grade reading and math testing Parents who are illiterate show stronger efforts to find resources to learn/become literate

Kids Read Now Graham Story Graham Elementary had 65% of the K-3 population enrolled (388 students) 30% of the students enrolled completed the program (116 students) 76% of students read and reported at least 1 book 93% of parents would recommend the program 83% of parents say their child is reading more because of the program

Kids Read Now Highlights Mechanicsburg Generates excitement around reading Addresses summer slide for all kids Puts books in the hands of kids Provides districts with data throughout the process Supports our balanced literacy framework at a low cost On Boarding process is fairly easy and is well supported 88% of students enrolled in the 1st year 63% of students reported books read 83% of parents reported increased reading

Tips and Tricks for Implementation Mechanicsburg Consider what to do for students that are not enrolled - we sent home book baggies Explore auto enrollment of students in the future Plan frequent school reminders throughout the summer via various social media outlets Host summer events that provide opportunities to read and report books Visit classrooms to generate excited around the program Use organizations in the community to support reporting (PTO, Library, Churches) Incentivize participation individually and as grade levels Use social media to celebrate along the way Monitor participation data throughout the process

The Foundation’s Next Chapter Multi-county Implementation Madison & Clark Counties Diversified funding Long term efficacy tracking Year over year

Contact Dr. Dan Kaffenbarger, Superintendent Madison-Champaign ESC Daniel.kaffenbarger@mccesc.org Jennifer Harvey, Coordinator Champaign County Children’s Literacy Foundation Jennifer.Harvey@mccesc.org Danielle Prohaska, Superintendent Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools prohaskad@mcburg.org Kirk Koennecke, Superintendent Graham Local Schools koenneckek@grahamlocalschools.org

Kids Read Now Kevin Sorice