Closing the Book on Summer Reading Slide
NewAlliance Foundation’s Public Library Summer Reading
Initiative Preparing K-3 Children for Grade-Level Reading
With additional support from The Scripps Family
Fund for Education and the Arts
Closing the Book on Summer Reading Slide
NewAlliance Foundation’s Public Library Summer Reading
Initiative Preparing K-3 Children for Grade-Level Reading
With additional support from The Scripps Family
Fund for Education and the Arts
Kids Who Read Succeed
Young children who read during the summer are more likely to begin the school year solid in the skills they learned the previous year. Children from low-income families have far fewer opportunities to read during the summer than their peers from families with adequate or higher income. In the United States, this opportunity gap is widest in Connecticut (1), where it disproportionately affects children of color, primarily Black and Latino children.
NewAlliance Foundation established READy for the Grade to give rising first, second, and third graders from low-income families the tools they need to stay up to speed with reading all summer. In partnership with six public libraries in Connecticut, READy for the Grade helps students improve their skills, catch up with their peers, and envision greater possibilities for themselves.
(1) National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the largest nationwide representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. Find their online database here: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard
Summer Reading Helps Kids in Need Succeed
%
of participants in 2023 were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
hours of programming were offered during summer 2023.
%
of students maintained or increased reading test scores in 2023.
All Kids Need to Read
READy for the Grade serves a diverse population, with programs in rural, suburban, and urban communities.
The challenges of living and learning with low income vary by setting. Click the site name for details.
Killingly
Manchester
New Haven
Hamden
Rockville
Willimantic
Early Childhood Literacy Matters
Whether you seek to replicate our program in your community, study it academically, or simply gain a deeper understanding of issues surrounding early childhood literacy, we hope you will find the information on these pages helpful.
When Kids Achieve, We Succeed
NewAlliance Foundation launched READy for the Grade to address summer reading loss in children from families with low-income. Our program focuses on helping children ages 5-8 maintain or achieve grade-level reading skills. These students can then enter school in September with the same literacy advantages as their peers from families with adequate-or-better-income.
What Makes Our Program Work?
After eleven years in operation and six annual independent evaluations, we have identified seven key attributes for a successful READy for the Grade program.
What We’ve Learned
From dealing with staff turnover and unavailable transportation to discovering the most effective ways for sites to customize the program, during a global pandemic, some of our biggest challenges served as our most significant teachers.
Questions?
Location: 195 Church Street, 7th Floor
New Haven, Connecticut 06510
Telephone: (203) 859.6600
Email: ljordan@newalliancefoundation.org
Learn About NewAlliance Foundation