Education Funders: The Campaign for Grade Level Reading

Clear evidence exists that reading proficiently by third grade is a powerful determinant of achievement and high school graduation and yet there are millions of American children that do not meet this critical benchmark. Low third grade reading levels are especially prevalent among low-income children.

To respond to this crisis, a group of funders, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, recently launched a national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. While still in its early stages, the Campaign has identified four main focus areas: school readiness, attendance, summer learning loss and high quality instruction. Because many – perhaps even most - of Baltimore's education funders also work in these areas, this session has been organized to learn more about the national Campaign and to examine how the Campaign could be used to build on related, ongoing work in Baltimore.

Please join us on May 19^th to discuss how we could dramatically increase the number of third graders who read on grade level. Beginning our conversation will be Lisa Kane and Jessy Donaldson of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Jane Sundius of Open Society Institute-Baltimore.  We reserved the room until 2:00PM, if needed, to allow additional time for discussion.

The Campaign is a collaborative effort of over 70 funders to: close the gap in reading achievement that separates many low-income students from their peers; raise the bar for reading proficiency so that all students are assessed by world-class standards; and ensure that all children, including and especially children from low-income families, have an equitable opportunity to meet those higher standards. Click here to learn more.

This meeting is for our members only.