|
|
|
|
From the Director
Where has the summer gone? In less than two weeks, kids in Georgia will be back in school. Data shows that missing just six days of school a year can cause children to fall behind—and that those negative effects begin even in the early grades.
Attendance Works, a National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading partner, has declared September Attendance Awareness Month to promote student attendance and reduce absenteeism. The Count Us In! Toolkit is packed with everything you need to help organize a community-wide campaign and get the word out about the barriers that limit children’s access to regular school attendance.
More than 30 Georgia school superintendents answered the Superintendents Call to Action to promote regular attendance last year, and 10 communities organized local efforts. We’d love to see your community join that list as we continue our collective efforts to Get Georgia Reading.
With gratitude,
Arianne
|
|
#GetGAReading This Month
Please share this post on your own social media platforms this month.
 GA’s amazing young home-grown authors wrote original stories for the @mygpb PBS Kids writers contest. You may want to add some of these stories to your summer reading list while #SchoolsOutGA! https://bit.ly/2mx1zYh #KeepKidsLearning
 “Literacy, and being able to read on grade level, plays such an important role in all educational attainment that we can’t afford to hit the brakes on reading during the summer months.” -State Librarian Julie Walker & State School Superintendent Richard Woods https://bit.ly/2zHEc7j #SchoolsOutGA #KeepKidsLearning
|
|
MEET THE CABINET
 Atlanta-Fulton Family Connection works with partners in the community surrounding the Oak Hill Child, Adolescent and Family Center to decrease childhood obesity, improve child health, and make sure children are reading proficiently by third grade. They're hosting nutrition camps and healthy cooking classes and demonstrations; healthy mom outreach events; mother and family counseling sessions; summer reading camp; and other events and programs. And they're bringing families and the community closer together. Learn More
|
|
 Families in Fulton Learn How to Cook with CHOICES
Families in the Oak Hill area of Fulton County have limited access to affordable, nutritious food. And children who are hungry can't learn. That’s why Fulton’s Early Childhood Health and Education strategy team helped implement Cooking with CHOICES, which teach families to prepare healthy meals on a budget. Find out how to convince families that food influences academic success.
|
|
 Cobb Students Get All-Access Library PASS
More than 120,000 public-school students in Cobb have access to the county's public library digital and print resources through the new Library PASS (Public Library Access for Student Success) initiative. Library PASS links K – 12 student ID numbers to accounts for online connections to the Cobb Public Library from home, the classroom, or library. Find out how Cobb created one of the largest programs of its kind in the country.
|
|
 Books Sweeter than Candy for Kids in Georgia
Get Georgia Reading Campaign partner Books for Keeps’ (BFK) Stop Summer Slide! program is a research-based effort to end summer learning loss. Since 2009, BFK has provided more than 260,000 books to children from low-income families in grades Pre-K through 12. Their strategy is based on a study that revealed having access to books over the summer has a similar impact to attending summer school, but at a fraction of the cost. Find out why it works.
|
|
 More Libraries Are Going Fine-Free
A growing number of public libraries have decided to stop charging late fees. Eliminating these fines can expand access to library services among groups that might otherwise struggle to return materials on time or keep up with payments, including low-income families, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Find out how fine-free policies can actually work to improve library circulation—and even the library’s bottom line.
|
|
 Summer Learning Programs Close Achievement Gaps
Taking summer classes was once viewed as a punitive measure, but research shows that students of all ages and grades can suffer from a “summer slide” that makes re-entry to school in the fall more difficult. This podcast with Matthew Boulay, the head of the National Summer Learning Association, highlights how engaging summer learning programs can mitigate the achievement gaps caused by summer learning loss.
|
|
Community Partnership Grants
The Innovation Fund’s Community Partnership Grants provide $35,000 to $75,000 over one to two years for eligible organizations—in partnership with schools, districts, and community, state, or national organizations—to implement programs with priority areas including Birth to Age 8 Language and Literacy Development and Positive Learning Climate. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; the next deadline is Sunday, Sept. 30.
Online Map Helps Parents Locate After-School and Summer Programs
The Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network (GSAN) has created the state’s only searchable map focused solely on helping parents and caregivers locate after-school and summer-learning programs that fit their needs. Encourage programs in your community to go to this map and register for GSAN’s online database to help create a diverse and inclusive map of out-of-school-time programs across the state.
Building a Grad Nation
Despite significant progress in increasing high-school graduation rates nationally and in Georgia over the past 17 years, more work is needed. This annual report explores national trends, drills down into population groups that are lagging behind, examines the connection between high school and postsecondary education, and lifts up policy and practice recommendations that can speed progress.
|
|
Grade-Level Reading Week
Monday – Friday, July 23 – 27
Philadelphia, Pa.
Strengthen and accelerate your efforts to promote third-grade reading proficiency while gathering with Grade-Level Reading (GLR) Campaign peers from across the country. GLR Week includes the Funder Huddle (July 23 – 25) to share successes and lessons learned; Community and State Leads Convening (July 25 – 26) to share insights and effective strategies to reach bigger outcomes; and the Institutes (July 25 – 27) to examine trauma-informed practice and character development while exploring strategies to support students and families as they face adversity. Register Now
Attendance Awareness Month
September 2018
Children can’t learn if they aren’t in school—and we all have an important role to play in supporting student attendance. Check out the wide array of resources offered by Attendance Works and begin working with your local partners to address chronic absenteeism and increase attendance for children in your community. Get Started
National Center for Families Learning Conference
Monday – Wednesday, Sept. 24 – 26
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The Families Learning Conference is the premier event focused on innovative strategies and practices in family literacy and learning, two-generation education solutions, and parent and family engagement. Attending the conference will equip you with tools and strategies to use right away with the students, families, and communities you serve. Register Now
|
|
We Want to Hear From You
Our partners are the heroes in this work, and we want to help connect you with each other and with resources that can help you get even greater results. And we want to hear more stories. Please share yours with us so we can post it to getgeorgiareading.org. Send your stories—or any questions about the Campaign—to Arianne Weldon at arianne@gafcp.org.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
