Events | GLR Week 2021

GLR Week 2021 july 26 – 30

Events

PLENARY

3–4:30 PM ET
A Virtual Gratitude Reception: CGLR Salutes Our Partners

Over the past 10 years, 5,000+ local agencies, organizations and institutions and 100+ sector- and field-leading organizations and affiliate networks have joined with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) to ensure that children in economically disadvantaged families can succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship.

Our 2010 founding partners – America’s Promise Alliance, Council for a Strong America, National Civic League, National League of Cities and United Way Worldwide – have stayed the course and self-identified as partners and champions of CGLR’s mission and work. Among them, United Way Worldwide and its nationwide network have played a critical role. Our implementation partners have proven equally steadfast; thank you to Attendance Works; Clear Impact; National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials; National Summer Learning Association; and Vision To Learn.

As we kicked off GLR Week 2021: Bright Spots and Silver Linings, we acknowledged the contributions of CGLR’s many partners, with a special salute to United Way Worldwide and United Ways across the nation for their leadership and support.

Speakers

Keynote Speaker: Suzanne McCormick, U.S. President, United Way Worldwide
Kate Bennett, Community Impact Officer-Education, United Way of Central Iowa
Hedy Chang, Executive Director, Attendance Works
Jennifer Deemer, Vice President of Community Impact, United Way of Wyoming Valley
Dawn Gerundo, Community Development and Engagement Director, Valley of the Sun United Way
Tricia Johnson, Director of Education Initiatives, United Way of Greater Kansas City
Kayla Klein, Black Hills Reads Director, United Way of the Black Hills
Corinne Kroger, Iowa Regional Director, Vision To Learn
Doug Linkhart, President, National Civic League
Ken Livingston, Director, Get Delaware Reading, United Way of Delaware (invited)
Susan Patrick, Director of Childhood Success, United Way of Southwest Virginia
Jill Pereira, Vice President-Education and Impact, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
Adrianna Cuéllar Rojas, President and CEO, United Ways of Texas
Amy Ahrens Terpstra, Vice President of Collective Impact Partnerships, United Way of Salt Lake
Ralph Smith, Managing Director, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Becky Miles-Polka, Senior Consultant, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Watch the Recording »

STATE EVENTS

Alabama

12:45–1 PM ET
Bright Spots in Alabama: Learning Outside of the Classroom

Tune in as Judge Biggers shares Learning Outside of the Classroom strategies implemented by the Macon Campaign for Grade-Level Reading coalition to improve grade-level reading.

Speaker

Honorable Deborah Biggers, District Judge, Macon Children’s Policy Council

California

1 PM ET
California Readin’ — With the Right Teaching, Every Student Reading Isn’t a Dream

By many standards, California lags the nation in reading, especially for the low-income students of color who make up half of California’s six million students. But changes are happening, especially at the local level, as school and district leaders focus on better reading curriculum and instruction to move the needle on student achievement. This panel features five leaders from across the Golden State, sharing their progress for putting every student on the reading path.

Moderator

Robert Scheffield, President, Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education (CORE).

Panelists

Kareem Weaver, Oakland Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate (FULCRUM) / NAACP
Leslie Zoroya, Literacy Coordinator, Los Angeles County Office of Education
Sharon Dunn, Consultant, Panama-Buena Vista Unified School District
Margaret Goldberg, Co-Founder, Right to Read Project
Michelle Rodriguez, Superintendent, Pajaro Valley Unified School District

Florida

Monday, July 26–Thursday, July 29
No Small Matter Documentary Screening

The documentary No Small Matter will be available for a free public screening 24/7! Share with anyone who has not yet seen this powerful film on the importance of early learning.

PLENARY

3–4 PM ET
Meeting the Moment: Accelerating Equitable Recovery and Transformative Change
Co-Sponsored by Education Week and Hosted on the On24 Platform

Educators are deciding how best to reestablish disrupted routines such as everyday attendance, to rebuild the relationships for resilient school communities, and to center the teaching and learning enterprise in a way that prioritizes protecting the health and overall well-being of students and staff alike. Most educators are adamant that a simple return to the pre-pandemic status quo is not an option. The objective is to do better, much better, in creating the conditions for learning and thriving for every child.

CGLR applauds the embrace of the “build back better” imperative. Just as the pandemic laid bare longstanding inequities, adapting to the pandemic has unveiled different ways of working, teaching and learning that could contribute to a better “new normal.” Featuring a panel of exceptional national leaders, this conversation seeks to illuminate how some of the “both-and” decisions that educators make could translate these bright spots, silver linings and potential post-pandemic keepers into pathways toward both accelerating equitable recovery and promoting longer-term transformative systems change.

Speakers

Linda Darling-Hammond, Ed.D., President and CEO, Learning Policy Institute
Karen Mapp, Faculty Director, Education Policy and Management Master’s Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Sal Khan, Founder and CEO, Khan Academy
Rey Saldana, President and CEO, Communities In Schools
John Gomperts, Executive Fellow, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Former President and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance, Moderator

Watch the Recording »

STATE EVENTS

Alabama

12–12:15 PM ET
Bright Spots in Alabama: Health, Wellness and Early Literacy

Learn how Alabama expanded Reach Out and Read to five counties across the state and the initiative’s impact on brain and language development, family engagement, immunizations and well checkups.

Speakers

Marsha Raulerson, Pediatrician, Reach Out and Read – Alabama
Amy Crosby, Statewide Coordinator, Reach Out and Read – Alabama

Arizona

1–2:30 PM ET
The Science of Reading & Why It Matters: Three State Perspectives

Join state leaders and practitioners from Arizona, Mississippi and Oregon for a thought-provoking discussion around the science of reading. Participants will hear unique perspectives from literacy leaders in three different states as they share their experience with integrating the science of reading into literacy instruction from the community level to the state-level. From practical implementation and issues of equity to policy, panelists will share successes, challenges and lessons learned as they walk participants through how the science of reading has influenced and shaped their state’s literacy journey. This event will also feature a breakout session by state, allowing participants to ask questions and have a more intimate conversation with the experts. Participants will leave the discussion inspired to examine additional ways to prioritize the science of reading in literacy instruction within their own communities.

Panel Moderator

Terri Clark, Arizona Literacy Director, Read On Arizona

State Panelists

Arizona:

Kaitlin Harrier, Policy Advisor, Education, Office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey
Sean Ross, Deputy Associate Superintendent of High Academic Standards, Arizona Department of Education

Mississippi:

Angela Rutherford, Director, Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction, University of Mississippi
Kristen Wynn, State Literacy Director (K-12), MS Department of Education

Oregon:

Holly Mar-Conte, Chief Strategy Officer, United Way of Lane County
Marina Merrill, Director of Research & Strategy, Children’s Institute
Panel Moderator: Terri Clark, Arizona Literacy Director, Read On Arizona

Florida

Monday, July 26–Thursday, July 29
No Small Matter Documentary Screening

The documentary No Small Matter will be available for a free public screening 24/7! Share with anyone who has not yet seen this powerful film on the importance of early learning.

11–12 PM ET
Florida Representative Roundtable Discussion

The Florida GLR Campaign will welcome Representative Vance Aloupis, Representative Erin Grall and Representative Dana Trabulsy to a conversation moderated by the Florida Children’s Council CEO, Michele Watson. The discussion will include the details of the early learning/early grade success, book distribution and student literacy bills passed in the 2021 Legislative Session, plus guidance on how to become more involved in the implementation of these bills.

Moderator

Michele Watson, Chief Executive Officer, Florida Children’s Council

Speakers

Representative Vance Aloupis, District 115, Florida House of Representatives
Representative Erin Grall, District 54, Florida House of Representatives
Representative Dana Trabulsy, District 84, Florida House of Representatives

Georgia

9–10:30 AM ET
Language as a Missing Link & Missed Opportunity

This virtual workshop will illustrate how language skills are the primary vehicle for frequent and positive social connections with caregivers, educators and peers, and are non-negotiable for literacy and educational outcomes, emotional and behavioral health, and positive quality of life. This paradigm shift will heighten recognition of the prevalence of language difficulties and lessen the likelihood of misdiagnoses, particularly in marginalized communities. While language skills are essential foundation for the development of literacy, they also protect an individual from emotional and behavioral health issues, as the ability to share and cope with emotions relies on an “inner language.” There are, however, proactive solutions.

Speaker

Emily Rubin, MS, CCC-SLP, Director of Communication Crossroads, Inc.

1–2:30 PM ET
The Basics Chattahoochee Valley

Eighty percent of brain development happens during the first three years of a child’s life, making this time critical to children’s literacy and development. Founded on research by Dr. Ron Ferguson and the Achievement Gap Initiative, The Basics are five simple and evidence-based parenting and caregiving principles designed to give children ages 0–3 the best possible start in life and promote their intellectual, behavioral and emotional well-being. The Chattahoochee Valley became the first community in Georgia to adopt The Basics in 2019 as part of a global Basics Movement and has demonstrated strong successes since launch. This presentation will share how The Basics came to the Chattahoochee Valley, their cross-sectoral strategy in community-wide implementation of The Basics, and how partners use The Basics as one of their tools to promote early literacy and child development, particularly in the health care sector.

Speakers

Garrett Cook, Collective Impact Grant Coordinator, Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy
Grace Nagel, Director of The Basics Chattahoochee Valley, United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley
Jennifer St. John, Vice President of Community Initiatives, United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley
Susan McWhirter, Basics Healthcare Champion, Rivertown Pediatric

Mississippi

1–2:30 PM ET
The Science of Reading & Why It Matters: Three State Perspectives

Panel Moderator

Terri Clark, Arizona Literacy Director, Read On Arizona

State Panelists

Arizona:

Kaitlin Harrier, Policy Advisor, Education, Office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey
Sean Ross, Deputy Associate Superintendent of High Academic Standards, Arizona Department of Education

Mississippi:

Angela Rutherford, Director, Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction, University of Mississippi
Kristen Wynn, State Literacy Director (K-12), MS Department of Education

Oregon:

Holly Mar-Conte, Chief Strategy Officer, United Way of Lane County
Marina Merrill, Director of Research & Strategy, Children’s Institute
Panel Moderator: Terri Clark, Arizona Literacy Director, Read On Arizona

North Carolina

12–1 PM ET
Making Way for Families: Reflections From Literacy Partners in Durham County, NC

Literacy partners in Durham County, North Carolina, are collaborating in innovative ways to support parents and caregivers as decision-makers, advocates and community leaders. In this panel discussion, four partners participating in Durham’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading coalition will highlight how parent leadership and engagement are key in creating narrative change, driving equitable processes and creating impactful programs. Panelists will highlight successes and challenges through various county-wide processes and literacy programs, including book boxes, a summer library and distribution program, and parent engagement in the county’s Early Childhood Action Planning process. Parents will also share their experiences.

Speakers

Caitlyn Bergmann, Book Bank Manager, Book Harvest
Cate Elander, Early Childhood Coordinator, Durham County Cooperative Extension
Karlene Fyffe Phillips, Manager, Family Literacy and Community Services, Durham County Library
Katie Starr, Program Coordinator of Community Initiatives, Durham’s Partnership for Children
Moderator: Lisa Finaldi, Community Engagement Leader, NC Early Childhood Foundation

Oregon

1–2:30 PM ET
The Science of Reading & Why It Matters: Three State Perspectives

Panel Moderator

Terri Clark, Arizona Literacy Director, Read On Arizona

State Panelists

Arizona:

Kaitlin Harrier, Policy Advisor, Education, Office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey
Sean Ross, Deputy Associate Superintendent of High Academic Standards, Arizona Department of Education

Mississippi:

Angela Rutherford, Director, Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction, University of Mississippi
Kristen Wynn, State Literacy Director (K-12), MS Department of Education

Oregon:

Holly Mar-Conte, Chief Strategy Officer, United Way of Lane County
Marina Merrill, Director of Research & Strategy, Children’s Institute
Panel Moderator: Terri Clark, Arizona Literacy Director, Read On Arizona

Tennessee

1–2 PM ET
Supporting Literacy Through Family Partnerships for Marginalized and Immigrant Communities

The development of language and literacy are key foundations for social and emotional development, reading achievement, cognitive development and overall school success. The challenge for educators is that children’s early language and literacy environments often vary, with the amount and kind of experiences differing across families. Children bring to centers and schools a great variety of oral language levels; some speak more than one language while some are limited in a single language. Vocabulary banks can range from limited to very sophisticated. Many children have not been read to and were exposed to print primarily from the environment. The task of supporting the variety of needs that children bring to educators is often daunting due to shortage of materials, time, teacher preparedness, and family and community support.

To address these issues, Read to Succeed will feature Dr. Maria Trejo, a national and international consultant and coach in the areas of literacy, mathematics and program implementation pre-K to university. She will highlight suggestions for engaging families and community partnerships to enhance center or school literacy instruction. This session will review key skills and dispositions of early language and literacy development needed by all children, and specifically those who may be at risk of falling behind.

Speaker

Dr. Maria Trejo, Consultant

PLENARY

3–4:30 PM ET
Bringing Digital Equity Home: The Suncoast Digital Access for All Initiative
GLR Week Crucible of Practice Salon

The Patterson Foundation’s initiatives emphasize embracing and optimizing the benefits of technology to strengthen its work. When COVID-19 hit in spring 2020, The Patterson Foundation (TPF) paused for a moment to understand how individuals, organizations and communities were moving through the three distinct phases of disaster recovery: cope, adapt and innovate. Digital access emerged as a basic necessity to connect to a variety of services — including those related to education, health, employment and other vital needs — that had increasingly shifted to an online environment. In June 2020, TPF created Digital Access for All (DA4A) to explore the efforts of multiple sectors working together to enhance access to technology to connect people in ways that foster inclusion and well-being.

In this session, learn how “more than money philanthropy” guided TPF’s DA4A initiative from concept to community collaboration within the span of one year. Hear from the DA4A team and community partners how digital access is being addressed throughout the Suncoast region of Florida and beyond.

Speakers

Cheri Coryea, Consultant, Digital Access for All, The Patterson Foundation
John Ferguson, Fellow, The Patterson Foundation
Jake Hartvigsen, Consultant, Digital Access for All, The Patterson Foundation
Kiarra Louis, Consultant, Digital Access for All, The Patterson Foundation
Maribel Martinez, Consultant, Digital Access for All, The Patterson Foundation
Margie Genter, Vice President of Mission Services, Goodwill Manasota
Lori Aberle Gentile, Director of Client Services, Women’s Resource Center
Lisbeth Oscuvilca, Family Engagement Director, UnidosNow

Watch the Recording »

STATE EVENTS

Alabama

11:30–11:45 AM ET
Bright Spots in Alabama: Family Engagement and English Language Learners (ELL)

Learn how the Jefferson Campaign for Grade-Level Reading coalition is using strong existing partnerships for family engagement and leveraging those strengths to meet the needs of ELL students through proposed literacy projects.

Speaker

Melissa Niven, Jefferson Children’s Policy Council

California

1–2 PM ET
PBS SoCal: Math and Family Engagement

Join us to learn about PBS SoCal’s Family Math program, designed to help families with children ages 2-5 uncover the joy of math in everyday experiences. In this session, PBS SoCal will highlight a family engagement model that integrates parents and caregivers into their children’s learning community and provides positive math experiences so children can see themselves as mathematical thinkers and doers. PBS SoCal will share bilingual math resources and tools, including self-paced learning experiences and digital content, to promote meaningful and playful family math interactions within your classrooms and programs.

Speakers

Carla Pinedo, Digital Producer, PBS SoCal
Frances Zazueta, Early Learning Manager, PBS SoCal

Hawaiʻi

3–4:30 PM ET — Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been rescheduled to early fall 2021. Please check the Early Childhood Action Strategy’s website in early fall for additional information.
Integrating Behavioral Health Into Early Childhood Programs

Your input, knowledge and creative solutions are requested! Please join us for a Peer Consultancy on Hawaiʻi’s Early Childhood Behavioral Health strategy. We will share briefly about Hawaiʻi’s first Hawaiʻi Integrated Infant and Early Childhood Behavioral Health Plan, first steps and anticipated systems’ barriers. We then hope to engage with the audience around solutions to some of the barriers and learn about what is working in your communities! The mental health impacts of COVID19 have impacted families across the globe, with anticipated social and emotional development delays in our youngest children. The time is now to build the system of support our families need. Representatives from Hawaiʻi’s State Department of Health, Head Start, Hawaiʻi Association of Infant Mental Health, families and partner organizations will participate in the panel discussion. We look forward to sharing with and learning from you!

A link to the government-nongovernment plan can be found here.

Missouri

11 AM–12 PM ET
Introducing Missouri’s Office of Childhood and Pre-K Hubs

Meet Pam Thomas from the newly created Office of Childhood and learn about the Office’s services under the Missouri’s Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. Deanna Finch, Executive Director of United 4 Children, and Jovanna Rohs, Director of Early Learning at the Mid-America Regional Council, will also discuss the new Missouri Regional Hub Model.

Speakers

Pam Thomas, Director, Missouri’s Office of Childhood
Deanna Finch, Executive Director, United 4 Children (St. Louis)
Jovanna Rohs, Director of Early Learning and Head Start, Mid-America Regional Council (Kansas City)

2–3 PM ET
Resources for Attendance Awareness Campaigns

Learn how to access free materials to help promote school attendance this fall. Presenters, including representatives from Attendance Works and the United Way of Greater Kansas City, will provide an overview of available resources and attendance campaign communications plans.

Speakers

Hedy Chang, Executive Director and President, Attendance Works
Tricia Johnson, the United Way of Greater Kansas City

Ohio

10 AM; 6–8 PM ET
Turning Everyday Moments Into Playful Learning — Play On Purpose Unveiling in Montgomery County

The Press Event will be held at 10 a.m. to reveal our first “POP” Spot — the Mosaic of Hope, a 400-square-foot mosaic with early childhood games embedded within. Speakers will include representatives from Learn to Earn Dayton, the Hope Center for Families, Montgomery County Commission, Artists of the mosaic and a local family.

The Community Celebration will be that evening from 6–8 p.m. We will have fun food and games for families with young children, community members, and all of the many volunteers who volunteered more than 150 hours over the last three months to put the mosaic together.

South Carolina

10:30–11:15 AM ET
NiA Presents: The Little Garnet Gamecock (and The Mr. Darion Who Cried Tiger)

Tune into Richland Library’s Facebook page at 10:30 AM for a fun mashup of two classic tales. Mr. Darion and friends are trying to tell a story (or two). With help from Cocky’s Reading Express and a super Librarian, they share their own version of two classic tales, The Little Red Hen and The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Speakers

NiA Company, and Mr. Darion

Texas

10 AM–12:30 PM ET
Unraveling the Mystery of Texas Early Childhood Data
This session is private and intended for Texas communities only; if you would like to learn more or register, please reach out to megan.hall@uwtexas.org.

United Ways of Texas and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) will co-host a series of virtual learning opportunities built specifically for Texas early childhood community collaboratives. Members of any community-based collaborative focused on young children throughout the state are invited, including DFPS-funded early childhood coalitions, Start Smart Texas (CGLR) collaboratives, Help Me Grow teams and local Early Matters groups. This monthly series began in April and concludes in July, and it offers an opportunity to hear from state experts on early childhood education, maternal/child health, child welfare and education data.

Participants can download the Participant Workbook built for this series with links to state data sources and activities to help community collaboratives integrate the data into their work. Communities that turn in their plans after the July session will be entered to win a gift card for treats for their next collaborative meeting!

PLENARY

3–4:30 PM ET
The CARE Fund: A Philanthropic Initiative to Meet the Moment
Co-Sponsored by United Philanthropy Forum

This spring, eight leading philanthropic organizations joined to form The Care for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund, a $50 million, multiyear investment in transformational change to support a broad-based movement for care that includes paid leave, child care and early education, long-term services and supports for older adults and people with disabilities, and high-quality jobs for care workers. The unprecedented public demand for a comprehensive care infrastructure is a “silver lining” of COVID-19.

Leaders from three of the CARE Fund partners share how they are pooling their resources, the steps they have taken to date and their emerging future plans as they seek to build a movement for a universal publicly supported care infrastructure that will improve outcomes for kids, fuel the economy, promote equity and enable people with disabilities and older adults to live independently with safety and dignity. They also discuss the ways in which local funders can align their efforts and investments toward the goal of strengthening the care infrastructure and share some new tools that can assist local funders in this work.

Speakers

Melissa A. Berman, Ph.D., President and CEO, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Moderator
Traci Slater-Rigaud, Director of Member Engagement & Partnerships, United Philanthropy Forum, Introductions
Barbara Chow, Education Program Director, Heising-Simons Foundation
Erin Currier, Program Officer, Family Economic Security, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Anna Wadia, Senior Program Officer, Future of Work(ers), Ford Foundation

Watch the Recording »

STATE EVENTS

California

5:30-6:30 PM ET
K-Ready Promotora Program

The goal of K-Ready is to help Spanish-speaking families prepare their children for transitional kindergarten or kindergarten and support them in their first year of school. K-Ready offers one-on-one support, education and coaching from community educators known as promotoras. Promotoras work with parents to connect them with their school district and with community services, provide education and coaching around parenting and school readiness, and teach literacy, self-regulation and other needed skills. This session will share learnings and takeaways from the most recent year of K-Ready, based on reports by the promotoras, teachers of participating students, and parents, and plans for the near future.

Speakers

Laura Brown, Executive Director, Tahoe Truckee Excellence in Education Foundation
Tara House, Coordinator of English Learner Programs and Accountability, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District

Delaware

11–12:30 PM ET
Mind Over Matter: Preparing Students to Return to School

The COVID-19 pandemic, in connection with civil unrest and chronic community violence, has led to social, emotional and mental trauma in students, and created barriers to education success, whether in-person or virtually. During this session we will hear evidence-based best practices from a panel of experts and a parent on strategies to assist students in preparing to return to learning and engage in school for the 2021–2022 school year.

Moderator

Ken Livingston, Director, Get Delaware Reading — United Way of Delaware

Speakers

Dr. Teri Lawler, Trauma-Informed Practices and Social Emotional Learning, Office of Equity and Innovation, Delaware Department of Education
Dr. Julius Mullen, Chief Clinical Officer, Children and Families First

Florida

Monday, July 26–Thursday, July 29
No Small Matter Documentary Screening

The documentary No Small Matter will be available for a free public screening 24/7! Share with anyone who has not yet seen this powerful film on the importance of early learning.

10:30–11:45 AM ET
Engaging Elected Officials and Business Leaders in Local GLR Campaigns

GLR Campaign communities, business leaders and elected officials are joining forces to help advocate for early learning, early grade success and third-grade reading proficiency. Collaboration among local leaders is expanding across Florida as joint visions allow for strategic reading intervention strategies, outcome evaluation, and advocacy and policy development. Join us as our panelists discuss their early learning and early literacy goals and ways that business executives and elected officials can engage to support local GLR Campaign efforts.

Moderator

Jenn Faber, GLR Campaign Director, Florida

Speakers

Commissioner Beam Furr, District 6, Broward County
Representative Fred Hawkins Jr., District 42, Florida House of Representatives
Tina Certain, District 1, Alachua School Board Member
Kyle Baltuch, Senior Vice President, Economic Opportunity and Early Learning, Florida Chamber Foundation

1–2 PM ET
Florida Gap Map Walkthrough

Join Dr. Jerry Parrish, Chief Economist and Director of Research, and Kyle Baltuch, Senior Vice President – Economic Opportunity and Early Learning, Florida Chamber Foundation, as they walk us through the newly expanded Florida Gap Map. The Gap Map brings together the important work of the Florida Prosperity Project and the Florida Business Alliance for Early Learning Project. This online tool gives business and community leaders throughout Florida important information on the schools in their community, including the poverty rate for children under 18 and under 12 in each zip code, as well as identifying all public elementary schools’ third-grade reading scores and the number of individual children meeting that benchmark. Learn how your GLR community can utilize this helpful tool in supporting third-grade reading efforts across Florida!

Speakers

Jerry Parrish, Chief Economist and Director of Research, Florida Chamber Foundation
Kyle Baltuch, Senior Vice President – Economic Opportunity and Early Learning, Florida Chamber Foundation

Illinois

12–1:30 PM ET
Partnerships Matter: How Schools and Communities Stepped Up to Support Kids and Families During the Pandemic
Private to Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois GLR communities

A panel of state and school district leaders, GLR community leads and funders from Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois will highlight efforts over the past 15 months and look ahead to strengthening these partnerships. This engaging session will include a video with cameos from GLR communities.

Speakers

Amy Williamson, Deputy Director, Iowa Department of Education

Council Bluffs, IA

Samantha Emerine, Director of Literacy Initiatives, Family Inc.

Dubuque, IA

Shirley Horstman, Executive Director, Student Services, Dubuque Community Schools
Paul Duster, Director of Community Initiatives, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

Marshalltown, IA

Theron Schutte, Ph.D., Superintendent, Marshalltown Community Schools
Alison Wilson, Director, Family Development, Mid-Iowa Community Action Agency

Omaha, NE

Martha Bruckner, Ph.D., Executive Director, Metropolitan Omaha Education Consortium

Quad Cities, IL

Alex Kolker, Community Impact and Data Director, United Way of the Quad Cities
Mike Oberhaus, Vice President Talent and Administration, Quad Cities Chamber

Sioux City, IA

Brian Burnight, Ed.D., Director of Elementary Education, Sioux City Community School District
Matt Ohman, Executive Director, Siouxland Human Investment Partnership

Iowa

12–1:30 PM ET
Partnerships Matter: How Schools and Communities Stepped Up to Support Kids and Families During the Pandemic
Private to Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois GLR communities

Speakers

Amy Williamson, Deputy Director, Iowa Department of Education

Council Bluffs, IA

Samantha Emerine, Director of Literacy Initiatives, Family Inc.

Dubuque, IA

Shirley Horstman, Executive Director, Student Services, Dubuque Community Schools
Paul Duster, Director of Community Initiatives, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

Marshalltown, IA

Theron Schutte, Ph.D., Superintendent, Marshalltown Community Schools
Alison Wilson, Director, Family Development, Mid-Iowa Community Action Agency

Omaha, NE

Martha Bruckner, Ph.D., Executive Director, Metropolitan Omaha Education Consortium

Quad Cities, IL

Alex Kolker, Community Impact and Data Director, United Way of the Quad Cities
Mike Oberhaus, Vice President Talent and Administration, Quad Cities Chamber

Sioux City, IA

Brian Burnight, Ed.D., Director of Elementary Education, Sioux City Community School District
Matt Ohman, Executive Director, Siouxland Human Investment Partnership

6–8 PM ET
Talking With Children About Bias & Race

As part of the Science Center of Iowa’s exhibit on “The Bias Inside Us,” we are partnering with Sesame Street in Communities to host a training on Thursday, July 29, from 6–8 p.m. This free virtual workshop will share resources to develop children’s understanding, curiosity, resilience and empathy to prepare for the task of building a better world.

This training is led by Sesame Street in Communities in partnership with the Iowa Alliance for Healthy Kids and the Science Center of Iowa.

Nebraska

12–1:30 PM ET
Partnerships Matter: How Schools and Communities Stepped Up to Support Kids and Families During the Pandemic
Private to Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois GLR communities

Speakers

Amy Williamson, Deputy Director, Iowa Department of Education

Council Bluffs, IA

Samantha Emerine, Director of Literacy Initiatives, Family Inc.

Dubuque, IA

Shirley Horstman, Executive Director, Student Services, Dubuque Community Schools
Paul Duster, Director of Community Initiatives, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

Marshalltown, IA

Theron Schutte, Ph.D., Superintendent, Marshalltown Community Schools
Alison Wilson, Director, Family Development, Mid-Iowa Community Action Agency

Omaha, NE

Martha Bruckner, Ph.D., Executive Director, Metropolitan Omaha Education Consortium

Quad Cities, IL

Alex Kolker, Community Impact and Data Director, United Way of the Quad Cities
Mike Oberhaus, Vice President Talent and Administration, Quad Cities Chamber

Sioux City, IA

Brian Burnight, Ed.D., Director of Elementary Education, Sioux City Community School District
Matt Ohman, Executive Director, Siouxland Human Investment Partnership

Pennsylvania

Time – Coming Soon
Million Minute Challenge — An Emerging Collaboration in Pennsylvania GLR Communities

Reading Challenge and Awareness Initiative aligned with Dr. Seuss / Read Across America Week

Speakers

Angela Zanelli, Vice President, Policy & Advocacy Campaign Director, Lehigh Valley Reads

Tennessee

1–2:00 PM ET
Using Parent Assets to Support Children’s Literacy Development

This Read to Succeed session will feature Klem-Mari Cajigas with Bringing Books to Life, Nashville Public Library. Parents are a child’s first and most important teacher. As such, they are in the best position to positively affect their children’s literacy development. In this workshop, we will discuss how to highlight and deploy parents’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds as assets in their children’s literacy development.

Speaker

Klem-Marí Cajigas, Nashville Public Library

PLENARY

2:30–4:00 PM ET
Assume Collaboration: A Consultative Conversation on Aggregating for Impact
(by invitation only)

Program leaders, funders and researchers met to discuss the launch of a year-long effort to encourage and incentivize collaboration as a preferred practice for generating more impact. “The research literature provides no credible evidence that any one of even the most exemplary and acclaimed programs is sufficiently powerful that it alone can close the gap….Efforts to align, stack and bundle promising and proven programs must move from the ‘good things to consider’ bucket to the ‘urgent, must do.’” — Toward Closing the Gap(s), 2017

STATE EVENTS

Alabama

11–11:15 AM ET
Bright Spots in Alabama: Birth to Eight Systems (Pre-K) and an Overview of the Alabama Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Learn about Alabama’s advancements in First Class Pre-K and the measures for success framework for the Alabama Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.

Speaker

Dr. Barbara J. Cooper, Secretary, Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education

12–12:15 PM ET
Bright Spots in Alabama: Family Engagement

Learn how the Randolph Campaign for Grade-Level Reading coalition will use the Parent Project curriculum to engage parents in improving truancy and chronic absenteeism for students in first through third grade.

Speaker

Honorable Amy Newsome, Judge, Randolph Children’s Planning Council

Florida

1–2:00 PM ET
Attendance Awareness PSA

Join the Florida GLR Campaign as we host Hedy Chang, Executive Director and President of Attendance Works, and Indian River Schools Superintendent, Dr. David Moore, as they share current attendance data along with outreach and engagement strategies necessary for promoting good student attendance as we return to school this fall. The Florida GLR Campaign will also debut our new Attendance Awareness public service announcement during this webinar and share more on our collaboration efforts with the Florida PTA Florida Attendance Campaign for Student Success.

Speakers

Hedy Chang, Executive Director and President, Attendance Works
David Moore, Superintendent, School District of Indian River County

Georgia

1–2:30 PM ET
Get Georgia Reading Coffee Chat: Exploring the Link Between Early Literacy and Equity

We know that children who don’t meet third-grade reading proficiency standards are four to six times more likely to drop out of high school, be incarcerated, suffer poor health outcomes and face a host of negative quality of life issues. In our second coffee chat, we will begin to explore the potential of early literacy as a strategy to promote equity, and highlight Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, where leaders are using the Four Pillar framework to bring intentionality to this work.

Speaker

Coming Soon