Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Learn about how 340 communities across the nation are supporting children’s early learning and literacy.
Download our Fact Sheet.
Since 2015 the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF) has been the state lead organization for the National Campaign for Grade-level Reading, a collaborative effort by foundations, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities across the nation to ensure that more children in low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career, and active citizenship.
The Campaign is based on the belief that schools cannot succeed alone. Engaged communities mobilized to remove barriers, expand opportunities, and assist parents in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities to serve as full partners in the success of their children are needed for student success.
At the state-level, NCECF is leading an effort to align and advance state and local policies and practices around a common vision, shared measures of success and coordinated strategies that support children’s optimal development beginning at birth. NCECF is co-convening with NC Child, Smart Start/The North Carolina Partnership for Children and BEST NC the NC’s Pathways to Grade-Level Reading. Read more here.
There are currently 10 local Campaign for Grade-Level Communities in North Carolina:
- Read Charlotte (Mecklenburg County).
- Growing Moore Readers (Moore County)
- Wake Up and Read (Wake County)
- Gaston County Early Literacy Collaborative
- Twin Counties Read to Rise (Nash and Edgecombe Counties)
- READ Wayne (Wayne County)
- Ready, Set Read… ROWAN! (Rowan County)
- Durham’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (Durham County)
- Chatham Reads – (Chatham County)
- Orange County Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Four more communities have stated their intention to finalize their plans in 2018. Our communities are being recognized for their efforts and achievements by the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. Growing Moore Readers was honored with a Pacesetter Award for its 2015 achievements in summer learning programs. WAKE Up and Read received Pacesetter Awards for its focus on school readiness in 2014 and 2016.
Read Charlotte was recognized as a Pacesetter in 2016 for community-wide mobilization, cross-sector collaboration and a strong funder coalition.
As the state lead organization for the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, NCECF has created a learning community to share best practices, data and resources; is providing technical assistance and support for campaign communities and is creating opportunities to increase the scope and pace of change.
Steps to Join the NC Campaign
for Grade-Level Reading Community Network
- Contact Lisa Finaldi at NCECF – firstname.lastname@example.org.
- Convene a community meeting to discuss interest and collaboration.
- Submit a Letter of Intent to NCECF. Here’s the three elements of a letter.
- Develop a Community Solutions Action Plan, the application for membership in the Grade-Level Reading Communities Network.
- Formalize the collaborative with a designated champion organization. The champion organization is the coordinator of the collaborative.
- Share the draft Community Action Plan with NCECF before final submission.
NCECF is here at every step of the way to advise and support your effort to join the NC Campaign for Grade-Level Reading!