BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//LEO | Learning & Engagement Opportunities Network - ECPv6.15.3//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:LEO | Learning & Engagement Opportunities Network X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net X-WR-CALDESC:Events for LEO | Learning & Engagement Opportunities Network REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20230312T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20231105T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20240310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230919T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230919T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063639 CREATED:20230906T180605Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231016T183359Z UID:243478-1695135600-1695141000@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:SOS: New Data Indicate Stalled Progress in Learning Recovery & Some Bright Spots DESCRIPTION:What really needs to be top of mind this year is getting schools to consider whether the response\, the scale of their response\, is actually matching the magnitude of the problem. So\, it’s really critical to be thinking about recovery\, not just as a multiyear effort with layered supports\, and be clear eyed that this is an effort that will undoubtedly extend past the availability of those federal recovery funds”— Karyn Lewis\, Ph.D.\, NWEA\, a division of HMH \nThis Learning Loss Recovery Challenge webinar engaged data experts from several renowned research institutions that had recently released data reports on the state of student learning in the United States\, representing a call to action for all who care about early school success.  \nIn a conversation moderated by Hedy Chang of Attendance Works\, the panel shared details about the magnitude of learning loss and some bright spots\, emphasizing the need for a long view as we explore opportunities to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our most vulnerable children. \nKaryn Lewis\, Ph.D. with NWEA shared the findings of NWEA’s recently released report on longitudinal student achievement data from the MAP Growth\, which is used in about 25% of public schools. The data represent both achievement and growth data. While there has been some growth and progress\, during the past year this progress slowed. Lewis noted achievement gaps that existed pre-pandemic have only widened and marginalized students have the highest need for recovery supports. \nJennifer Sattem of Curriculum Associates shared information from two recently released reports focused on data from the I-Ready Diagnostics. The data also show that student achievement has stalled and students in the earliest grades have the largest amounts of unfinished learning. Sattem described the potential for learning recovery through the use of Stretch Growth coupled with professional development for teachers in setting learning goals for students. \nPeggy Carr\, Ph.D.\, Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics shared data from the most recent NAEP test and from the cohort using the School Pulse Survey\, which monitors use of strategies for learning recovery among other indicators. Carr noted the importance of distinguishing between high-dosage tutoring and standard tutoring and monitoring the effectiveness of the models. She also shared recent chronic absence data\, noting strategies to mitigate learning loss will work only if students are in school. \nAvery Cambridge with McKinsey & Company shared their analysis of NAEP data\, which looks particularly at differences among states and where the disparities between lowest and highest performers landed — some states had low disparities while others were quite large. McKinsey also looked at Bright Spot districts and states and offered examples of implementation strategies that were working to reduce learning loss.  \nThe panel agreed that braiding strategies with high-quality instructional materials and professional development for teachers was fundamental to success. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/sos-new-data/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Casey-2016-BAL_1246-e1694023484255.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230926T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230926T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063639 CREATED:20230906T163922Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231208T175602Z UID:243471-1695731400-1695736800@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Rx Kids: A Prescription for Improved Child Health & Well-Being in Flint\, Michigan DESCRIPTION:“We do good\, but we often fail to really address root cause issues. And in Flint and communities across the nation\, one of the most toxic\, one of the most pathogenic root cause issues that predicts the success of our children\, our families\, is poverty.”  \n\n\n\n\nDr. Mona Hanna-Attisha\, the head of Rx Kids who is also affiliated with Michigan State University and the Pediatric Public Health Initiative\, shared the above comment in this Funder-to-Funder Conversation as she underscored the need for programs like Rx Kids. \nIn a session moderated by Dr. Robert K. Ross of The California Endowment\, Hanna-Attisha was joined by Luke Shaefer\, Ph.D.\, of Poverty Solutions at University of Michigan and Neal Hegarty of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as they shared an in-depth overview of this transformational effort designed to alleviate infant poverty in Flint\, Michigan\, and beyond. The initiative received a $15 million challenge grant from the Mott Foundation this spring and the partners have leveraged that initial investment\, raising about $40 million of the projected $55 million cost. Scheduled to launch in early 2024 Rx Kids will prescribe all expectant mothers in Flint a one-time prenatal cash allowance of $1\,500 and all infants born in Flint a monthly allowance of $500 during the first year of life. While there are a growing number of guaranteed basic income programs in communities across the country\, the presenters noted that Rx Kids was unique in that it is the first citywide program of its kind. \nShaefer shared highlights from the deep body of research undergirding this effort—the benefits of cash allowances and a universal approach\, the poverty spikes experienced by many families around the time of birth\, and the benefits this kind of financial support has on food security\, access to books and parent-child interactions. He also explained how the partners worked with state leaders to secure TANF funding\, utilizing the flexibility built into that block grant and the provision for Non-Recurrent Short-Term benefits to cover four of the 12 monthly payments to families with infants. \n“We were able to make the case that this could chart a new path of providing the support to families during a critical\, acute\, and economically challenging time that is also developmentally important\, and complement that with the incredible philanthropic support of C.S. Mott and other foundations\,” Shaefer stated. \nHegarty offered the funder perspective on the initiative\, noting that the board and staff at the Mott Foundation were enthusiastic about the idea. But they initially struggled with it because “it didn’t fit neatly into any of [their] boxes….It’s a little bit policy\, a little bit poverty\, a little bit child and maternal health\, and a little bit community development.” But they also recognized the innovation and research undergirding the idea and its potential to both have a powerful impact locally and scale nationally\, enabling them to make the initial investment with unanimous board support. \nWith that dual focus on effective implementation in Flint and scaling beyond\, the partners are creating a playbook and carefully evaluating the impact of the effort. They are tracking its impact on frequency of prenatal and pediatric visits\, birth and child outcomes\, and the local economy\, as well as its impact on the social contract and trust in government and institutions—trust that was greatly harmed by the water crisis. The partners are already in conversation with elected officials in other communities and at the federal level\, noting that a relatively modest federal investment of $10 billion could enable the scaling of Rx Kids to reach every baby on Medicaid nationwide. \nRoss commended the partners for their success in not only crafting a comprehensive\, research-based approach but also helping to change the narrative about support for families from a frame of “welfare and charity” to one of “investment and prevention.” \nAfter their presentation\, Ross invited Dona Ponepinto of United Way of Pierce County to share her reflections on their overview of Rx Kids and the work that UWPC is doing to alleviate poverty. She lifted up the focus on joy\, love\, storytelling\, trust and dignity in what the presenters had shared and commended them for addressing the underlying systems and their efforts to change the narrative and create a scalable model. She shared that Tacoma was a part of a guaranteed basic income demonstration and UWPC was a part of a Poverty Reduction Work Group. UWPC is also working to advance policy changes to better support the ALICE — Asset-Limited\, Income Constrained\, Employed — population in Pierce County. \nPonepinto stated: “What I’m leaving with from the conversation is that this is doable. The resources are there. We know the benefits of this cash assistance system. How can we affect policy at a national level and utilize public and private resources in different ways to really address some of these root causes of poverty\, starting from birth and breaking that intergenerational cycle of poverty? URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/rx-kids-a-prescription-for-improved-child-health-well-being-in-flint-michigan/ CATEGORIES:Funder-to-Funder Conversation,Health,Parents,Past Event,Readiness ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Casey-2016-CLT_628.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230926T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230926T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063639 CREATED:20230921T205040Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230927T185850Z UID:243741-1695740400-1695745800@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Beyond the Headlines: What Data Tell Us a Year Later DESCRIPTION:Last November\, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading hosted a GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar discussing the sobering NAEP scores that had been recently released\, and this week we explored new reports from Curriculum Associates\, National Center for Education Statistics and NWEA\, revealing that learning recovery largely stalled during the last school year. These reports represent a call to action for all who are committed to early school success — action that can be informed by the innovations and successful efforts emerging in communities across the country. \nLast year\, we spoke with representatives of charter\, urban\, rural\, defense education and Catholic schools\, exploring insights\, successes and lessons learned as education leaders work to accelerate equitable learning recovery for those most impacted by the pandemic. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this session\, we engaged these leaders again to hear more about the strategies they are employing\, where they are gaining traction and their plans for the coming year. Despite the sobering data\, many bright spots exist\, and these early successes can inform action over the coming year. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/beyond-the-headlines-what-data-tell-us-a-year-later/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Blog-3-Digital-Equity-Image-3-1-scaled-e1695330754405.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231003T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231003T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063640 CREATED:20230921T210317Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250113T073216Z UID:243750-1696345200-1696350600@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Taking Action: Accelerating Equitable Learning Recovery DESCRIPTION:In 1983\, “A Nation at Risk” brought the conversation of education reform to the American public. In the following years\, bipartisan accountability efforts such as No Child Left Behind increased student achievement\, particularly in math\, having the greatest effect on the lowest achieving students\, low-income students\, and Black and Hispanic students. During this week’s GLR Learning Tuesdays session\, Taking Action: Accelerating Equitable Learning Recovery\, Michael Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute explained what happened next: “This bipartisan effort came to an end…. That has made it much harder for people at the state and national levels to work across the aisle on the meat and potatoes of trying to improve our schools. And of course after the pandemic with this terrible learning loss…plus the terrible mental health crisis\, we have big challenges. So we need people to come together and to try to find solutions.” \nPetrilli shared how a diverse group of thought leaders have responded to these big challenges\, coming together to develop a new call to action: “A Generation at Risk: A Call to Action.” Petrilli noted that coalitions and communities can replicate this approach by bringing together their own working group and provided recommendations on forming a group. The group should: \n\nInclude no more than 20 people;\nBe diverse in all the ways that matter;\nFocus on solving problems;\nIdentify effective facilitators to lead the session;\nAllow time for getting to know one another; and\nDo a lot of talking and listening before putting words on paper.\n\nJean-Claude Brizard of Digital Promise was one of the members of this working group and a signer of the resulting call to action. He talked about ways to “make learning ubiquitous. And how do we capture learning 365 days of the year? Our system is not set up for that. Learning does not have to happen only between the walls of the school.” This kind of thinking requires redefining what we consider success within education. For Brizard\, success looks like economic opportunity\, well-being and personal agency. \nBruno V. Manno of the Walton Family Foundation echoed Brizard: “This is not just a school problem. This is a community problem that we all need to participate in solving.” He framed a community-wide recovery strategy with four steps: \n\nCommunicate that there is a problem and what the problem is.\nDevelop a plan that includes strategies we know work when implemented in a consistent and serious way.\nImplement an accountability strategy that looks at an enlarged meaning of success and tracks progress toward this.\nFocus financial and human resources of the school and community toward this recovery work.\n\nThe panelists urged the audience to work in communities to provide pathways forward into the “ideological heartland” (Manno) because “this is about the future of our nation” (Brizard). URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/taking-action-accelerating-equitable-learning-recovery/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Casey-2016-BAL_1712-e1695330595435.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231010T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231010T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063640 CREATED:20230922T154755Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251124T061403Z UID:243785-1696941000-1696946400@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:What's Working: CGLR Communities with Learning-Rich Spaces in Everyday Places DESCRIPTION:Register for Nov 14\n \n \n \n \n \n Join us again on November 14 from 12:30-2pm ET for our next Crucible of Practice session! \n \n \n \n \n \n “We believe that it is critical that each of these everyday places and spaces should and could be a learning-rich environment for children.” –Siobhan O’Loughlin Reardon  \n\nThis session explored local efforts of building literacy and learning-rich environments into locations where families live\, work and play. \nThe meeting opened with remarks by CGLR’s Siobhan O’Loughlin Reardon establishing a foundation for the conversation and sharing a diagram depicting the “ecosystem of out-of-school learning opportunities.” Nurturing this ecosystem ensures that everyday places and spaces are transformed into accessible learning opportunities for all children and families. This is a crucial strategy to support early school success and general well-being in early childhood development. \nFollowing the opening remarks\, Lisa Greening of Turn the Page STL and Marissa Smith with WAKE Up and Read in North Carolina provided an overview of their CGLR coalitions\, how they are working to build learning-rich environments in their communities through unique partnerships\, and why this is an important area of investment. \n“WAKE Up and Read has invested in this out of love for our community and wanting to do what’s right for the children and families who live in Wake County\, NC. We believe that literacy is a right and every child deserves high-quality learning experiences.”  –Marissa Smith  \n“You have to listen to the people you are serving. What we knew with our strategic planning process is that you can’t just build something and expect people to go to it. You need to find out where families are\, talk with families\, and be where they are.”  –Lisa Greening  \nAttendees were then invited to join a breakout room discussion to further delve into conversation topics organized in four key areas: 1) inspiration and the early stages of projects; 2) interest and establishing partnerships for projects; 3) interaction and implementation of projects; and 4) investment and sustainability to keep things going. Joining the breakout room conversations were field expert guests\, including Alvin Irby\, Barbershop Books; Javier Maisonet\, MathTalk; Joanna Maniscalco\, Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County; Liz McChesney\, LaundryCares Foundation; and Brianna Ray\, Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County.   \n“There are engaging opportunities everywhere for families to go for learning and still be effective with supporting student growth.” –Marissa Smith  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Key Summary of Breakout Room Discussions \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Stage 1: Inspiration (early stages of projects) \n Locations for projects  \n\nInspiration can be found in consistent places where parents take their children.\nA similar example from two different organizations was shared of placing a learning corner with books in waiting rooms at the Department of Corrections and bringing books to family events at prisons. This also included enrolling children to receive books delivered to their homes.\nListen to communities about where to place projects and challenge folks to look at public spaces differently.\n\nProject co-creation and the infusion of family voice  \n\nJust because you give a child a book doesn’t mean they will read it. Relationships are also key.\nThe “lived-in” experiences of families are important when creating outcomes and measures. Value the voice of parents and families.\nDo a lot of listening in conversations with families to better understand their needs.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Stage 2: Interest (attracting critical partners for project development) \n Key partnerships  \n\nRelationships to develop include those with school principals and teachers\, barbershops and salons\, families\, libraries\, doctors\, city and public sector employees like the Parks and Recreation Department\, laundromats\, places where families access other services\, childcare centers\, Boys & Girls Clubs\, neighborhood community centers and places of worship.  \nProvide opportunities for partner agencies\, organizations and families to lead project development\, comment on what the spaces should look like\, and share how they would like their environments to be used to supplement learning. \nThese projects rely on collaboration. Be creative in considering potential partnerships. \nThis quote was shared\, “If you want to go fast\, go alone. If you want to go far\, go together.” \n\nOrganic nature of partnerships  \n\nBe mindful of possible barriers to capacity when so much of the work relies on humans and volunteers to implement projects. \nDoing “a lot with little” has been a trend\, especially for teams with smaller-sized staff. Creativity to cover everything becomes necessary. \nHigh turnover rate with some positions can be a barrier\, especially when relationships depend on trust.  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Stage 3: Interaction (implementation and interaction with children and families) \n Challenges and barriers with implementation  \n\nThere can be a sense of security in “doing things the way they’ve always been done” and this can be a barrier to creativity.  \nThink of logistics and how families get to the locations where projects are implemented. “Smooth the path for families.” \nIt’s important to provide culturally relevant materials with book selection. Representation matters and the materials should reflect the people\, children and families who live in the community places where these projects are located.  \nPartnerships are key to promoting interaction with the spaces after the projects are developed.  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Stage 4: Investment (sustainability) \n Outcomes\, evaluations and measuring success  \n\nWrap your outcomes around how you can engage with community\, stakeholders\, families and partner organizations\, ensuring the data can be gathered in ways that aren’t intrusive.   \nKnow what the project is driving toward over the long term when developing outcomes. What is the bigger picture? Focus on this in outcome design and link it back to project implementation.   \nSome of the outcomes will be survey driven to obtain the data\, so relationships built on trust become important in gathering the data needed for reports.  \nBe realistic with goals\, knowing the work and progress take time.  \nContinue to advocate for the value of family voice in evaluations and how anecdotal evidence is important and meaningful.   URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/whats-working-cglr-communities-with-learning-rich-spaces-in-everyday-places/ CATEGORIES:Crucible of Practice Salon,Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/3bc09969-efda-4c6f-a89d-87cb45321a1e-e1695397668328.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231010T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231010T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063640 CREATED:20230927T005206Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231013T175516Z UID:243883-1696950000-1696955400@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:What Is Next in Learning Recovery? National Organization Perspectives DESCRIPTION:“The data tells a story. I think one place where we can all improve at all levels is being able to turn this data into information and tell an effective story. Letting all of our groups not just respond and process it\, but have input in the solution. Ensuring that there is teacher voice at the table\, there’s school leader voice at the table\, there’s district voice at the table\, and\, most importantly\, there is student voice at the table\, because they’re the ones that are closest to the problem.”-Rosalyn Rice-Harris\, CCSSO  \nIn this webinar\, What Is Next in Learning Recovery? National Organization Perspectives\, attendees heard from leaders representing state chiefs\, superintendents\, and principals about smart investments currently happening at the school\, district\, and state levels\, as well as insights into what needs to change going forward.   \nGracie Branch\, Ph.D.\, of the National Association of Elementary School Principals\, talked about the importance of education leaders’ well-being\, the usefulness of communities of practice for school and district leaders\, and the importance of school-family-community relationships.  \nScott Hagerman\, Ed.D.\, superintendent of the Tanque Verde Unified School District in Arizona discussed the Professional Learning Community model used in his schools\, the importance of reprioritization in the face of unique needs and challenges\, and how repurposing what schools and districts already have can help to accelerate learning recovery.  \nAnn Levett\, Ed.D.\, with AASA\, the School Superintendents Association\, touched on providing staff and educator supports\, as well as the need for more initiatives to attract and retain teachers nationwide. Levett reiterated the importance of engaging with key partners both for teacher development and student success.   \nRosalyn Rice-Harris\, of the Council of Chief State School Officers also spoke about effective teacher supports\, as well as incentive initiatives and the need to put equity at the front and center of learning recovery. Rice-Harris shared information on impactful use of funding\, and stated that we should all be using data to tell a story and using the stories that data tell us to inform continued recovery efforts.   \n“We’re looking at how we can improve attendance\, making sure the students are present and the parents feel a part of the process. We’re also engaging with those other community partners who have a full investment in ensuring the students are successful. So when we look at the whole spectrum of support systems\, making sure that we are working in a way that students have full support\, and then set reasonable\, attainable goals with steady\, reliable and engaging support\, we will see the kind of progress we need to see.” -Ann Levett\, AASA URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/what-is-next-in-learning-recovery-national-organization-perspectives/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Blog-2-Kindergarten-Image-4-scaled-e1695776021405.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231017T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231017T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063640 CREATED:20231009T203146Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240105T162257Z UID:244168-1697545800-1697551200@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Bridging the Gap Between Home and School to Boost Attendance and Achievement DESCRIPTION:“People know that they need to engage families\, that relationships are key\, but they don’t always connect that to the incredibly important performance indicators we want for kids. That feels like a true opportunity moving forward\, to really capitalize on the demand that exists for family engagement….If you care about tutoring\, you de facto have to care about family engagement because a high-quality tutoring program is only going to be great if families know that it’s there and are excited about enrolling their kids.” – Stephanie Sharp  \nIn this Funder-to-Funder Conversation\,  Stephanie Sharp of Overdeck Family Foundation offered the reflection above as she underscored the importance of family engagement. Yolie Flores of Families In Schools moderated the session\, engaging funders\, researchers and family engagement leaders in a conversation about the impact that strong home-school partnerships can have on student achievement and attendance. Throughout the conversation\, the panelists stressed that trusting relationships are at the heart of their work\, frequently echoing Dr. Karen Mapp’s assertion that family engagement is a “must-have essential” rather than the “nice-to-have component” many have traditionally viewed it as.   \nAmbika Kapur of Carnegie Corporation of New York joined Sharp in highlighting the roles that funders can play in promoting family engagement. Both noted the importance of investing in efforts that foster demand for effective family engagement strategies and build the capacity of a wide range of research-based models to bridge the gap between home and school. Representing funders that invest in a number of education-focused strategies\, they highlighted how family engagement can enhance the impact of those other investments by building demand for them. Kapur shared recent highlights from a Grantmakers for Education report\, stating that\, while 60% of funders indicated an interest in family engagement\, only 8% of education support is directed at strengthening home-family relationships.   \n“We at the foundation have this belief that when parents are empowered as true partners in their children’s education\, students thrive\, schools are stronger and the whole community benefits.” – Ambika Kapur  \nEyal Bergman\, Ed.L.D.\, of Learning Heroes shared new quantitative data from a study it is conducting with TNTP. In this statewide study in Illinois\, the researchers compare student attendance and achievement in otherwise similar schools that had either strong or weak family engagement before the pandemic. Chronic absence rates in 2021–22 were 39% lower in schools that had stronger family engagement pre-pandemic while students in those schools experienced much smaller declines in both English Language Arts and math. The research team plans to build on this initial quantitative analysis by conducting qualitative analysis to understand what was happening in these different schools and districts. The team will use both the quantitative and qualitative data to inform the development of measurement tools to help schools track progress in implementing family engagement strategies. Bergman also shared several free resources offered by Learning Heroes to help schools\, districts and families collaborate.   \n“We want to see not just more investments but smarter investments. We know what works…. There are resources available. I think that a lot of times…folks don’t necessarily have a clear notion of how to invest. They might not necessarily have the mental models for what really compelling\, really good\, solidarity-driven family engagement actually looks like. This data can help us tell some of that story.” – Eyal Bergman\, Ed.L.D.  \nThe session also featured two examples of evidence-based family engagement models\, representing the wide range of approaches that schools can use from high-tech text models to high-touch home visiting approaches.   \nGina Martinez-Keddy introduced the Parent Teacher Home Visits model\, explaining how voluntary biannual home visits enable educators to develop trusting relationships with families that extend throughout the school year. She shared that educators are encouraged to ask families about their hopes and dreams for their child in the first home visit\, using the question to open up a different conversation and relationship. Martinez-Keddy also offered highlights from a research study that found the model resulted in significant decreases in chronic absenteeism and significant increases in English Language Arts proficiency rates.   \n“Trust is so fundamental to all other kinds of outcomes — attendance\, learning and social-emotional wellness. At Parent Teacher Home Visits\, we really pay attention to that foundation of trust. Because when you have trust between families and schools\, every other program\, every other intervention is probably going to work a whole lot better.” – Gina Martinez-Keddy  \nKate Pechacek\, M.Ed.\, explained how Talking Points leverages technology to strengthen communications and foster stronger relationships between educators and families. TalkingPoints automatically translates text messages between teachers and school staff into a family’s home language and then translates the family’s response back into English. She shared results from a five-year longitudinal study that found a causal relationship between TalkingPoints and improved math and reading proficiency and reduced rates of chronic absenteeism.   \n“We simply can’t survive in schools anymore without [strong family engagement]. We can’t just do more. We have to be smarter. And the smartest thing we can do is get families and schools to partner to support student success.” – Kate Pechacek\, TalkingPoints  URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/bridging-the-gap-between-home-and-school-to-boost-attendance-and-achievement/ CATEGORIES:Chronic Absence,Parents,Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/dunbar-friday_0066-e1701054808318.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231017T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231017T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063640 CREATED:20231004T200145Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231023T002142Z UID:244111-1697554800-1697560200@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:The First Month of School and Beyond: Nurturing Attendance Every Day DESCRIPTION:“One of the biggest things we have tended to do is focus a lot on the parents because they’re the ones that bring the kids to the school. So [we’re]…picking up on that part…not only celebrating the kids\, but also celebrating the parents. – Sandra Romero\, Children’s Aid Society\, New York \nIn this session\, CGLR hosted a conversation with experts at the district\, school\, community and city levels to hear the multifaceted approach each is using to partner with families to overcome attendance barriers and make attendance a priority strategy for laying the foundation for early school success. \nHedy Chang of Attendance Works started the discussion describing the exceptionally high chronic absence rates affecting young students in every community in the United States. Chang moderated the event\, where panelists shared details about communicating attendance and health policies\, developing routines at home and helping families understand how daily attendance in kindergarten improves student learning and well-being. They also described successful district-wide initiatives and how city leaders and community partners can support kindergarten attendance. \nLysandra Agosto\, MBA\, with Children’s Aid in New York noted that staff begin the school year with a warm welcome for students and families. Agosto shared that during orientation and periodically throughout the school year\, staff discuss with families the definition of chronic absenteeism and its impact on student achievement. Staff are trained on procedures around monitoring attendance and how to respectfully check in and provide support to families. Children’s Aid also created videos with students and parents sharing why they enjoy attending school. \nSandra Romero of Children’s Aid emphasized an intentional approach to building relationships with families. Key is celebrating families whenever possible\, including during parent teacher conferences and monthly parent cafes. They also take time to talk with families about the lost instructional time when the student is out and help parents/caregivers to develop routines at home that support getting children to school on time daily. \nAnel Garza of Marshalltown Community School District in Iowa explained that school staff listen to parents’ concerns or the barriers causing them to not bring their child to school\, which might be health related\, work related or a social\, emotional\, mental need. Whatever it is\, they listen with intent. Staff show the family the attendance data and tell them it is a school concern and how it’s impacting their child. When those two concerns are on the table\, they problem solve and come up with various solutions and say\, “let’s try this one first.” And if it doesn’t work\, they try something else. The attendance team meets weekly to problem solve and address individual student needs as they arise. \nBenjamin Barlow with Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) in New Mexico shared the district’s comprehensive approach\, which includes an awareness campaign with social media and a focus on capacity building for school teams. APS offers transformational coaching to support preschool and kindergarten teachers as they build their knowledge of chronic absence and apply practices to help families understand the critical benefits of early attendance. The coaching also focuses on supporting student groups facing additional challenges\, such as Native American students and students who are unhoused or in foster care. \nMonica Rossi\, MSW\, of Children’s Aid stressed the importance of making sure students have access to high-quality health care. She noted that many families need guidance for managing the common cold\, flu\, COVID-19\, asthma and any other illnesses children may face. Children’s Aid created a health manual for all school staff and a shorter version for families\, which includes a chart describing what families can do when a child is sick and when their child can return to school. \nBrandis Stockman with National League of Cities clarified that cities are invested in addressing chronic absenteeism\, because it makes a big difference in their communities by supporting high-quality schools\, community safety and an educated workforce. Mayors and city leaders can be partners in helping schools and districts address transportation barriers\, gain funding or organize a community-wide coalition\, as well as use their positions to promote attendance as a community priority. \nThe panel agreed that the priority activity in their attendance and engagement work is connecting parents and caregivers to develop trusting\, positive relationships that encourage families to bring their children to school each day. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/the-first-month-of-school-and-beyond-nurturing-attendance-every-day/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/96585-e1696448774838.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231024T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231024T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063640 CREATED:20231005T212328Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231027T203355Z UID:244148-1698159600-1698165000@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Building Parent Power: Fostering A Movement of Informed Learning Agents DESCRIPTION:In this GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, we explored why parent power is so important for changing education systems and achieving equitable learning recovery for students. Expert panelists from national and local parent-facing organizations shared strategies to build strong and functional relationships between teachers\, school staff and parents that create space for parents to exercise their innate power and leverage their deep knowledge of what makes their children successful.   \nModerator John Gomperts with CGLR began by engaging in a deep discussion with Alex Cortez of Bellwether. Cortez shared the concept of creating “actionable demand” for great schools\, which requires informing and organizing parents so they can exercise their power through intentional partnerships with educators and focused actions that influence change and support for their children. He emphasized why it is important to focus on parent POWER and building agency among parents: \n“All parents care about the education and future of their children. But caring isn’t the same as power. If a parent’s child is in a failing school system and they lack the economic power to move or the political power to drive change\, they are stuck. So for me\, changing education systems is unapologetically about power\, and how we support efforts that inform and organize parents so they can exercise their innate power — individually and collectively — to drive and sustain change.” \nCortez also reviewed Bellwether’s recent report featuring a series of case studies on local parent power organizations and their key strategies that can be replicated by local communities. Gomperts then engaged two leaders of national parent advocacy organizations: Shana McIver of Learning Heroes and Joann Mickens of Parents for Public Schools who offered their perspectives about the concepts shared by Cortez and the lessons captured in the report and how these connect to their own research and approaches. \nAfter speaking with the national leaders\, Gomperts engaged in a robust discussion with leaders from two of the local organizations profiled in the report: Daniel Anello of Kids First Chicago and Duanecia Evans Clark of FaithActs for Education in Connecticut\, along with Get Georgia Reading Campaign partner Bridget Ratajczak of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. From this panel of parent advocates\, we had the chance to learn what works to leverage the power of parents in their communities to make a real impact on a day-to-day basis and the ways they have been able to mobilize parents to partner in strategic and productive ways with educators and schools. Anello captured how important it is to give parents the space to set the agenda and follow their lead: \n“The reason we exist\, Kids First Chicago\, is to give parents the microphone and to get out of the way. Our job is to help them be successful in achieving whatever they tell us they want to pursue. So they have the agenda and their agenda is not blind to the expertise that is out there. We want them to have the information they need to make informed decisions. But at the end of the day\, they’re telling us where to go. And that is our model. We work very closely with the district. We work with whoever — frankly\, the city\, whoever the issue lies with\, that’s who we’re helping parents get in front of.” \nThank you for joining this week’s learning and engagement opportunity. We hope it was productive for you and that you will plan to join us again for future opportunities. In particular\, on November 21\, we will again be joined by Learning Heroes to explore brand new research from Gallup revealing more about the disconnect between parents’ perception of their child’s achievement and the reality\, along with workable solutions to this issue. \n\n\n\n  URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/building-parent-power-fostering-a-movement-of-informed-learning-agents/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/439c6d4f-5365-41f3-b0c5-a1925108c1f6-e1696540942995.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231031T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231031T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063641 CREATED:20231019T060703Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231213T133223Z UID:244269-1698764400-1698769800@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Making Money Matter DESCRIPTION:“It is a hugely high stakes issue…..it is not just the investments and money\, we need to make sure the policies are there to produce the biggest impact.”  \nMatthew H. Joseph of ExcelinED offered this advice during the October 31\, 2023 GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, Making Money Matter. He explained that $1\,000 can have double the impact on students from low-income families when we shift our focus “from inputs and micromanagement to say that what you really want to do is hold school districts accountable for outcomes.” This sentiment was echoed by Zahava Stadler of New America who talked about lessons learned from the ESSER funding cliff and reminded funders “not to get too minute.” Stadler explained that “districts got constant warnings about the fiscal cliff. Don’t spend this one-time money on recurring costs like staff\, that would be irresponsible from a budgeting perspective. But you know what would be irresponsible? Trying to do anything in education without people.” This is just what Rochelle Wilcox of Wilcox Academy of Early Learning did while trying to increase funding for care for children during their “first 100 days” of life\, she brought together her New Orleans community\, training community members to be advocates for what will make the biggest impact for these children.  \nAleah Guthrie of Tennessee SCORE posed the question\, “So how do you target your funds to student need in the way that funds are generated? How do you do more with still finite funds? How do you tell your story in a way that builds public confidence in the expenditure decisions that you’re making and that includes reporting?” One way that Tennessee did this was pairing legislation with a new approach to education funding that drew the focus back to students and their progress. For Andrea Figueroa\, MPA\, CNP\, of the San Antonio Area Foundation they made both infrastructure and structural change to invest their dollars where the need is greatest. They looked closely at 17 ZIP codes and partnered with stakeholders and superintendents to target young people and their families.  \nThere are many concerns across the country regarding funding and distribution of resources. Elizabeth Gaines of the Children’s Funding Project reminded attendees that it is our responsibility to “figure out how to harness [resources] to support our youngest learners\,” creating a space that is equitable and impactful.  URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/making-money-matter/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CASEYKINETIK2015_Thurs00981-e1697695571640.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231107T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231107T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063641 CREATED:20231017T203901Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231113T165835Z UID:244255-1699369200-1699374600@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Early Grade Retention: A Conversation About the Potential Benefits and Risks DESCRIPTION:“Research also shows that Black\, Latino\, native students and students from low-income backgrounds are more likely to be retained\, and these students are less likely to have consistent access to learning resources and opportunities. We have studies that show that retaining students is correlated with negative social\, emotional and academic outcomes over time. In particular\, we’re looking at things like students who repeat a grade are more likely to experience bullying or be a bully themselves.”-Kristen Hengtgen\, Ph.D. Education Trust \nIn this GLR Learning Tuesdays Learning Loss Recovery Challenge webinar​​​​\, CGLR hosted a conversation with data experts from several exemplary research institutions. These organizations have released data reports on early grade retention\, representing a range of views on the practice as well as a national scan of Pre-K – Grade 3 early learning policies. Our moderator Nyshawana Francis-Taylor\, Ed.D.\, of The School District of Philadelphia brought her perspective as an administrator\, educator and mother to our panel of research and policy leaders. \nDavid Griffith of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute shared the findings of a recent report that questions the long-held notion that retention has negative impacts for young kids. The Fordham brief looked at two decades of research and found that in some cases early grade retention has positive lasting impacts into middle school. Griffith comments about the new brief: “I think the reason we call it ‘Think Again’ is that people should reconsider. There’s real evidence that this can help kids.” \nCasey Sullivan Taylor\, Ed.S.\, with ExcelinEd shared examples of positive impacts of retention policies in states and stressed the importance of a comprehensive set of supports and interventions to address early learning for students who are not meeting benchmarks. Sullivan Taylor highlighted the work in Mississippi as an exemplar model. \nKristin Hengtgen\, Ph.D.\, with Education Trust brought an opposing view and shared the results of the research conducted by Ed Trust that calls out the disproportionate retention rates for children of color and lower-socioeconomic status. Hengtgen noted multiple risks including bullying\, lower self-esteem\, reduced sense of belonging and lack of access to high-quality supports for many students. \nAdrienne Fischer with The Education Commission of the States provided a national overview of the current state policies relating to early literacy. She shared that many states are looking to align early center-based care; pre-K; Head Start; and Family\, Friend and Neighbor care supports to prepare more children for kindergarten and hopefully reduce the need for retention in later grades. \nWhat remains clear as Casey Sullivan Taylor notes below is that regardless of policies that mandate retention\, teacher preparedness\, high-quality curriculum for all students and more intensive supports for struggling readers is fundamental to addressing learning recovery. \n“I like to be sure and highlight the fact that where we’re seeing this positive outcome around retention is in the early grades\, and it’s also part of a larger\, comprehensive early literacy package approach. So\, the policy isn’t just about retention alone. It’s really much more about focusing on a preventative model so that we have supports for kids beginning in kindergarten and supporting them all the way through to third grade. So we hopefully intervene in a meaningful way and support them to a point that they won’t need the retention year.” -Casey Sullivan Taylor\, Ed.S.\, ExcelinEd URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/early-grade-retention-a-conversation-about-the-potential-benefits-and-risks/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/readingbook-e1697575090104.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231114T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231114T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063641 CREATED:20231022T215754Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231121T073314Z UID:244307-1699965000-1699970400@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:#BetterTogether: A Collective Impact Coalition’s Journey for Literacy Equity in Detroit DESCRIPTION:“One of the things that all organizations need to be mindful of is\, do they\, in fact\, have people who’ve ever experienced what real collaboration looks like? What does that look like at the community or cross-systems level? What is this thing called collaboration? Because collaboration is built on the spirit of cooperation.” – Jametta Lilly    \nThis session reviewed the application of the collective impact model by sharing the story of 313Reads and taking a deeper dive in breakout room conversations with attendees. The meeting opened with a land acknowledgment for the area in Detroit and the lands of the Odawa\, Ojibwa\, Potawatomi and Fox tribes to set the intention for continuous learning. Following the land acknowledgment\, the icebreaker question encouraged attendees to share resources or books that have been helpful for understanding the various perspectives and stories from people who have been silenced or marginalized. The list shared can be found with the resources toward the end of this summary.     \n“The check-in question is important because we know there are more books out there that we can show and teach our youth about so they can see themselves in these spaces.” – Alejandra Gomez  \nCollective impact\, as defined by the Collective Impact Forum is: “A network of community members\, organizations and institutions who advance equity by learning together\, aligning and integrating their actions to achieve population and systems level change.” The five essential conditions of collective impact include: 1) a common agenda\, 2) shared measures\, 3) mutually reinforcing activities\, 4) continuous communication and 5) a backbone organization. Summarizing the definition and these five conditions established a foundation for the rest of the session.     \n“We’ve worked really hard over the last three and a half years to center literacy as a civil and human right. Literacy is about equity\, justice and liberation.”– Leah van Belle\, Ph.D.   \nLeah van Belle with 313Reads set the context of what drives their coalition by describing the conditions that have held inequities in literacy in place\, specifically for marginalized populations within the community. This framed how the coalition approaches the work as a whole and seeks to establish equity and access for literacy as a civil and human right. 313Reads uses the collective impact model to align and organize their efforts at scale. The structure of the coalition includes an advisory board composed of program partners\, funders and systems-level members; a backbone team; and work groups dedicated to specific areas. Andrea Meyer with Center for Success and Alejandra Gomez with Urban Neighborhood Initiatives described the essential changes that happened for the coalition as they reevaluated their structure and approach.   \n“This work has to be embedded and entrenched in the efforts of the organizations that are partnering. They may have a piece of it rather than the whole big picture. But we want to make sure that we’re not asking folks to pivot and do something different. We want to lean into what they’re already doing and build up the skill set and the understandings of their team or access to resources.” – Andrea Meyer  \n“Moving at the speed of trust is also ensuring and knowing that trust does take time\, and this must be balanced with the work that needs to happen yesterday and as soon as possible.” – Alejandra Gomez  \nThe team found a call to action to “live” the work as a collective impact initiative\, and this influenced the realignment of the vision\, mission and strategic plan for the coalition. The charter\, governance and relationship management of partners and work groups also reformed to intentionally embed more distributed leadership and shared ownership among collaborative members. Meyer and Gomez also described proof points of these changes as evidenced by key community-wide events and the growth of programs that yielded positive results. Jametta Lilly from the Detroit Parent Network reviewed the current challenges\, how the team is addressing these and the next steps that frame the work for the coming year. Leah van Belle concluded with the growth and upcoming changes the team members are most excited about as they look ahead to 2024.    \n“To do collective impact work\, you have to be in it for the long haul. The long haul isn’t a two-year\, three-year\, or even a four- or five-year grant. It means that not only do we need people to come together who are mission focused and understand that we have a commitment\,we also need partners who are a part of the work\, because the collective impact entity is only one part of the iceberg. It needs to also have other organizations working to leverage their own funds\, to give life into the kinds of activities and strategies that the coalition can lead.” – Jametta Lilly   \nAttendees were then invited to join breakout rooms for an exchange of ideas about challenges and approaches from the perspective of program partners or steering committee members. The session ended with participants coming back together as a large group and sharing a few key takeaways. The CGLR communities recognized with Pacesetter Honors\, as Bright Spots and as having “Exceptional” submissions in the Communications Expo were also shared at the end of the meeting.   URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/community-mobilization-and-a-shared-agenda-collective-impact-insights-with-313reads/ CATEGORIES:Crucible of Practice Salon,Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/early-literacy-e1698944800917.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231114T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231114T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063641 CREATED:20231022T220308Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231121T073302Z UID:244311-1699974000-1699979400@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Leaps and Bounds: How Early Learning Supports the 'Mississippi Miracle'  DESCRIPTION:This GLR Learning Tuesdays Partner webinar gave attendees an opportunity to learn about Mississippi’s early learning efforts and gains in reading proficiency. Moderated by Micayla Tatum from Mississippi First\, this session featured a conversation with Jill Dent\, Ph.D.\, and Tenette Smith\, Ed.D.\, of the Mississippi Department of Education and Dr. Ruth Patterson of the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  \nThe webinar began with a look back at the last 20 years in the Mississippi early childhood and literacy landscape\, acknowledging how far scores have come and the long-term work and partnerships that have been essential to this state’s continued success. As both Tatum and Smith pointed out\, this was not a miracle\, rather a “marathon.” Collaboration across education\, medical\, legislative and other sectors laid the groundwork and has been the sustaining force behind the implementation of evidence-based practices at the pre-K and elementary levels. \n“For the early learning collaboratives\, they have to cooperate….You’ve got to work at it\, and it doesn’t just happen automatically….We may have differing opinions about things\, but we move past it and try to find a solution….The key is continuing those conversations.” – Jill Dent\, Ph.D.\, MS Department of Education \nKey takeaways from this conversation include: \n\nSustained success depends on extensive support\, including training\, professional development and coaching.\nEarly intervention continues to be crucial in setting children up for success.\nLegislative buy-in and effective policy are major positive contributing factors to success.\nEstablishing and maintaining partnerships is key.\n\n“It’s about breaking down those silos and not letting the adult ego get in the way of providing services and supports for our kids in Mississippi….We are open and willing to make compromises because that compromise is going to get us to the end result. That end result is student outcomes and ensuring that our kiddos are becoming productive citizens\, able to function in Mississippi\, be parents\, be part of the community.” \n– Tenette Smith\, Ed.D.\, MS Department of Education URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/leaps-and-bounds-foundational-early-learning-and-the-mississippi-miracle/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Blog-2-Kindergarten-Image-5-e1698012115261.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231121T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231121T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063641 CREATED:20231027T202647Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231127T030546Z UID:244449-1700569800-1700575200@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Early School Success: Bolstering the Vital Early Learning Workforce DESCRIPTION:“I think of philanthropy’s unique role as the ‘shifter’ — how we shift the conversation\, the policy and research conversations from ‘here’s how the system is broken’ to actually defining what we want in the ideal future in a very tangible way….I think philanthropy can also shift the power dynamics by treating early childhood educators and their professional associations as the professionals that we say they are — and that certainly includes both compensation as well as professional autonomy.” – Marica Cox Mitchell\, Bainum Family Foundation \nMarica Cox Mitchell of the Bainum Family Foundation offered the above reflection during the November 21\, 2023 Funder-to-Funder Conversation exploring philanthropic efforts to better support the early learning educators caring for children in the birth to age 5 space. \nJacqueline Jones\, Ph.D.\, the former President and CEO of the Foundation for Child Development\, moderated the conversation that also included Leslie Dozono of Ballmer Group; Cathrine Aasen Floyd\, Ph.D.\, of Trust for Learning; and Rebecca E. Gomez\, Ed.D.\, of Heising-Simons Foundation. The panelists discussed how they are working at the local\, state and national levels\, individually and in collaboration with other funders\, to address the wide range of issues related to the early care and education (ECE) workforce\, including the workforce pipeline\, educator preparation and access to credentialing\, recruitment and retention\, compensation\, and comprehensive systems change. \nThe panelists talked about how their respective efforts were seeking to “reimagine” the system as a whole to better support early learning educators\, including: \n\nBallmer Group’s $43 million investment in Washington state to strengthen and diversify the workforce pipeline\, advocate for the adoption of a new cost of quality model\, and increase the collective power of Black\, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders in the early childhood policy space.\nBainum Family Foundation’s investment in the WeVision EarlyEd initiative\, which is providing resources and space for families\, early childhood educators and administrators to transcend their current realities and the current pain points in the system to articulate what they want to see in their reimagined experience.\nHeising-Simons Foundation’s work as a part of the Early Educator Investment Collaborative to build awareness of the systemic problems and to seed efforts to address issues related to ECE preparation and compensation\, including recent three-year grants to three states to help them transform their approaches to compensation\nTrust for Learning’s Seeding Equitable Educator Development (SEED) Fund\, which provided funding to nine projects across the country and invited them to tailor the usage of those funds to create a more equitable early learning system in their local context.\n\nThey stressed the importance of working in partnership with educators\, families\, providers\, communities and other “proximity experts\,” with Floyd noting: \n“While we might consider ourselves experts in various segments\, we’re not as well versed to go into a community and tell them what it is that they need as they are to tell us what they need. I love the way Trust for Learning ran our SEED fund — really talking to communities about what it is that they need and then allowing them to come in with an application that would address those needs better than we ever could.” \nStressing the fact that these racial\, class and gender inequities — and efforts to address them — have existed for decades\, they noted that the pandemic shone a light on the issues and provided a window of opportunity for change. They noted that change will require shifts in the long-standing mental models and power dynamics that hold the current system in place. \n“One outcome of the pandemic is much more attention on the role and importance of child care and thinking about it as a racial and gender equity issue\, which many of us have for a very long time\,” stated Dozono. “We are using that attention to finally gain momentum on workforce issues that have been really long entrenched. It seemed like great timing to add philanthropic fuel and to think about workforce in a variety of ways.” \nWhile the panelists agreed that changing entrenched systems is challenging and takes time\, they expressed optimism that change was possible — or even “inevitable” — with Gomez stating: \n“For a long time\, we’ve framed the workforce as an intractable problem. I’ve worked in two state systems and have done research on the workforce\, and I would say until very recently it was ‘this is really an impossible problem’….I’ve seen a lot of iterations of people saying\, ‘Since we can’t fix compensation\, let’s focus on preparation.’ I have been really pleased to interact with the field and with other funders in thinking about how we move beyond that. How do we think about compensation writ large? There does come a point where you can’t sort of put more on early childhood educators without thinking about that compensation piece. And I do think as a result of the pandemic\, the broader public started to realize this.” URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/early-school-success-bolstering-the-vital-early-learning-workforce/ CATEGORIES:Funder-to-Funder Conversation,Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Providence_Photos_0405-e1699407929729.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231121T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231121T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063641 CREATED:20231026T183103Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231213T132821Z UID:244379-1700578800-1700584200@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:B-flation: New Data Reveals Parent-Teacher Disconnect on Student Learning DESCRIPTION:In this November 21\, 2023 GLR Learning Tuesdays session\, co-sponsored by GLR strategic partner\, Learning Heroes\, we unpacked a new report called B-Flation: How Good Grades Can Sideline Parents produced by Learning Heroes with Gallup. The report breaks down brand new data about how parents get information about their children’s progress\, indicating that nearly 8 in 10 parents say that their child is receiving mostly B’s\, but B’s do not always mean that grade-level achievement is being reached in math and reading.  \nModerator Tracie Potts\, Chair of the Learning Heroes Advisory Board and Executive Director of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College\, began by engaging in a deep discussion with David Park of Learning Heroes. Potts first engaged Park in a deep exploration of the data and the findings in the new report\, emphasizing how important it is for teachers and parents to engage in working partnerships so that parents understand additional measures of performance beyond grades. Park helped us understand that grades are only one measure and that parents need more:    \n\nReport cards are great\, but they really measure [different aspects of performance] than just grade level. They measure attendance. And whether a child participated\, whether they handed in their homework. All of these things are very important. 64% of parents say that their child’s report card is the most helpful source of information to let their child know or let them know whether their child is performing on grade level. [Instead of relying on just grades\,] it’s important to give parents multiple measures of their child’s achievement.”  \n\nPotts then engaged a panel of local community leaders in a discussion of their solutions to this issue and how they are working with parents to ensure that they know how to approach their conferences with teachers and ask the right questions to understand how their children are progressing. Michele Connelly of the United Way of West Central Mississippi\, Lisa Greening of Turn the Page\, STL\, Kim Myers of Get Troup Reading in Georgia\, Rachel Powers of the Opportunity Trust in St. Louis\, and John Robinson of the Houston Area Urban League discussed how they are deploying tools from Learning Heroes’ Go Beyond Grades campaign and their other replicable strategies to help parents build working relationships with teachers and schools. Powers explained how important it is to provide parents both the information and the tools they need to take steps to build relationships with teachers:  \n\nWe know that when parents understand what the issue is\, they take action. And so that’s part of the work that we’re doing: really bring the issue to parents so they understand that there are other ways that they can look at how their children are succeeding in schools. What we don’t want to do is just equip parents with knowledge and no real direction to take and instead provide them with steps to take. And the Go Beyond Grades campaign has been a great way to give those tools to parents directly. In Missouri\, we’ve got a law now that requires parents to be notified when their child is not reading on grade level. And so we are using resources from the Go Beyond Grades campaign and can say\, ‘Parents\, now that you have the knowledge and the understanding\, here are some tools\, and here are some ways that we can walk through this together and really partner with teachers to make sure that we can get what’s best for your children.” \n\nThe session wrapped with Howard Winchester of Learning Heroes walking us through the updates and new tools available as part of the Go Beyond Grade campaign — and especially those that have been developed to directly respond to the issues emerging from the data. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/bflation-getting-parents-and-teachers-on-the-same-page-about-childrens-learning/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CASEYKINETIK2015_Thurs00371-e1698245893340.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231128T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231128T143000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063641 CREATED:20231108T230056Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231204T183339Z UID:244763-1701176400-1701181800@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:What Happens (or Doesn’t Happen) in One Generation Affects the Next: 2Gen Strategies for Alleviating Poverty\, Part 3 DESCRIPTION:United Way Worldwide (UWW)\, Ascend at the Aspen Institute and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) will host the final session of a three-part series of conversations designed to engage diverse voices and perspectives on two-generation (2Gen) approaches to reducing poverty. This session will focus on community-driven initiatives to help families access federal programs that provide income supports and improve economic opportunity. \nChild poverty is a persistent issue with lifetime and intergenerational consequences. More than a quarter of the people living in poverty in the United States receive no help from food stamps and other nutrition programs\, subsidized housing\, welfare and other cash benefits\, or child-care assistance. According to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration\, about 5 million potentially eligible taxpayers do not claim the credit each year\, resulting in about $7 billion in unclaimed benefits annually. Expanding federal and state policies and helping parents and caregivers access these benefits would reduce child poverty and improve long-term outcomes for children \nIn this session\, participants will be grounded in data that makes the case for addressing the benefit gap\, gain an appreciation for the current policy landscape which creates the context for advocacy\, local United Way’s will share how their strategies are shoring up programs– like 211\, increasing Medicaid funding for states\, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit\, WIC benefits\, and increasing monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits – policies and services designed to build financial stability. \nNationwide\, the concept of free and affordable tax preparation tied to asset development is embraced by a broad cross-section of neighborhoods\, cities\, community coalitions\, funders and policymakers. While we’ve learned a great deal about anti-poverty programs and policies\, there is still much to be accomplished. Join us on November 28th to hear more about what it takes to scale\, how to engage champions in the effort\, and the innovation that will inform the next generation of this work that will help families access the benefits they are entitled to. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/what-happens-or-doesnt-happen-in-one-generation-affects-the-next-2gen-strategies-for-alleviating-poverty-part-3/ CATEGORIES:Past Event,Peer Exchange Conversation ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CASEYKINETIK2015_Thurs00724-e1699387521456.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231128T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231128T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063641 CREATED:20231127T031355Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231213T133038Z UID:244976-1701183600-1701189000@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Collaborating for Kids: Climate Change\, Environmental Justice and Advocacy DESCRIPTION:“There are so many various issues\, but if we don’t have a livable world\, really\, what else are we doing? We have to tackle the issue that’s in front of us\, which is ensuring a future for our children\, for future generations.” — Liz Hurtado\, Moms Clean Air Force  \n\nIn the November 28\, 2023 GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, Lisa Guernsey of New America moderated a conversation with Eric Bucher\, Ed.D.\, of the Children’s Equity Project\, Liz Hurtado of Moms Clean Air Force and Dr. Joshua Sparrow of Brazelton Touchpoints Center. The session began with an in-depth explanation from Sparrow about climate change and its impacts\, both globally and on an individual level. Next\, Hurtado shared more about environmental impacts on health\, especially for young children. Bucher then drew connections between the importance of advocating for equity in the early childhood sphere and the realities of climate and environment.  \n\n“Every child deserves to have a quality early care and education experience\, and they deserve to have a space where they’re safe\, where they’re healthy\, where they have trusted caregivers who can build their bodies and their brains….We can’t ignore climate change if we are thinking about children as holistic learners\, as holistic developers.”  — Eric Bucher\, Ed.D.\, The Children’s Equity Project\, ASU  \n\nSome key takeaways from this conversation are:   \n\nAlthough the effects of climate change are dire\, there is hope and action to be taken. \nChildren\, and especially children in lower-income areas\, are disproportionately affected by environmental pollution and climate change. \nYouth voice needs to be part of the conversation. \nCivic action and policy are crucial to effect change. \nDisparate sectors need to come together and work collaboratively to address the growing challenges facing children to ensure a safe\, healthy future.  URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/collaborating-for-kids-climate-change-environmental-justice-and-advocacy/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/dunbar-friday_0066-e1701054808318.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231212T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231212T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20231204T220601Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231218T154341Z UID:245098-1702384200-1702389600@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Community Messaging to Build Awareness About Early Childhood Programs DESCRIPTION:“We invite our business leaders\, organizations and city leaders to come together to celebrate a love of reading. We really want to hone in on the importance of where kids are learning and that there’s a role for everyone across our community to play and help support that learning.” – Barb Lito   \nIn this Crucible of Practice Salon\, we were joined by Samantha Emerine from FAMILY\, Inc. in Council Bluffs\, Iowa\, and Barbara Lito from the City of Virginia Beach\, Virginia\, who shared examples of communication tools they use to inform community members about programs and resources for families and young children. These examples were recently recognized as “Exceptional” in CGLR’s 2023 Communication Expo.   \nFollowing the opening remarks and icebreaker\, Emerine provided an overview of Raise Me to Read and the focus areas within the coalition. Early childhood services and programs supporting children from birth to age 5 and their families are a core focus of the work. This is done through partnerships with program providers\, preschools and the local public library. Awareness about the programs and services offered is key to ensuring that families are accessing these resources. The two examples of communications tools Emerine shared include the kindergarten readiness brochure and the “Baby Reads” Campaign.       \n“If the information is not presented in a friendly or approachable way for families\, it might get overlooked. If families don’t see the information\, then it’s not doing anyone any good.” – Samanta Emerine  \nLito shared an overview of Virginia Beach GrowSmart\, the CGLR coalition\, and how the coalition functions within the economic development branch of the City of Virginia Beach. She described the coalition’s messaging under the “Virginia Beach Talks” campaign focused on early childhood programs. The outcomes of the campaign include connection and engagement with parents through evidence-based programs\, including LENA Start and story-sharing in parent groups\, and large-scale events\, such as their “Read Across America” Day.   \n“The intention of Virginia Beach Talks is to lift up the importance of early learning happening across a child’s life experience from age zero to 5 and connect and equip our adult caregivers\, parents and early educators for success.” – Barbara Lito    \nThe large group discussion pulled in two other CGLR community leads to provide examples of their communications work. Ashley Winslow from United Way of Wyoming Valley shared information about the recent project called the “Community Helpers video series\,” which is a series of 12 videos from community members in different occupations\, reading a book and messaging about the importance of reading. The video series is widely shared on the organization’s social media channels\, in classrooms and at the local library. Kim Myers from Get Troup Reading discussed the re-design of the Get Troup Reading website\, the intention behind the site and how the coalition is using it to communicate supportive resources as well as key data for their overall work. A Padlet was used for the remainder of the large group conversation to collect insights about some of the conversation starter questions.   URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/community-messaging-to-build-awareness-about-early-childhood-programs/ CATEGORIES:Crucible of Practice Salon,Past Event,Readiness ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CASEYKINETIK2015_Thurs01010-e1738314088552.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231212T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231212T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20231204T214620Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260203T141024Z UID:245090-1702393200-1702398600@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Stalled Learning Recovery and Bright Spots from 2023 DESCRIPTION:What is standing in our way? “In one word\, inertia\, resistance to change.”  \nKenneth B. Mason of the Georgia State Board of Education and the Southern Regional Education Board offered this perspective during this week’s GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, Stalled Learning Recovery & Bright Spots From 2023.  \nAs this session looked back at several 2023 sessions on data and learning to inform the path forward in education\, we saw the same themes repeat again and again.  \n\nGrowth lags behind pre-pandemic trends creating a compounding debt for unfinished learning.  \nGaps can’t be addressed in one year or with one intervention. \nInvestment in teachers’ learning is necessary and works to accelerate student achievement. \nHigh-quality curriculum and programs are necessary and have to be implemented with fidelity. \nTargeted interventions work and are needed to mitigate learning loss. \n\nYolie Flores of Families In Schools answered the question of “What is standing in our way?” this way: “Basic leadership around the importance of why it matters for all children to get a good education\, not just some children.”  \nKaren Lewis of NWEA\, a division of HMH\, acknowledged that there is fatigue around this conversation and these things are becoming the “new normal\,” but stressed that learning loss is devastating for the kids at the margins.   \n“How do we make learning ubiquitous and happening 365 days of the year?”  \nJean-Claude Brizard of Digital Promise asked this question asserting that learning recovery must happen in communities as well as in classrooms.   \nWhen our panelists were posed this question\, Flores pointed to the examples from the previous webinar highlights\, noting “the reassurance of the reminder that we can solve this\, that we have these bright spots. We have examples of what we know can get our kids on track.”   \nUnderscoring the critical role played by educators\, Lindsay Sobel of Teach Plus reminded us\, “Teachers are adult humans.…You can’t do change to teachers.…When you engage teachers in the decision-making process\, when you really build on the expertise that they bring to the table — because they are the experts who work with students every single day\, deeply embedded in communities and working with families — that’s a lever that can make a really big difference.”  \nMason continued to expand on this idea saying\, “Prioritizing the wrong things [is a barrier]. Some school districts\, some state-level leaders prioritize what I’ll call scorekeeping instead of learning. And I think when you prioritize learning\, then that has everything to do with the family and the community. It is not a singular issue…learning should happen\, should be planned\, well beyond the boundaries of school.” \nFlores said it this way\, “This is a community problem. For so long we keep blaming schools\, the teacher\, the district\, and we are all responsible for whether or not all of our children can fulfill their destiny.”  \n“This is possible\, we just have to get it right.” — Lindsay Sobel  URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/stalled-learning-recovery-and-bright-spots-from-2023/ CATEGORIES:Past Event,Special Webinar ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Horizons_DC_Program_0450.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240102T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240102T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20231207T215546Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240105T214324Z UID:245192-1704207600-1704213000@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:REBROADCAST - The First Month of School and Beyond: Nurturing Attendance Every Day DESCRIPTION:Co-sponsored by Attendance Works\n \n \n \n \n \n Alarming increases in chronic absence across the nation\, particularly in kindergarten\, reveal the urgent need to re-establish routines of daily attendance among our youngest learners.  Students chronically absent in preschool and kindergarten are more likely to be chronically absent in later grades and much less likely to read and count proficiently by the end of third grade. Equally important\, chronic early absence is associated with declines in educational engagement\, social-emotional development\, and executive functioning. Economically challenged students suffer the most\, as they typically have less access to resources that would help them make up for the lost opportunities to learn in classrooms.  Starting the year with a regular routine of attendance helps young children and their families become less anxious about school\, connect to peers as well as teachers\, access needed resources and engage in learning. \nJoin us on January 2\, 2024\, from 3–4:30 p.m. ET\, for a special holiday rebroadcast session to hear how schools\, districts\, community partners and cities can work together with families to overcome attendance barriers and make attendance a top priority and strategy for laying the foundation for early school success. We will showcase the work of practitioners in New York City; Marshalltown\, Iowa; and Albuquerque\, New Mexico\, as well as resources available from Attendance Works and the National League of Cities. Getting young children to school on a regular basis will require deep partnerships with families and an all-hands-on-deck approach. \nAttendees will hear from: \n\nLysandra Agosto\, MBA\, Director of Compliance and ERSEA\, Early Childhood Division\, Children’s Aid Society\, New York City\nBenjamin Barlow\, Director of Attendance Supports\, Albuquerque Public Schools\, New Mexico\nAnel Garza\, Principal\, Woodbury Elementary\, Marshalltown Community School District\, Iowa\nSandra Romero\, Community School Director\, Public School 211\, Children’s Aid Society\, New York City\nMonica Rossi\, MSW\, Early Childhood Division Health Coordinator\, Children’s Aid Society\, New York City\nBrandis Stockman\, Program Manager\, Education & Expanded Learning\, National League of Cities\nHedy Chang\, Executive Director\, Attendance Works\, Moderator URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/rebroadcast-the-first-month-of-school-and-beyond-nurturing-attendance-every-day/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/96585-e1696448774838.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240109T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240109T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20231220T233823Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T061759Z UID:245729-1704812400-1704817800@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Connecting Communities: National and Local Partners Linking Families to the Internet DESCRIPTION:In 2021\, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act\, better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law\, released $65 billion to be used to support digital connectivity to bridge the digital divide. This large investment has provided access to connectivity and devices for millions across the United States and significantly accelerates efforts to close the digital learning gap — including efforts to build the capacity of both parents and educators to access and deploy technology to support student learning through new EdTech tools and curricula. \nJoin us on January 9\, from 3–4:30 pm ET as we launch our new Big Bets Working webinar series with an exploration of local and national efforts to ensure digital connectivity. We will hear how several organizations identified places where access gaps were the largest — poor\, rural\, Black and Latinx communities — and worked to overcome barriers and boost awareness of the resources available through this legislation. Panelists will also share how they built trust in communities and implemented strategies for supporting enrollment in the newly funded programs. \nAdeyinka Ogunlegan of EducationSuperHighway will describe their four-pronged action plan to develop awareness\, identify unconnected households\, engage partners and enable apartment owners housing low-income families to aggregate benefits to provide access throughout buildings. Amina Fazlullah of Common Sense Media will share their mission to connect every family in the country and the importance of partnerships with community schools and libraries in accomplishing this work. Andrew Spector of The Patterson Foundation will share how their Digital Access for All initiative has supported training and knowledge-sharing for community-based nonprofit partners — all with the same goal of digital connectivity and universal access to the internet.   \n  URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/connecting-communities-national-and-local-partners-linking-families-to-the-internet/ CATEGORIES:Big Bets Working,Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Casey-2016-BAL_1513-1-e1703115076288.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20231214T175331Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240119T220242Z UID:245444-1705408200-1705413600@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy: Helping Lean Funders Unleash Their Full Potential DESCRIPTION:Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy is designed to empower more lean funders to get involved in this kind of outsized impact work. The core of it really gets to this idea of funders using ‘more than money’ — using your convening ability\, leveraging relationships\, being able to raise public awareness of issues\, using your foundation platform\, being a matchmaker\, being a broker in your community\, funding and engaging in policy advocacy. It is about using all the powers of a lean\, place-based foundation.”  – Andy Carroll\, Exponent Philanthropy \nIn this Funder-to-Funder Conversation\, Andy Carroll of Exponent Philanthropy offered the above description as he introduced attendees to the Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy (CLIP) mindset and practice that Exponent developed through engagement with its membership.   \n\nDebra M. Jacobs\, President and CEO of The Patterson Foundation — which is a member of both Exponent Philanthropy and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Network — moderated the conversation. First\, she engaged Carroll and Paul D. Daugherty of Exponent Philanthropy in a discussion about how Exponent works to amplify and increase the impact of “lean” funders — meaning those with few or no staff. Carroll explained how Exponent’s CLIP is a transformational leadership style that empowers lean funders to make long-term\, systems change around a focused issue prioritized by their community or field. He noted that lean funders who engage in catalytic leadership focus their giving; offer flexible\, multiyear funding; build strong relationships with grantees and the community; and leverage non-grant assets to further their missions. CLIP encourages funders to listen deeply; engage with humility\, curiosity and patience; and promote collaboration.  \n“Catalytic leadership is not just about what is pushed out\, but the connections built across the community and with the funder\,” explained Daugherty\, likening CLIP to the children’s story about stone soup where each townsperson contributes what they have.   \nJacobs then engaged two lean funders in the CGLR Network — Melissa Litwin of The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation and Matthew Peterson of the John & Janice Wyatt Foundation — in a discussion about how they embrace “more than money” approaches to bring about transformative change in partnership with community. While Litwin and Peterson had not previously been aware of Exponent’s CLIP approach\, they realized that their work in community reflected many of its practices.     \n“You can call it impact-driven philanthropy or entrepreneurial philanthropy or catalytic philanthropy. In this field\, sometimes the vocabulary may be different\, but the concepts are in fact very similar in many ways. One of the things that I heard in listening to this panel is the underlying requirement of building credibility and building trust so that you have the opportunity to facilitate and bring people together.” – Matthew Peterson\, John & Janice Wyatt Foundation \nThe panelists discussed how lean funders are not just mini versions of large foundations\, but rather they offer a number of strengths\, including the ability to drill down and focus on specific issues and continue that focus over time. They also noted that lean\, local funders have deep local connections and trusting relationships that can be leveraged for impact. They acknowledged that change-work takes time and the importance of being patient and benchmarking and celebrating progress along the way. They also discussed the importance of learning from and with the community\, moving from a scarcity mentality to a collective abundance mentality that encourages collaboration\, and being transparent in sharing both successes and lessons learned.   \n“The only way to solve the problem is by listening carefully to the people who are impacted. That is the key asset to solving the problem….Being in community and building community is critical so that when problems arise there is already a group of folks who are committed.”– Melissa Litwin\, The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation  \nCarroll and Daugherty shared several examples of Exponent members that have utilized this CLIP approach to achieve systems change results at either the community or state level\, while Litwin and Peterson shared concrete examples of how they are engaging deeply with partners in their community to achieve positive outcomes for children.   \n“Change happens at the speed of trust and if we are looking for long-term change\, we need to have trust with those we are going to work with – and that takes time. It takes relationship building.” – Debra M. Jacobs\, The Patterson Foundation   URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/catalytic-leadership-in-philanthropy-helping-lean-funders-unleash-their-full-potential/ CATEGORIES:Funder-to-Funder Conversation,Past Event,Readiness ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/9bfbc86d-69a0-4f47-b133-cf495dbb5ec6-e1702568376967.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20231217T224417Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T061407Z UID:245609-1705417200-1705422600@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Big Bets Working: Keeping the Commitment to Tutoring Alive and Strong DESCRIPTION:In this GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, we focused on identifying and celebrating where and how tutoring — an essential strategy that has the promise of delivering more than the usual increments of progress toward transformative change — is enabling educators and their community partners to move the needle on equitable learning recovery. Moderator Pete Lavorini of Overdeck Family Foundation engaged in discussion with a leading researcher\, policy advocate and journalist to gain perspective on the national landscape and the key characteristics of effective tutoring practices that are advancing the Potential of High-Impact Tutoring. These leaders\, along with executives from successful national tutoring programs who have achieved results and joined our conversation\, discussed what keeps a tutoring program alive and strong — even in the face of the impending ESSER funding cliff. \nOur discussion began with Susanna Loeb\, Ph.D.\, of the National Student Support Accelerator at Stanford University providing a clear definition of high-impact tutoring\, including the research indicating the key elements that make tutoring most effective in advancing student learning progress. Journalist Linda Jacobson of The74 Media then shared three standout examples of unique and impactful tutoring programs achieving academic gains that have been featured in The74\, including virtual tutoring and parents as tutors. Kevin Huffman at Accelerate dove into the ways that several states are enabling high-impact tutoring through policies in support of partnerships and implementation\, such as outcomes-based contracting with school districts. \n“High-impact tutoring is intensive\, meaning that it takes place multiple times per week over an extended period of time. It’s also relationship based because relationships drive student engagement and motivation. And this means that the tutoring is with the same tutor every time and that tutor is well trained and supported on relationship-building skills as well as on instruction and academic content. And then\, in addition to being intensive and relationship based\, it’s individualized. That’s where you get the strength of tutoring and that tutors use data along with high-quality instructional approaches and materials to design instruction to meet each student’s individual needs.”\n– Susanna Loeb\, Stanford University \nAfter the discussion of research and policy\, we were joined by national tutoring program leaders who shared their specific\, on-the-ground tactics that generate working partnerships with schools\, meaningful tutor-tutee matches\, and quality training and preparation for tutors. AJ Gutierrez of Saga Education and Phillip M. Robinson\, Jr.\, of Reading Partners discussed how they prioritize relationship building at all levels — with school teams\, between tutors and students\, with families\, etc.\, and how the ability to achieve academic progress with students is built on this critical foundation. Gutierrez touched on what needs to be in place for tutors to be confident and effective: \n“With the right supports in place through training\, really intentional curriculum design and support\, tutors can have extraordinary impact on academic outcomes and as a way to supplement classroom instruction\, not as a way to supplant core classroom instruction. And so that’s really important from a human capital perspective. I think the pool of people who could potentially be qualified tutors is broad and there’s opportunity to tap in some really great talent.” URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/big-bets-working-keeping-the-commitment-to-tutoring-alive-and-strong/ CATEGORIES:Big Bets Working,Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Casey_Prov_KidsCount_2013_WED_00656-e1702852311611.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240123T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240123T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20240102T164636Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240128T224536Z UID:245746-1706022000-1706027400@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Engaging Families for Everyday Attendance DESCRIPTION:In this Big Bets Working session\, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) hosted a conversation with practitioners working at the school\, district\, community and state levels to hear how they are partnering with families to overcome attendance barriers and make attendance a priority strategy for nurturing early school success. \n“Positive family engagement is foundational to a shared understanding of why attendance matters and for building partnerships [that will help] to overcome barriers to attendance.” – Francisco Baires\, Capitol Region Education Council\, CT \nHedy Chang of Attendance Works kicked off the discussion by sharing recent data from states that shows chronic absence rates are declining modestly\, but the country still has an unprecedented attendance crisis that affects nearly one out of three students. Elementary schools are especially impacted. The number of elementary schools with extreme levels of chronic absence (30%+ chronic absence rate) in the 2021–22 school year was nearly 20\,000\, which is a jump from approximate 3\,550 schools before the pandemic. “This means we have to partner with families to ensure and\, in many cases\, restore positive conditions for learning that really help make sure kids and their families see school as a place that they want to be\,” Chang said. We have to ensure families know\, see and feel that school is physically healthy and safe\, they feel a sense of belonging and their children are engaged academically. \nAngella Graves\, MAT\, of Cornelius Elementary School in Oregon shared that she focuses on attendance in her communications with parents as a principal throughout the year. Her summer message to families includes vacation dates and lets families know how absences impact students academic progress. In September\, she sends a letter to families who struggled with attendance the year before. For families with complex structures\, Graves noted the team addresses each individually to find what works for that family. Sometimes it involves going through a student’s emergency contact list to ensure all adults are receiving school communications. It’s not a one size fits all\, she said. \nJo Ellen Latham of South East Polk Community Schools in Iowa noted that\, as a district\, the key was helping schools move from punitive to positive and use data effectively. She offered the example of one of their schools\, Delaware Elementary. The school has an attendance awareness campaign with posters and parent communications\, including flyers and refrigerator magnets with the academic calendar. When students are struggling with attendance\, the school sends families a formal attendance letter with attendance data\, offers a home visit by the attendance team and\, when needed\, requests a family meeting with the principal to learn about the challenges to being in school and discuss solutions. \nFrancisco Baires of Capitol Region Education Council in Connecticut described the Connecticut State Department of Education Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP)\, a Tier 2 research-based\, relational home visit model proven to increase student attendance and family engagement. Baires emphasized that the home visiting model is not a silver bullet solution. Rather it is a long-term relationship-building effort that includes initial and follow-up phone calls designed to establish a relationship. Families are not problems to be solved but rather co-partners in supporting their child’s attendance in school every day\, he said. \nKari Sullivan Custer of the Connecticut State Department of Education shared the measurable impacts LEAP is having on student attendance. Research by the center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration reports that one month after the initial home visit there was a 4 percentage point increase in attendance. Six months after the initial home visit\, there was a 10 percentage point increase for pre-K–5\, and for grades 6–12\, there was a 20 percentage point increase. These results did not differ based on the title of the person conducting the home visit\, Custer said. Equally important\, since SY 2021–22\, Connecticut has started to see statewide reductions in chronic absence. She attributes the reductions to three key factors: Connecticut’s long-standing commitment to family engagement and improved student attendance; integrated work across departments; and the use of data to inform investments and actions. \nKali Thorne Ladd of Children’s Institute (CI) in Oregon explained that CI is a community-based organization offering services across Oregon. To support schools working to improve family engagement\, CI brings partners together across districts to talk and learn from one another\, because many districts in the state are struggling with the same things. She stressed the value of including culturally specific outside partners to help schools connect with families and offer resources to those in need. \nNancy Duchesneau of The Education Trust shared results of a family engagement study involving two nationally representative surveys of parents and teachers\, interviews with family engagement coordinators\, and an online discussion board of 30 parents who had a child in first or second grade. Many of the findings overall were positive\, but a deep dive showed that families reported experiencing a lot of barriers to engagement\, such as scheduling conflicts\, lack of transportation and child care. She praised the efforts the other panelists shared around using multiple avenues to reach parents\, from phone calls and letters to empathy interviews and home visits\, to building awareness with social media. “This diversification of approaches is really what parents need given their busy lives\,” Duchesneau said. \nThe panel agreed that the priority activity in their attendance and engagement work is communicating clearly with parents and caregivers to develop trusting\, positive relationships that encourage families to bring their children to school each day. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/engaging-families-for-everyday-attendance/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Providence_Photos_0589-e1705972907977.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240130T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240130T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20240121T203205Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240607T131251Z UID:246162-1706626800-1706632200@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Emergent Bilinguals and English Language Learners: The Sturdy Bridge DESCRIPTION:“We do this work because we believe in the cultural\, linguistic\, intellectual brilliance of our country’s diverse children\, and we deeply understand that our schools were not adequately designed to serve these children. Yet\, we know that when schooling builds upon the assets\, the lived experiences and the funds of knowledge\, honoring family and community cultures and developing home languages\, children thrive.” \nIn the first of GLR Learning Tuesdays new Kindergarten Matters webinar series\, CGLR partnered with Sobrato Philanthropies. In the above quote\, Anya Hurwitz of Sobrato Early Academic Learning (SEAL) emphasized the inherent potential of our country’s diverse children and underscored a need for the evolution of our schools to better serve emergent bilinguals. \nKarla Ruiz with Sobrato Philanthropies moderated the conversation and set the scene for the importance of utilizing kindergarten as a foundational stage for ensuring that essential elements seamlessly integrate into the broader educational journey of each child. \n“It’s become really clear how important it is in this moment\, where so much is happening in education\, to leverage kindergarten as that sturdy bridge between early learning — where developmental\, culturally responsible practices and family engagement are really core — and the later grades\,” Ruiz reflected. \nRuiz first engaged Melissa Castillo\, Ed.D.\, of the Office of the Secretary within the U.S. Department of Education in a discussion about Secretary Miguel Cardona’s Raise the Bar Initiative\, launched with the intention of lifting up three goals to achieve academic excellence\, boldly improve learning conditions and create pathways for global engagement. Castillo then discussed the “three key levers” aimed at providing every student with a pathway to multilingual wisdom: equitable access for English learners\, a diversified bilingual/multilingual educator workforce and quality bilingual education for all. Before closing\, Castillo directed attendees to visit NCELA.ED.GOV to access over 57\,000 resources\, including the English Learner Family Toolkit\, designed to help families and educators stay connected with tips\, tools and resources to help navigate the education system. \n“At the Department\, we want to model and exemplify what it means to ensure that families and students have access [to resources] in a language that they understand\,” Castillo closed. \nRuiz then engaged Anya Hurwitz in a discussion about SEAL’s P–3 Framework\, which “aims to help the field more fully center multilingual learner/English learner students.” Hurwitz spoke to the development of the P–3 Framework\, referring to the significant and growing population of English learners in California and across the nation. The P–3 Framework\, Hurwitz explained\, was developed to provide “research-based\, joyful\, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction pathways across the P–3 continuum.” Hurwitz explained that the Framework includes Eight Key Understandings and Eleven Overarching Principles\, which help guide readers in addressing and dismantling the long history of exclusion and inequity regarding language status. She said\, “We are still operating within systems that were built in deeply inequitable ways.” \nHurwitz closed with a powerful reminder about the importance of kindergarten as an entry point to this work: “Our English learners experience tremendous language loss when a kindergartner walks into school for the first time\, and they are told to leave their language and culture at the door. Implicitly or explicitly\, language loss begins immediately….It is our hope that leaders will use the framework to reflect on their systems and practices and that it can be a tool for learning\, planning and implementing.” \nRuiz then engaged with Shantel Meek\, Ph.D.\, of The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University\, who provided a reminder to attendees that “dual language education is an issue of equity and civil rights” because “if we don’t provide dual language education\, we’re initiating a disadvantage for a large population of children from the start.” Meek went on to share data that reflected that English learners who have access to dual language education become more proficient in English more quickly\, they outperform their peers in other subject areas\, they reach academic norms\, they exit English learner designation faster\, and they\, of course\, become biliterate. To expand on this importance\, Meek referred to multiple economic studies that point to the success of biliterate individuals in our global economy. \n“We have lots of data on the benefits of bilingualism. We know that ELs and DLs are bringing this gift from home. Instead of aligning with that research and that science\, we’re doing the opposite\, where in this nation\, about 92% of ELs are not in dual language programs….This is one of the most profound misalignments that we see\,” concluded Meek. \nLastly\, attendees heard from Lydia Acosta Stephens with the Multilingual and Multicultural Education Department in the Los Angeles Unified School District. As a renowned former principal in LAUSD\, Stephens spoke to the importance of witnessing the Framework and approaches in practice. She stated\, “My dream would be that in our country\, from that moment of first enrollment\, [the family] is congratulated for having another language at home.” Expanding off that vision\, Stephens spoke to the work she does in the Multilingual and Multicultural Education Department\, in which LAUSD delivers Biliteracy Pathway Awards to families starting in their learner’s kindergarten year\, all the way through 12th grade. Stephens shared that the implementation of the SEAL P–3 Framework has furthered their success in this program\, leading to over 20\,000 awards being issued. \n“What is your role in everything that we do from the moment a child comes into our public education system? Because when that child walks onto campus…all of those spaces should be validated from their Indigenous language. Tell me more. I want to hear you speak in your home language\, teach me a few phrases….We’ve been missing the human piece of it\,” stressed Stephens. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/emergent-bilinguals-and-english-language-learners-the-sturdy-bridge/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/dccdc34a-0d71-4730-bb0c-97165c62d719-e1690140705353.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240206T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240206T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20240129T162234Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240320T150016Z UID:246311-1707231600-1707237000@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Getting All Students Up to Speed Using Evidence-Based Supplemental Reading Programs DESCRIPTION: \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn this GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, Getting Students Up to Speed Using Evidence-Based Supplemental Reading Programs\, co-sponsored with the LEARN Network\, moderator Adrienne D. Woods\, Ph.D. of SRI International shared the above quote as she explained the goal of The Leveraging Evidence to Accelerate Recovery Nationwide (LEARN) Network. \nWoods provided context to the attendees as to how and why the LEARN Network\, a three-year project funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)\, came to be. She explained that the project was conceptualized as “part of the federal strategy to address both long-standing student achievement gaps and those exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Within this program\, she explained\, there are four “product teams” that focus on literacy and math learning interventions. \nAs part of a deeper look into the product teams\, Woods first invited with the Targeted Reading Instruction-Flamingo Reading App (TRI-FRA) representatives — Mary Bratsch-Hines\, Ph.D.\, of University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning and Heather Hanney Aiken\, Ph.D.\, of Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill — to provide an overview of that program. Bratsch-Hines explained that the program includes daily lessons for students\, as well as strong implementer supports like virtual coaching. Aiken shared that they’ve created a series of easy-to-implement\, high-quality reading lessons for classroom teachers\, and reading interventionists like co-panelist Erin McCain Heim of Southside Elementary School in Versailles\, Kentucky. Heim echoed the success of the TRI-FRA program in practice: \n“The ease of implementing TRI-FRA\, from setting the students up in the app to delivering the instruction\, has been really seamless. It provides a clear scope and sequence…the structure provides such a high level of comfort for both teachers and students.” \nWoods then engaged with the Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) team to learn more about the peer-tutoring program. Lauren Artzi\, Ph.D.\, and Billie Jo Day\, Ph.D.\, of American Institutes for Research (AIR) shared that PALS is a peer-mediated instructional program in which students are paired together for a reciprocal peer tutoring experience over the course of a 30-minute lesson. Artzi explained that the program allows for students to switch-off between the role of a “coach” and the role of a “leader” to contribute to a system in which students take ownership of their knowledge. Day notes that: “The key piece of this entire program is that students are getting the opportunity to read in a very supported way.”  \n Following the look at the PALS program\, Woods shifted to the final product team\, Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI). Emily Hayden\, Ph.D. of the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) explained that STARI is specifically designed for struggling middle school and high school readers\, equipping them with a full year of curriculum to address their reading challenges. Hayden emphasized the importance of addressing this slightly older student demographic\, as they may have faced years of reading struggles before reaching middle or high school\, leading to disengagement\, or internalized negative beliefs about their reading abilities. STARI is implemented in 45-minute classes that emphasize the development of complex reading skills through activities such as reciprocal teaching\, partner work\, guided reading and debates\, fostering both spoken language proficiency and critical thinking abilities. \nKate Leo\, MA\, EdS\, a teacher at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines\, Iowa\, described the impact she has seen from the STARI program\, sharing that the students she taught through the program grew an average of 44 correct words per minute\, and moved up a fluency level. \n“The other thing we’ve noticed with being able to offer a supplemental support program within our school is that some of our students\, their parents are not English speakers\, and so they don’t know where to seek outside resources [for their child]. So\, I see this program as a way of making English equitable to all of our students in our school by bridging the gap\,” Leo said. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/getting-all-students-up-to-speed-selecting-evidence-based-supplemental-reading-programs/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3091a8f5-20a7-4600-8c5f-57472be23281-e1706545279809.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240213T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240213T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20240122T223353Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240219T155352Z UID:246198-1707827400-1707832800@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Relationships That Work in CGLR Communities With Coalition Leads\, Schools and Other Partners  DESCRIPTION:“True partnerships are intentional in listening to the partner’s needs and what would work best for them. There will be a trust to sustain relationships that create success. A supportive community would do the work and collaboration\, and ensure work is data driven. When there’s unified collaboration in the community\, they are likely to be able to shift and adapt as needed to meet current climate needs to establish longevity\, dependability and confidence.” – Pastor Gary E. Lee\, First Baptist Church Middlesex\, North Carolina \n\n\n\n \n\n\nThis Crucible of Practice Salon session featured CGLR community coalition members from Nash and Edgecombe Counties\, North Carolina\, and Regina\, Saskatchewan\, Canada. Both teams presented how they work with schools and community partners to support the development of early literacy skills\, family engagement and ongoing program implementation for school-age children. Following the opening remarks and icebreaker for all attendees\, Debra Lanham with Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC) in North Carolina provided an overview of the demographics of the community and the coalition’s focus. Pattie Allen\, also with DEPC\, explained their definition of family engagement\, how this is woven into programs\, and the general strategy of working within existing networks including faith-based communities\, child care providers\, medical clinics\, libraries and schools. Kristen Miller\, Principal of G.W. Carver Elementary School\, shared how the partnership with DEPC has had a positive impact on student attendance and contributed to the creation and implementation of specific supportive programs.       \n\n“The whole point was for our Carver students to feel that they had someone\, not just the teachers they saw every day\, but a true connection to the community. This really made students have a sense of belonging. At the end of the year\, we saw every single student increase their attendance percentage in some way for that year.” – Kristen Miller\, G.W. Carver Elementary School \n\nViola Barnes-Gray with DEPC and Pastor Gary E. Lee from First Baptist Church Middlesex discussed how cultivating relationships between school and community partners contributed to the overall success of teams supporting students.    \n\n“Our Ready Schools and Ready Communities work is interwoven and goes hand in hand with building relationships. Around our five schools\, we target community partners representing the faith\, civic groups\, businesses and other organizations.” – Viola Barnes-Gray\, DEPC \n“We learned that building relationships between the community and schools requires front loading of the work before partners are connected to the social school teams.” – Pastor Gary E. Lee\, First Baptist Church Middlesex \n\nAfter the coalition members reviewed the lessons learned about family engagement\, Lanham talked about why the coalition and members are invested in helping children with literacy and the challenges families and children face in their community. The conversation also covered programs to address these challenges and explored how to nurture and sustain relationships.   \n\n“It is really critical that we give our children the tools and resources they need beginning at birth. And then build upon it so\, by the time they get to third grade\, they are proficient in reading.” – Debra Lanham  \n\nAfter the coalition from Nash and Edgecombe Counties shared their collaborative strategies\, Trish Dupuis and Sandi White with United Way Regina provided an overview of their work in Regina. Dupuis centered on the programs involved with their grade-level reading work and how these are built on a foundation of partnerships with schools. Their education initiatives involve 12 community schools in Regina\, Saskatchewan.   \n\n“United Way Regina strongly believes that education provides a pathway out of poverty.” – Trish Dupuis\, United Way Regina   \n\nDupuis reviewed how the schools were chosen and the data reviewed to identify which neighborhoods and schools to target\, including health and vision data. The teams wanted to ensure the most significant achievement gaps and the highest level of complex needs were being addressed by collaborative efforts. The impact of the coalition’s work was also shared with a review of kindergarten readiness assessment data\, third-grade reading assessment data\, and comparisons of these with baseline numbers. Overall\, the dedicated work in Regina’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading decreased the achievement gap and supported children’s literacy outcomes in the schools where programs were implemented. The connection between vision and other health-related barriers to learning was also explored. White shared about her work facilitating Family Literacy Hubs\, which focuses on engaging families and improving school readiness. She described the guiding actions of Family Literacy Hubs and added detail about the programs and activities done through the hubs.     \n\n“In my role\, I want to provide programming that will empower families to feel like they can support their children with engaging literacy experiences within the home.”  – Sandi White\, United Way Regina  URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/building-and-sustaining-partnerships-between-cglr-communities-and-school-districts/ CATEGORIES:Crucible of Practice Salon,Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/NewBritain_Reading_0022-e1705962715640.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240213T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240213T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063642 CREATED:20240206T023109Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240216T204858Z UID:246396-1707836400-1707841800@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:The Science of Reading for Emergent Bilinguals DESCRIPTION:In this GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, The Science of Reading for Emergent Bilinguals\, attendees heard a riveting conversation about current work\, initiatives and thoughts around centering English learners and emergent bilinguals in the realm of the science of reading. Julie Sugarman\, Ph.D.\, with the Migration Policy Institute opened the conversation with Martha Hernandez\, M.A.\, of Californians Together and Kari Kurto\, MAT\, of The Reading League. They provided background context on the joint statement\, “Understanding the Difference: The Science of Reading and Implementation for English Learners/Emergent Bilinguals\,” and reviewed how it came about\, what was included and how it has been used since its publication. \n\n“We wanted to connect and we wanted to learn more….We started out by understanding each other’s ‘why\,’ which helped to kind of disarm everyone and break us out of our echo chambers….We asked some brave questions\, and we worked to understand how to find alignment\, which\, spoiler alert\, was not actually as hard as we thought in many areas.” – Kari Kurto\, MAT\, The Reading League \n\nNext\, Magaly Lavadenz\, Ph.D.\, with the Center for Equity for English Learners\, Claude Goldenberg\, Ph.D.\, from Stanford University and Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan\, Ed.D.\, from Valley Speech Language and Learning Center shared insights on language and literacy development\, how children learn to read\, and bilingual learners\, respectively. \nThe conversation touched on the need to distinguish between the science of reading as a body of knowledge and programmatic materials branded as “science of reading.” They also discussed legislation that includes this term\, and how such legislation needs to center English learners and emergent bilingual students for equitable learning opportunities. The panelists also stressed the importance of supports and systems for teachers to incorporate best practices. \n\n“We want to make sure also that we have the opportunity for that ongoing professional development. You see\, when we’re coming out of our universities today\, it’s an afterthought to think about students from linguistically diverse backgrounds. They should be included in all teacher education programs because everybody will work with a student that comes from linguistically diverse backgrounds.” – Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan\, Ed.D.\, Valley Speech Language and Learning Center \n\n\n\n  URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/the-science-of-reading-for-emergent-bilinguals/ CATEGORIES:Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Casey_KINETIK_2014_III_01044-e1707170374168.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240220T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240220T140000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063643 CREATED:20240122T225158Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240229T022043Z UID:246202-1708432200-1708437600@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:Reading Universe: Scaling Teacher PD for Student Success DESCRIPTION:The ecosystem for literacy support is growing in a good way. There’s much more available than when Barksdale [Reading Institute] began its work. What makes Reading Universe distinct though is that it is FREE and also that it is a comprehensive scope and sequence for how to teach teachers to teach reading.– Kelly Butler\, ReadingUniverse.org and formerly with Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI) \n\n\n\n\n\nIn this Funder-to-Funder Conversation\, Kelly Butler of ReadingUniverse.org shared the above statement as she introduced the robust online resource that she is producing with WETA to enhance the capacity of educators nationwide to teach reading. Because she and the other funders who are investing in the build out of Reading Universe are committed to ensuring that the resource will be available to all teachers\, schools and districts at no cost\, they are seeking philanthropic support to expand it from the K–2 pilot that is available today to serve teachers in PreK–6. \nJane Park of Google Kids & Families moderated the conversation. She engaged the leaders behind the development of Reading Universe\, Butler and Tami Mount\, M.Ed.\, of WETA\, as well as its early philanthropic investors\, Michelle Knapik of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and Marla Ucelli-Kashyap of AFT. The conversation also included Erika Bryant\, a first grade teacher at Pecan Park Elementary School in Jackson\, Mississippi\, who has used Reading Universe to enhance her own teaching as well as the teaching of the educators she is mentoring. \nUcelli-Kashyap began by sharing what AFT has heard from its member teachers in terms of an interest and hunger for just-in-time resources that could help them better support student learning. \n\nIt became clear that way too many teachers are using low leverage practices or required programs that just don’t meet their students’ needs. They want to be prepared and effective\, but they need support. Saying ‘Just Do It’ might work great in a Nike commercial\, but in a classroom not so much. – Marla Ucelli-Kashyap\, AFT \n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Butler shared highlights from how BRI drew on the National Reading Panel research in 2000 to embed evidence-based practices across the educational pipeline. Beginning with pilot efforts in targeted Mississippi schools\, BRI was able to demonstrate progress spurring state leaders to scale the approach statewide. These efforts helped Mississippi advance from 49th among states on NAEP scores in 2003 to 21st in 2022. That success prompted BRI to begin moving the teacher training resources used in Mississippi online so that teachers across the country could access it. \n\nMany have referred to what happened in Mississippi as the ‘Mississippi Miracle’ but I like to think of it as a marathon. I encourage other states and philanthropists to consider that the R&D has been done and paid for by Mississippi\, including what is required for effective implementation. So\, take what we’ve learned\, skip the marathon and use Reading Universe to get to the work on the ground. We know how to teach reading. We just need to do it everywhere – Kelly Butler\, ReadingUniverse.org \n\nMount walked attendees through the Reading Universe site\, explaining how it functions as a bridge between the research and a teacher’s instructional practice. She pointed to the 10 maxims that Reid Lyon\, Ph.D.\, outlined to summarize five decades of research on reading development by neuroscientists\, psychologists\, linguists\, speech pathologists\, educators and other experts. Mount also navigated through the Reading Universe Taxonomy\, noting that it presents the essential reading skills\, shows how they are connected and lays the groundwork for teaching all students how to read and write through accessible\, bite-sized pieces\, demonstrated through videos of real teachers in real classrooms. \n\nWe bring to Reading Universe the values of PBS Media that is responsible\, authoritative and accessible to a general audience…. We try to excel not just in the authority of what we write\, but also in our production values. We shoot video at PBS standards – and there is a lot of video on the site – and we write text in clear colloquial English without a lot of jargon. Reading Universe is designed to be accessible to a general audience with the goal of attracting the biggest possible audience so we can have the biggest possible impact – Tami Mount\, WETA \n\nBryant shared how she had benefited from the Reading Universe resources when she was a novice teacher and BRI was first piloting the resources. She continues to use it as a resource to hone her teaching skills\, identifying research-based practices to meet the needs of a wide range of students. She also uses Reading Universe as she provides coaching and mentorship to new teachers\, pointing them to videos and skill-explainers that can enhance their instructional practices. \n\nWhat Reading Universe offers us as educators is the opportunity to have a hands-on tool to turn to. It’s very detailed in the way it’s set up so we’re able to quickly pinpoint the skills that we are looking for….I can pull it up during my break time or planning time to help me build my own lesson plans. It is such a benefit for us as educators to have the support there at our fingertips – Erika Bryant\, Pecan Park Elementary School \n\nAfter the deep dive into the history and potential of Reading Universe\, Butler\, Knapik and Ucelli-Kashyap engaged in conversation about the importance of philanthropy investing in Reading Universe to ensure that all teachers have free access to these supports across the planned PreK–6 scope. \n\nIf you’re a national funder\, if you’re a place-based funder\, if you’re a niche funder like Tremaine…if you have anything to do with education\, you can find an entry point into the value proposition behind Reading Universe. We’re a niche funder\, a 35-year old family foundation working in the space of learning differences….As neuroscience gets better\, as the science of reading gets better\, we know that it is like oxygen for these kids — for anyone with learning differences in a classroom — to have structured literacy as a part of what’s happening in the system. It is actually a collective trauma\, generation after generation that we are not intervening with the science of reading for kids with learning differences. We really want to change that – Michelle Knapik\, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/reading-universe-scaling-teacher-pd-for-student-success/ CATEGORIES:Funder-to-Funder Conversation,Past Event,Reading & Math ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/eaf9e9c8-81e9-4fac-bbdc-c0908615fa5e-e1705963893660.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240220T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240220T163000 DTSTAMP:20260404T063643 CREATED:20240207T182227Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T062133Z UID:246435-1708441200-1708446600@leo.gradelevelreading.net SUMMARY:How Summer Learning’s Resurgence and Maximization is Accelerating In-School Learning DESCRIPTION:In this GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar\, we took the opportunity to explore how summer learning is a “big bet working” for equitable learning recovery. Summer learning is a critical strategy to prevent the “summer slide” that occurs when schools are closed\, which became the “pandemic slide” during COVID school closures. Moderator Tracie Potts of the Learning Heroes Board of Advisors first engaged in discussion with Eric Mackey\, Ed.D.\, Alabama State Superintendent of Education. He shared about Alabama’s broad investment in summer learning and how the state’s “summer reading camps” advance the recently passed “Alabama Literacy Act” to ensure students are reading on grade level by the end of the third grade. Mackey emphasized that although these camps are focused on building literacy skills\, they also include the fun activities that are so important to make summer learning effective: \n\nThis last year we had about 30\,000 students involved in summer reading camps. We want them to be different. [The camps] certainly include high-quality instruction and we do an assessment at the end of camp and see that students have achieved greater reading levels. But we don’t it want to feel like school. We want it to feel more like it’s a summer camp experience. Now we have a lot of students depending on the school district for these learning experiences. So we’re blending the academic piece and also the fun stuff that actually draws students in and keeps them engaged throughout the summer. \n\nPotts then engaged with two national summer learning leaders\, Aaron Dworkin of the National Summer Learning Association and Polly Singh of The Wallace Foundation. The discussion covered the broad landscape of summer learning programs across the country and how states\, districts and communities are achieving real gains for students in their academic and developmental progress. Singh shared data from the Wallace Foundation’s National Summer Learning Project that demonstrates how consistent participation in summer learning makes an impact:    \n\nWe know that academics are what schools are held accountable for. [The Wallace Foundation] ran the National Summer Learning Project. It was the largest randomized control trial of its kind. In five large school districts across the country\, we saw effects in math and in reading\, and the gains were most prominent in our highest attendees. So after the first summer\, the math gains showed up. Immediately after the second summer\, we saw gains in both reading and math\, and they were sustained\, so we saw about 20% to 25% of a year’s worth of education gains. So three to four months of skills gain that was sustained for an entire year in young people. The science of learning\, the science of literacy\, the science of numeracy\, those skills need practice. And during summer learning time\, young kids just get more practice with those skills\, which is such an important facet of summer learning.  \n\nIn addition to these state and national leaders\, the conversation included local district leaders\, Andrew Maxey\, Ph.D.\, of Tuscaloosa City Schools in Alabama and Matthew Brewster of the Newark Board of Education in New Jersey. We learned from them about their critical summer learning partnerships with community-based organizations and how they engage both teachers and students in the combination of fun and academics to build enthusiasm and consistent participation. URL:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/event/how-summer-learnings-resurgence-and-maximization-is-accelerating-in-school-learning/ CATEGORIES:Big Bets Working,Past Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://leo.gradelevelreading.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Casey_KINETIK_2014_III_00160-scaled-e1707330021856.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR