Grade-Level Reading Funder-to-Funder Huddle · Enterprise Investor Group Tonya Allen The Skillman...

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FRIDAY, JUNE 6 LOCATION: BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE 300 NEW J ERSEY AVENUE, NW, SUITE 800, WASHINGTON, DC 12:00 – 1:30PM Gallery Walk-Style Review of Exhibits by State and Local Campaigns; Informal Lunch Conversations with Local Leaders and Funders 2:00 – 5:00PM Presentation and Discussion of "State of the Campaign" Report 5:00 – 7:00PM Opening Reception: Funder-to-Funder Huddle Grade-Level Reading Funder-to-Funder Huddle SATURDAY, JUNE 7 LOCATION: THE DUPONT CIRCLE HOTEL 1500 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVENUE, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 7:30 – 8:15AM Breakfast Available (networking encouraged) 8:15 – 9:45AM Welcome Federal Agency Senior Official Panel: GLR-Related Developments and Opportunities 9:45 – 10:15AM Break 10:15 – 10:30AM GLR Campaign Overview Ralph Smith, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Transcript of Grade-Level Reading Funder-to-Funder Huddle · Enterprise Investor Group Tonya Allen The Skillman...

Page 1: Grade-Level Reading Funder-to-Funder Huddle · Enterprise Investor Group Tonya Allen The Skillman Foundation Diana Bonta The Annie E. Casey Foundation Gail Christopher W.K. Kellogg

FRIDAY, JUNE 6 LOCATION: BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE 300 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW, SUITE 800, WASHINGTON, DC

12:00 – 1:30PM Gallery Walk-Style Review of Exhibits by State and Local Campaigns; Informal Lunch Conversations with Local Leaders and Funders 2:00 – 5:00PM Presentation and Discussion of "State of the Campaign" Report 5:00 – 7:00PM Opening Reception: Funder-to-Funder Huddle Grade-Level Reading Funder-to-Funder Huddle SATURDAY, JUNE 7 LOCATION: THE DUPONT CIRCLE HOTEL 1500 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVENUE, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 7:30 – 8:15AM Breakfast Available (networking encouraged) 8:15 – 9:45AM Welcome

Federal Agency Senior Official Panel: GLR-Related Developments and Opportunities

9:45 – 10:15AM Break

10:15 – 10:30AM GLR Campaign Overview Ralph Smith, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Page 2: Grade-Level Reading Funder-to-Funder Huddle · Enterprise Investor Group Tonya Allen The Skillman Foundation Diana Bonta The Annie E. Casey Foundation Gail Christopher W.K. Kellogg

2 6-4-14

10:30 – 11:45AM Funder-to-Funder Presentations – Community Solutions Ron Fairchild, Overview School Readiness, Ron Fairchild

• Gena O’Keefe, Annie E. Casey Foundation • Anthony Trotman, Franklin County Dept. of Job and Family Services • David Brody, First 5 Santa Cruz • Sue Renner, Merage Foundation

Attendance, Hedy Chang, Attendance Works

• Sarah Jonas, Children’s Aid Society

Summer Learning, Sarah Pitcock, National Summer Learning Association • Johanna Anderson, Belk Foundation • Dale Anglin, Victoria Foundation • Chana Edmond-Verley, DeVos Foundation

Cross-Cutting Strategies, Ron Fairchild

• Kristin Ehrgood, Flamboyan Foundation Table Talks 11:45AM – 12:15PM Break and Get Lunch 12:15 – 1:15PM Roundtable Conversations Group 1: Implementation Strategies (Dupont Circle Ballroom)

Moderator: Ron Fairchild Lead Discussants: • John Bartosek, Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County • Carter Friend, John T. Gorman Foundation • Sanam Jorjani, Rogers Family Foundation

Group 2: Funder Coalitions (Foxhall Ballroom)

Moderator: Lauren Maddox Lead Discussants: • Sally Fuller, Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation • Nancy Van Milligen, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque • Takema Robinson, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

1:15 – 1:30PM Reflections, Takeaways and Closing Remarks 1:30 – 2:00PM Meet the Speakers 2:00 – 5:00PM Open space for continued conversation (Foxhall Ballroom)

Page 3: Grade-Level Reading Funder-to-Funder Huddle · Enterprise Investor Group Tonya Allen The Skillman Foundation Diana Bonta The Annie E. Casey Foundation Gail Christopher W.K. Kellogg

Enterprise Investor Group Tonya Allen The Skillman Foundation Diana Bonta The Annie E. Casey Foundation Gail Christopher W.K. Kellogg Foundation Felicia DeHaney W.K. Kellogg Foundation Reba Dominski Target Corporation Erin Hogan J.P. Morgan Private Bank Wendy Jackson The Kresge Foundation

Debra Jacobs The Patterson Foundation Laura Johns UPS/The UPS Foundation Patrick McCarthy The Annie E. Casey Foundation Sue Renner Merage Foundations Gannet Tseggai Target Corporation Kathryn Wehr Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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Local & State Funder Panel John Annis Community Foundation of Sarasota County Chana Edmond-Verley Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation Sally Fuller Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation

Sanam Jorjani Rogers Family Foundation Takema Robinson Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation Nancy Van Milligen Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Staff Leslie Boissiere Chief Operating Officer Patrick Corvington Senior Fellow Yolie Flores Senior Fellow Ralph Smith Managing Director

Consultants Elizabeth Burke Bryant Policy Ron Fairchild Network Communities Support Center Ed Hatcher Communications Phyllis Jordan Communications Lauren Maddox Investor Relations

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how to DISRUPT intergenerational poverty?

QUALITY TEACHING in every setting

SEAMLESS SYSTEMS of care, services and family supports, 0-8

COMMUNITY SOLUTIONSto barriers faced by the children least likely to succeed

investment strategies(Time, Talent, Dollars)

REPLICATE AND scale what works

CREATE PROOF points of success and scale

3rd gradeREADINGproficiency

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

milestones

essential assurances

• Progress on the strategies

• Progress on the community solutions

• Progress on student performance

by 2015/2016by 2020

ORGANIZE AND mobilize the “big tent”

• A promising trend line and sustainable momentum toward closing the achievement gap

• A dozen states or more have increased by at least 100% the number of low-income children reading proficiently by the end of third grade

GRADUATE high school

postsecondary studies

college

military

career

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“BACKBONE” RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CAMPAIGN:• Hold the vision and guide strategic priorities, communications and messaging • Advocate for collective work,

shared measurement and joint accountability • Coordinate partner relations, cross-sector engagement and logistics • Incubate and pilot innovations and developing initiatives • Promote high-fidelity replication and scale of the most promising programs

Increase by 100% the number of children from low-income families reading proficiently in 12 states or more

Sustainable momentum trending toward more low-income kids reading on grade level by the end of third grade and closing the gap with their more affluent peers

2020 GOAL

2020 MILESTONES

The GLR Campaign enterprise provides structure, value and coherence to partners,

funders, communities and initiatives in pursuit of shared results.

• Organize a big tent of champions and allies to ensure stakeholder engagement, civic action and policy advocacy

• Tilt philanthropic dollars, volunteer efforts and citizen service toward supporting what works and high-fidelity replicating and scaling up

• Encourage state and local efforts to create proof points of efficacy and scale to accelerate change by providing evidence and inspiration

STRATEGIES

• Quality teaching for every child in every setting every day

• Seamless systems of care, services and family supports for children, from prenatal through third grade

• Community solutions to improve outcomes for the children least likely to succeed in the early grades

ESSENTIAL ASSuRANCES

2014 milestones 2015 milestones 2016 milestones

At least 100 communities in more than 12 states actively use the nationwide activities to mobilize local engagement, civic action and advocacy. • At least 12 Campaign Partners actively engaged in the nationwide activities, using them to mobilize local leadership within their networks to support local engagement, civic action and advocacy.

At least 25 GLR communities vying for AAC award by showing measurable progress on the critical indicators of school readiness, student attendance, summer engagement and grade-level reading.

Third-grade reading proficiency and addressing the health determinants of early school success are a priority for parents, educators, sector leaders and policymakers; a performance measure for schools and school districts; a target for increased investment and citizen service; and a catalyst for policy advocacy. • At least 75 GLR communities in 15 states organized into state-based clusters and learning networks. At least half of those state clusters supported by State Funder Coalitions.

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All-AmericaCity/StateAwards

NOV/DEC 2016Mid-Course

Community Self-Assessment

2014 3RD QUARTER

Supported “Pivot” to

Implemen- tation

AUG–DEC 2012

Community Mobilization

and PlanningJUNE 2011Early

WarningMAY 2010

2017–2020

Strategic Alignment ofAssurances

2015–2016

Ramp-Up on CommunitySolutions

2013–2014

Focus on CommunitySolutionsJULY 2012

All-America City Awards

FEB 2011

Gathering of Partners

We Are Here

> > MOBILIZATION > > IMPLEMENTATION > > > >

success

the campaign forgrade-level reading

3 rd grAdereAding

matters

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1602 L Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 � 202-459-4325 � [email protected] � gradelevelreading.net

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading has helped to put third-grade reading “on the map” — literally and figuratively. More than 140 communities in 39 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have completed the rigorous planning process and joined the GLR Communities Network. Governors, chief state school officers and legislative leaders in 32 states have put a stake in the ground around third-grade reading. And the U.S. Department of Education has established third-grade reading as an important milestone and accountability measure. There is no doubt that the Campaign has exceeded its plan and outpaced its expectations. And while we know that timing, tactics and the efforts of many others contribute to the progress we see, the ongoing listening tours, retail evangelism and crowdsourcing help us to understand how six key assets combine to explain why the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and its core messages have gained so much traction since its launch in spring 2010.

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5/7/2014

1. The Campaign offers an enabling narrative and goals and targets that are ambitious, achievable and actionable. The narrative taps into the intuition that young children should learn to read and graduate from high school prepared to build a work force that can compete in a global economy. The goals and targets help to encourage a both/and approach to investment, engagement, civic action and advocacy.

2. The Campaign’s “big tent” strategy has yielded more than 50 national sector-leading

organizations to sign on as partners whose members and affiliate networks amplify and extend the reach of the Campaign’s key messages into every community in the nation. This diverse group includes partners who would be considered “unusual” allies and “unexpected” champions.

3. Civic leaders, public officials and engaged citizens are contributing time, talent, energy, political capital and sweat equity through local coalitions involving over 1,600 groups, organizations and institutions. Strong leadership has led to a shared sense of ownership and joint accountability.

4. More than 100 United Ways and over 100 non-United Way local funders — including corporate and family foundations and 52 community foundations — are supporting their local coalitions or grade-level reading strategies in Network communities. From Arizona to Iowa and Oakland, Calif., to Springfield, Mass., local funders are banding together to align strategies, speak with a collective voice and pool resources to advance grade-level reading.

5. The Campaign’s 13 enterprise investors are providing thought partnership and practical guidance as well as dollars to support the “backbone functions” and hub/curator, broker/navigator and accelerator/catalyst roles needed to support the state and local campaigns.

6. As the grateful beneficiary of all of the above, the Campaign’s leadership and management teams remain attentive to and take seriously their obligation to provide the strategic vision, imagination, energy and commitment to execution needed to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities presented.

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The Campaign for Grade-LeveL readinG

in the news

Media Coverage

January – May 2014

It’s Time to Invest in Summer Learninghttp://edsource.orgBy John DeasyJanuary 16, 2014

Reading Gap Between Wealthy and Poor Students Widenswww.nbcnews.com January 28, 2014

Empty Desks: Nearly One-Fifth of First Graders Miss Too Much Schoolwww.oregonlive.com February 6, 2014

Stress, Poverty and the Childhood Reading Gap http://prospect.org February 12, 2014

When Even the Starting Line Is Out of Reachwww.nytimes.com By: Nicholas Kristof February 22, 2014

Efforts to Close the Achievement Gap in Kids Start at Homewww.npr.org March 17, 2014

Pilot Program Gives Parents Tools to Boost Babies’ Brainshttp://seattletimes.com March 30, 2014

More States Require Kindergarten Entrance Exams, Database Showsedweek.orgApril 1, 2014

Schools scramble to help third-grader readerswww.azcentral.comThe RepublicApril 3, 2014

Media Clips

Education WEEk

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Federal Initiative Aims at Early Screening for Developmental Delaysedweek.orgApril 2, 2014

Volunteers Help Youth Learn to Readwww.abc22now.com/April 3, 2014

National Summer Learning Association to Enhance Reading With Digital Booksedweek.orgApril 18, 2014

$300,000 Grant Ignites Local Literacy Effortwww.chron.comApril 24, 2014

Truancy, Absenteeism a Chronic Problem in DC Schoolswww.washingtonpost.comApril 26, 2014

Family Engagement Is Much More Than Volunteering at Schoolswww.edcentral.orgApril 29, 2014

It All Comes Back to the Reading Gapwww.huffi ngtonpost.comBy Patrick CorvingtonMay 2, 2014

Birth to Grade 3 Forum Energizes Participants at Worcester’s DCU Centerhttp://eyeonearlyeducation.comMay 21, 2014

Collaborative aims to help children’s groups speak the same languagehttp://blogs.edweek.orgMay 29, 2014

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Education WEEk Education WEEk

6-4-14

Education WEEk

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6/18/2014

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Enterprise

Investors Group June 6, 2014

State of the Campaign: Evolving, Learning, Focusing

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Over 80 percent of children from low‐income families do not read proficiently at the end of third grade. Existing and emerging research confirm the common-sense conclusion that this is a catastrophe in the making. Third‐grade reading is a key predictor of future school success and high school graduation. And because high school graduation is the pathway to jobs, careers, military service and higher education, the prospects for the 80 percent missing this early but critical milestone are predictably bleak.

A Catastrophe

in the Making

Learn more by viewing the Campaign’s video, The Statisticks Lottery

Listening and

Learning

In 2013:

• Almost 17,000 people reached

• 29 states

• 85 GLR communities

• 130+ events

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Crowdsourcing while problem-

solving with communities

2012–2014

Retail “evangelism”: Promoting and

amplifying the GLR message

2010–2012

Listening tour

2009–2010

In 2014 YTD:

• Almost 10,000 people reached

• 32 states

• 38 GLR communities

• 61+ events

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Momentum Is Building 142 communities, representing 39 states across the nation, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico

and the U.S. Virgin Islands with 1,600 local organizations (including over 100 local funders)

See a list of Network Communities here

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④ 100+ local funders and 100+ United Ways

③ Civic leaders, public officials and engaged citizens

Enabling narrative strengthened by goals and targets

② “Big tent” of more than 50 national sector-leading organizations signed on as partners

⑥ Enterprise Investors

Campaign Assets

Leadership and management teams

“Amping” It Up Energizing the Conversation on

Grade-Level Reading

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6/12/2014

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Translating the Message into Policy

• GLR priority: Building a broad base among advocates and policymakers to support policy “wins” around on-track child development, learning and literacy across the early years and the early grades

• Encouraging signs so far:

– Third-grade reading is emerging as a critical milestone and point of accountability

– The birth-through-third (early years/early grades, 0–8) approach is emerging as an important frame for policy and practice

Translating the Message into Policy

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Learn more about a comprehensive Birth Through Eight State Policy Framework from Campaign partner Alliance for Early Success

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• Governors, Chief State School Officers and legislators are putting a stake in ground on grade-level reading proficiency by the end of third grade:

– Improving third-grade reading proficiency is part of policies in statute in 32 states + DC, including 14 states with specific retention policies

– Investing in the expansion of preschool continues with 30 states increasing funding support for the 2013–2014 school year

Traction at the State Level

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Learn more from the Education Commission of the States

• US Department of Education Office of Early Learning: Birth through Third Focus

• Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge elevated early years/early grades as a competitive priority – total of $1 billion in 20 states to increase the number of high-needs children in high-quality programs

• Investing in Innovation (i3) grants with early literacy focus

• $15 million for two multi-state consortia to develop Kindergarten Entry Assessments

• $250 million for preschool expansion grants and restoration of Head Start cuts in 2015 budget

• High-profile initiatives with grade-level reading goal/focus including My Brother’s Keeper and Watch Me Thrive

Traction at the Federal Level

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• Rapid implementation of retention policies has provoked push-back

• Ensuing controversy could derail the political consensus

• A common-sense approach would include:

– High-quality early learning

– Early identification, intervention and support

– Alternate assessments and inclusive testing

– Teacher judgment and parent engagement

Policy Challenge: Retention

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Recent articles and discussions on retention: Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Statement on Third Grade Retention Education Week Holding Kids Back Doesn’t Help Them Great Schools Repeating a Grade: The Pros and Cons Michigan Live Newly Proposed ‘Read or Flunk’ Laws for 3rd Graders Would Have Held Back More Than 39,000 Students EdWeek “Curriculum Matters” Blog Oklahoma Ends Retention Policy for 3rd Grade Readers Who Fail Reading Test

High-Quality Early Learning and Parental Engagement • Beginning this spring, $21 million in new funding in

Colorado will flow to school districts for specialized tutoring and summer learning. Parental input will be required for retention recommendations.

Early Identification and Intervention • Kindergarten–3rd grade is the first focus for Iowa’s

Reading Research Center, newly established by the legislature. Significant new funding is devoted to family involvement and early identification and intervention.

Alternate Assessments and Inclusive Testing • Students who do not pass the state assessment in

Florida may demonstrate reading success through a teacher-administered portfolio of the student’s work during the school year or summer reading camp.

Smart Promotion and Retention Policies

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• The Foundation for Excellence in Education

• The National Governors Association

• Chiefs for Change

• The Council of Chief State School Officers

• The National Conference of State Legislatures

• The U.S. Department of Education

Smart Promotion and Retention Policies

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Cultivating Our Partners as Assets

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• More than 50 sector-leading organizations have joined the Campaign as Partners in advancing grade-level reading in states and communities

• We rely on Partners to:

– Extend our reach and amplify our messages

– Strengthen our work on the ground

• Partners account for more than 40 percent of 17,000 individuals reached in 2013 “retail evangelism”

Partners as Assets

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• United Way Worldwide and Points of Light combined reach over 6,000,000 volunteers via 1,800 local affiliates

• Institute of Museum and Library Services supports 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums

• America’s Promise Alliance reaches 448 affiliates including 62 leading businesses

• YMCA and Big Brothers Big Sisters reach 21 million families in communities nationwide

• National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures reach more than 7,400 state policymakers

• National League of Cities reaches more than 19,000 communities and U.S. Conference of Mayors reaches nearly 1,400 local policymakers

Campaign Partners Potential Reach into Key Constituencies

Read the IMLS report, Growing Young Minds: How Museums and Libraries Create Lifelong Learning

Read the NGA report, A Governor’s Guide to Third Grade Reading

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• More than 400 local affiliates of Campaign Partners participate in 131 of the local sponsoring community coalitions (92 percent of the GLR Network)

• Campaign Partners represent roughly 25 percent of organizations participating in sponsoring coalitions

• 46 communities (30 percent of the GLR Network) are led by affiliates of National Partners, including more than 30 United Ways

Strengthening Our Work on the Ground

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• Summer Learning Day

– U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously approved a resolution to promote and support summer learning

– United Ways combined activities with their Day of Action

• Attendance Awareness Month

– America’s Promise Alliance coordinated work among National Partners

– United Way Worldwide hosted webinars and engaged dozens of local affiliates

• National Volunteer Week

– 43 stories from 25 states (AARP Experience Corps, Reading Partners, United Ways)

– 43,000 impressions by America’s Promise Alliance, IMLS and Urban Libraries Council

GLR Messaging & Mobilization Events

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To manage this valuable asset we need to:

• Find, articulate, implement and refine a sustainable value proposition that

– Continues to make Partners’ participation meaningful to them

– Strengthens and sustains the relationships

– Keeps Partners engaged

Partners as Assets Challenge

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• Organized bi-annual convening of Campaign Partners to:

– Provide an update on the Campaign’s progress

– Solicit input and advice

– Offer access to new opportunities

– Recognize exceptional contribution

Partners as Assets

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Supporting Sponsoring Coalitions as Assets

Momentum Is Building 142 communities, representing 39 states across the nation, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico

and the U.S. Virgin Islands with 1,600 local organizations (including over 100 local funders)

See a list of Network Communities here

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1. Leveraging the All-America City Awards as a focusing event

2. Organizing the GLR communities into a Network

3. Grouping the GLR communities into state clusters

4. Establishing the Network Communities Support Center (NCSC)

Key Management Decisions

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By 2020, a dozen states or more will increase by at least 100 percent the number of children from low-income families reading proficiently by the end of third grade.

2020 Goal

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At least 75 percent of GLR Network communities are competing for the 2016 All-America City Awards having made progress on at least two of the following success measures:

• School Readiness

• School Attendance

• Summer Learning

* Communities will receive bonus points for 2016 All-America City Awards for making progress on increasing reading proficiency of low-income children at the 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade levels.

2016 Milestones

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Communities and states need access to a one-stop, fast-track resource with the capacity to help them find answers to six essential questions:

1. What essentials will combine to predict the desired results?

2. What are the proven and/or promising strategies, programs and practices connected with each essential?

3. What capacities and competencies are needed to implement the strategies, programs and practices?

4. What policies are needed to enable, scale and sustain these programs and practices?

5. What does success look like? (Milestones)

6. How do we know whether we are making progress? (Key Progress Indicators)

What Works? Where? Why?

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Network Communities Support Center (NCSC)

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The NCSC functions as a hub, broker and accelerator that supports communities in producing results.

“Hub” by serving as the curator of learning communities and as the navigator for the distribution channel

“Broker” by offering communities access to tools, experts and information needed to develop the capacities (leadership, resources and skills) to execute their plans.

“Accelerator” by finding and creating catalytic events, awards and other opportunities designed to increase the scope and pace of change

Network Communities Support Center (NCSC)

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Continuum of Technical Assistance & Support

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Curating a highly effective peer learning network that will be relevant to multiple and diverse stakeholders in 140+ communities

Challenge

Investing in the Campaign: More Than Money

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Campaign Co-Investors and Sponsors

Anchor Investor

Co-Investors and Sponsors

• Share knowledge and evidence

• Advance key initiatives

• Leverage brand

• Align grant making

• Extend reach

• Tilt dollars toward what works

• Build backbone

Enterprise Investors: More Than Money

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PLACEHOLDER Umbrella

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• State and local funders bring money and muscle to GLR communities

– 100+ local funders

– 100+ United Ways

– Funder-led efforts in Arkansas, Maine, Oakland, Sarasota

– Funder coalitions in Arizona, Iowa, Springfield, Tacoma

– 25 quasi-public funders (First 5 California, Children’s Services Council in Florida)

State and Local Funders: More Than Money

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• Sustain progress in states and communities

• Support state-level clustering and impact

• Leverage investments, connections and credibility to:

– Push for more seamless Bt3 systems and supports

– Engage caring adults: parents, volunteers, donors

– Invest in evidence and proof points

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State and Local Funders: More Than Money

ReadOn Arizona Oakland Reads Arkansas Grade-Level

Reading

Our Local Funder Partners

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• Nancy Van Milligen, President and CEO, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

• Chana Edmond-Verley, Senior Program Officer for Community Initiatives, DeVos Foundation

• John Annis, Vice President Community Investment, Community Foundation of Sarasota County

• Sally Fuller, Project Director, Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation

• Takema Robinson-Bradberry, Senior Fellow, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

Panelists

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Leslie Boissiere Chief Operating Officer The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

Leslie Boissiere joined the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading in October 2013. She brings over 15 years of results-driven executive experience in strategy and operations for both public and private-sector organizations. Her background and skill sets allow the Campaign to leverage the momentum needed to accomplish the 2020 goal of doubling the number of children from low-income families that are reading proficiently by the end of third grade. Most recently, Boissiere served as a Vice President for AARP where she set the strategic direction for programs and offerings related to the financial security of AARP members. As Executive Director for the White House Council for Community Solutions she worked to develop cross-sector, community-based strategies to address the needs of disadvantaged youth. She also provided leadership to Fannie Mae, serving as director of Housing and Community Development. While serving in that capacity, she led strategic initiatives that created a nonprofit channel focused on increasing homeownership in underserved markets. Role in the Campaign: As Chief Operating Officer, Boissiere provides day-to-day management for the Campaign, works closely with the Campaign to align and integrate all major areas of work and manages the Campaign’s enterprise partners.

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Elizabeth Burke Bryant Executive Director Rhode Island KIDS COUNT [email protected]

Elizabeth Burke Bryant is Executive Director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, a children’s policy and research organization that provides information on child well-being, stimulates dialogue on children’s issues and promotes accountability and action. Rhode Island KIDS COUNT coordinated the National School Readiness Indicators Initiative: Making Progress for Young Children, a 17-state initiative that created a set of measurable indicators related to and defining school readiness that can be tracked at the state and local levels to improve school readiness and ensure early school success. Bryant is Co-Chair of the Rhode Island Early Learning Council, which is providing overarching leadership for the implementation of Rhode Island’s successful Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Brown University’s A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions where she teaches Strategic Communication. A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Bryant received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Vermont and a law degree from the George Washington University Law School. Previous positions include Policy Director for the City of Providence, Housing Court prosecutor and consultant to the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation, The Rhode Island Foundation and the Women’s Prison Mentoring Project. She has been actively involved in several state and national organizations including Voices for America’s Children, the United Way of Rhode Island and the Mayor’s Children and Youth Cabinet. Bryant is the recipient of the National Florette Angel Child Advocate of the Year Award. Role in the Campaign: Bryant manages the work to engage policy and advocacy networks in promoting local, state and federal policy reforms to strengthen, scale and sustain improved child outcomes and school success for children in low-income families. In particular, this means: creating a birth-to-eight policy agenda that improves quality and expands access to child development and early education programs for children, especially vulnerable children and those from low-income families; building a seamless continuum of education experiences from early childhood to third grade; and addressing the policy barriers to every child having quality teaching in every setting, every day.  

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Patrick Corvington Senior Fellow The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

Patrick A. Corvington is a Senior Fellow for the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. Prior to joining the Campaign, he served in President Obama’s administration as the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Corvington assumed leadership of the Corporation during a time of extraordinary growth, mandated by the passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. Corvington also served as a Senior Vice President with Habitat for Humanity International where he created a management and deployment infrastructure for the over one million Habitat for Humanity volunteers. Of Haitian origin, he took particular interest in HFHI’s development efforts, assisting in managing a large-scale housing construction project and over 400 volunteers who built 250 houses alongside President Carter, in Haiti. Corvington served as Senior Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation where he engaged directly with some of the top social innovation intermediaries in the nonprofit sector including Venture Philanthropy Partners and Echoing Green and has co-authored publications such as Ready to Lead: Next Generation Leaders Speak Out and Next Shift: Beyond the Nonprofit Leadership Crisis. He has also served as a Research Associate at The Urban Institute, one of the nation's premiere nonpartisan economic and social policy research centers. While there, he conducted housing policy research and worked to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations in Russia. He has worked as a patient advocate in a community-based HIV/AIDS clinic; traveled the east coast migrant stream as a case manager for migrant workers; and volunteered his time working in the infirmary of a shelter for homeless persons. Corvington, received his BA in Sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and earned his MA in Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University, where he received the National Minority Leadership Fellowship from the Kellogg Foundation and Independent Sector. He also received an Honorary doctorate from William Smith and Hobart Colleges. He has served on the Board of Directors of Echoing Green, the Washington Regional Association of Grant-makers, the Nonprofit Workforce Coalition, the National Conference on Citizenship and the Takoma Children’s School. A native of Haiti, Corvington is fluent in French, French Creole and Spanish. He and his family reside in Takoma Park, Maryland, where they are active in their local community. Role in the GLR Campaign: As a Senior Fellow with the Campaign, Corvington presents at major speaking engagements on behalf of the Campaign, provides senior advisory services on federal policy and supports the work of on-boarding GLR communities in the Upper Midwest.

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Ron Fairchild Director, National Communities Support Center The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

In his current position as President and CEO of the Smarter Learning Group, a national education consulting firm, Ron Fairchild helps cities and communities identify proven solutions and strategies to improve public education. Prior to starting the firm, he served as the founding CEO of the National Summer Learning Association. He was also Executive Director of its predecessor organization, the National Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University from 2002 through 2009. Under Fairchild’s leadership, the organization grew from a local program to a national intermediary organization working with a 50-state network of more than 5,000 summer learning providers that collectively serve more than 2 million children and young people annually. His earlier positions as the Director of Education Programs for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and as Education Associate with the Public Education Network helped him see the breadth of organizations that could provide wonderful learning opportunities for children. “Teaching was the hardest job I’ve ever done,” says Fairchild of the three years he spent as a classroom teacher. He also saw that the light bulb that comes on in the learning process is much more likely to stay on with help from outside the classroom. Fairchild holds a BA in political science and history, and a master of Education from Vanderbilt University. He lives outside of Baltimore with his wife Rachel and his two sons, Adam and Matthew. Role in the Campaign: Fairchild manages the National Communities Support Center, which delivers technical assistance in the areas of school readiness, attendance and summer learning to more than 140 communities across the country that are engaged in efforts to move the needle on third-grade reading proficiency.

Leila Fiester Senior Consultant The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

Leila Fiester is an independent writer, researcher and editor who specializes in social issues, initiatives, and policies and philanthropic practice. She helps national foundations and organizations plan, assess and describe their strategies; analyze practices and outcomes; distill lessons and implications; and share their stories. From 1999-2011, Fiester wrote extensively about the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections initiative,

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and in 2010 she wrote the KIDS COUNT special report that launched the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters. Before becoming a consultant, she was a senior associate of Policy Studies Associates in Washington, D.C., which conducts education research and evaluation, and a reporter for The Washington Post. She holds a BA in cultural anthropology from Macalester College and an MA in journalism from the University of Maryland. Role in the Campaign: Fiester is a senior writer for the Campaign and conducts research and interviews on emerging issues for the Campaign, including Book-Rich Environments and Learning Differences. She also is a developer of key strategy documents for the Campaign.

Yolie Flores Senior Fellow The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

Flores joined the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading in early 2014. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a master’s in Social Welfare. She has 25 years of management and leadership experience in program, policy and advocacy work addressing the needs of children and families. She served as CEO of the Los Angeles County Children’s Planning Council – a public/private collaborative working to improve outcomes of child well-being through systems change and community engagement efforts; was elected in 2007 to the LAUSD Board of Education where she served as Vice President throughout her four-year term; served as CEO of Communities for Teaching Excellence, a national nonprofit advocating for effective teaching for every student in every classroom, every year; and is in the process of joining Attendance Works as a senior associate. Flores lives and plays with her puppy Molly in Los Angeles. Role in the Campaign: As a Senior Fellow, Flores is developing of a new frame around “successful parenting” and the work of a group of communities making progress on school readiness, school attendance, summer learning and grade-level reading by 2016.  

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Ed Hatcher President The Hatcher Group [email protected]

Ed Hatcher founded The Hatcher Group in fall 2000 after more than 15 years working in the media and legislative arenas. Based in the Washington DC area, The Hatcher Group is a national communications firm that works with foundations and nonprofits to advance social change. Prior to forming The Hatcher Group, he worked at Burness Communications, where he helped manage national policy and outreach campaigns for several foundations. He served as chief of staff to U.S. Representatives Jane Harman (D-CA) and Robert T. Matsui (D-CA) and press secretary to U.S. Senator George Mitchell (D-ME) and U.S. Representative Robin Britt (D-NC). Hatcher spent five years as director of congressional affairs for the American Electronics Association and three years as director of public affairs for the American Sociological Association. Early in his career, he worked as a reporter at United Press International and several North Carolina newspapers. Hatcher is a former president of the Association of House Democratic Press Secretaries and fellow at the Capitol Hill Historical Society. He serves on the board of directors for the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Diplomas Now and Horizons at Kent County, Maryland, and is a member of the Maryland Clean Energy Center Advisory Council. He holds a BA in English and history from Duke University, a MS from the Columbia University School of Journalism, and an MA in American history from the University of Maryland, College Park. Role in the Campaign: As president of The Hatcher Group, Hatcher manages a team of communications experts that provide an array of high-quality public and media relations services to the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.

Phyllis Jordan Senior Consultant, Communications The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

Phyllis Jordan is a Vice President at The Hatcher Group, a communications firm that deals exclusively with nonprofits and foundations. She manages accounts with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Attendance Works and several other clients. She came to The Hatcher Group in 2009 after 26 years in daily journalism, including nearly a decade as an editor at The Washington Post. Jordan served as the Post’s Maryland Editor

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and Education Editor. Before joining the Post, she worked as an editor at the Los Angeles Times and as a reporter at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk and The Fairfax Journal in Northern Virginia. Jordan has a master’s in journalism from the University of Missouri and a bachelor’s in English and History from Sweet Briar College in Virginia. A native of Lexington, Virginia, she now lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two teenagers. Role in the Campaign: Jordan manages media outreach and several network-building activities for the Campaign. Her team at The Hatcher Group develops media strategy and pitches stories to promote the Campaign and its priorities. She maintains the Campaign’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. The Hatcher Group also produces several Campaign products, including the monthly newsletter, occasional e-blasts and the website.

Lauren Maddox Senior Consultant, Investor Relations The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

For nearly two decades, Lauren Maddox has been involved in leading, shaping and sustaining organizational growth for nonprofit, corporate and government organizations. Today, she specializes in strategically growing nonprofit organizations through fundraising, organizational development, planning and brand building. Maddox has led many successful fundraising campaigns, most recently raising $10 million to build a homeless shelter/homelessness prevention center and $5 million for a new Boys & Girls Club. Before moving to Maryland, she was the Vice President of Development for Community Foundation Sonoma County in Santa Rosa, California. There Maddox transformed the Community Foundation’s development operation — raising nearly $40 million in three years and enhancing the foundation’s visibility among major donors and opinion leaders. She continues to work with various community foundations on growth and sustainability challenges. Earlier in her career, Maddox gained valuable experience in organizational development as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies for Hewitt Associates, specializing in human resources, change management and communications. She holds a master of public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a master of science in journalism from the Medill School at Northwestern University. Maddox earned her bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University. Originally from southern New Jersey, Maddox lives in the Annapolis, Maryland, area with her husband Rick and three children, Lily, Jackson and Tariku. Role in the Campaign: Maddox leads the GLR Campaign’s Investor Relations, engaging corporate, foundation and individual investors in providing financial support, leadership and aligned resources to elevate and improve third-grade reading proficiency.

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Becky Miles-Polka Senior Consultant The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

As Founder and President of Within Reach Consulting Services, Becky Miles-Polka serves as a trusted advisor to nonprofit leaders, coalitions, funders and public- and private-sector leaders engaged in improving the well-being of communities and the people who live in them. She brings over 30 years of experience in maternal-child health, community change and population health. For the past 10 years, she has served in a variety of consulting and advising capacities to the Annie E. Casey Foundation as part of the Making Connections 10-year community change initiative. Previously, Miles-Polka served as the Executive Director of Healthy Communities at Iowa Health System in Des Moines, Iowa. Role in the Campaign: Miles-Polka is one of the state leads providing support to the Grade-Level Reading Network, including the GLR communities across Iowa. She also leads the Healthy Readers Team, which is focused on lifting up the integration of health throughout the Campaign, including integrating health strategies throughout the community solution areas.

Joy Thomas Moore Senior Consultant The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading [email protected]

Joy Thomas Moore is the President and CEO of JWS Media Consulting, designed for results by finding innovative ways to use media, framing and messaging techniques to further and deepen the goals of her clients. Prior to devoting herself to her consulting firm full time, Moore worked for 15 years with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private philanthropy dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children and families in the United States. She now continues to consult for the Foundation and other nonprofits. Prior to her work in philanthropy, she was an award-winning radio and television producer in Washington, D.C., and New York City, respectively. Included among her awards is a George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in radio documentaries. Moore earned both her BA and MA at the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C. Role in the Campaign: Moore manages the Strategic Allies portion of the Campaign’s Focus on the Fourth Initiative and supports digital media efforts at the Campaign.  

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Barbara O’Brien Senior Fellow

[email protected]

The Hon. Barbara O'Brien is the President of Get Smart Schools and a Senior Fellow with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. O’Brien served as Lt. Governor of Colorado from 2007-2011. Prior to that, she served for 16 years as President of the Colorado Children's Campaign, a statewide public policy and advocacy organization. Most recently, she was a Senior Policy Fellow at The Piton Foundation from 2011-2012 working on early childhood education and third-grade reading proficiency. Her leadership has led to the creation of the Colorado Preschool Program, the establishment of Colorado’s first statewide full-day kindergarten program, the Early Childhood Leadership Commission, new standards and assessments for preschool through high school, a framework for educator evaluation that became a model for other states, options for dual enrollment in high school and community college, health care for uninsured children and mental health services for adolescents. O’Brien also played a lead role in two successful statewide ballot initiatives, Amendment 23 that increased funding for public education and Amendment 35 that increased tobacco taxes with the revenue earmarked for health care.

Role in the Campaign: O’Brien directs the Campaign’s work to advance policy reforms that will help achieve improved child outcomes and school success for children from low-income families.

Ralph Smith Managing Director, The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading & Senior Vice President, The Annie E. Casey Foundation [email protected]

With the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Ralph Smith pursues a mission that has been a personal passion throughout his many-faceted career: improving academic outcomes, and with them the life chances, of children from low-income homes. Senior Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Smith has served on the senior leadership team of the Foundation since 1994. He led the design, development and management of the Foundation’s Making Connections initiative, a comprehensive effort to help communities improve outcomes for children by strengthening families and neighborhoods.

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A member of the Law Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania for two decades, Smith is a nationally recognized legal scholar and attorney with expertise in corporate and securities law as well as education law and policy. He also served as Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer for the School District of Philadelphia, and as a senior advisor to former Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode on children and family policy. As the founding director of both the National Center on Fathers and Families and the Philadelphia Children’s Network, he helped launch and lead what is now known as the Responsible Fatherhood movement. Smith is a nationally recognized leader in U.S. philanthropy. He served on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foundations from 2000 to 2010 and as conference chair (2007), vice-chair (2007–2008) and then Board Chair (2008–2010). He also has served on the boards of the Foundation Center, Wells Fargo Regional Foundation, Venture Philanthropy Partners, the Clinton Center on Community Philanthropy and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Over the past decade, Smith has emerged as a leading advocate of philanthropy’s need for a “sector agnostic” approach to build a “common-sense consensus” around “high-tech and high-touch” solutions to “the challenges of our time”: ending intergenerational poverty; protecting the environment; responding to disasters, natural and man-made; and promoting public health. This impulse toward cross-sector collaboration is a distinguishing feature of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. In 2010, Smith received the Jane Addams Distinguished Leadership Award from the United Neighborhood Centers of America in recognition of his lifelong work to improve quality of life for low-income individuals and families through more effective social policy and practice. Role in the Campaign: Smith is the Managing Director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.