GOVERNOR'S EARLY LITERACY FOUNDATION

Collaborative projects with tn department of education (tdoe)- during 2023 & 2024 gelf had the opportunity to collaborate with the tdoe on decodable educational resources for students and families. Kindergarten, first and second grade students and their families had acces to at-home decodable sets along with specifically chosen scholastic books for their respective grade level at no charge to the family. These 7 decodable booklets in each grade level set contained 20+ stories full of words and sounds to practice at home and build phonic skills. Orders were placed from every county in tn with 49,932 packs distributed across all three grades. Additionally, in fall 2023, gelf created a curated bookstore and shopping experience for prek-5th grade students in 29 priority schools across tennessee. This one day event at each of the designated schools, opportunites with literacy - owl fest, served to support students by building their home libraries and fostering their motivation to read. Each student selected six high-quality, high-interest titles to take home at no cost. Teachers and librairians were also given the opportunity to order additional classroom literacy resources at no cost. This project delivered 54,198 books to 9,078 students ages prek through 5th grade. Some 506 educators received over 24,300 classroom books and 1,518 phonic kits/resources.

We equip caregivers to be deeply engaged as a child's first teacher. This program gives families the tools to turn conversations into learning opportunites by connecting books with experiences. Resources, like reading tips and learning activities, are shared digitally with caregivers and model how everyday interactions at home can be used to boost learning. In january 2021, gelf and the tennessee department of education (tdoe) partnered to expand the caregiver engagement program, providing thousands of tennessee families with ready4k, a research-based text messaging program to help parents support their students in learning at home. This marked the largest statewide rollout of the ready4k program to date and was made available for free to participating tennessee school districts by gelf and tdoe. Through the ready4k program, families with pre-k through 3rd grade students across tennessee receive three weekly text messages, matched for each child's age, with easy tips and simple activities to help children learn and grow by building on existing daily routines, such as getting dressed, bath time or preparing a meal. By june 2021, ready4k was supporting 118,000 unique caregivers representing more than 130,000 students in tennessee. From july 1, 2023 - june 30, 2024, over 200,000 caregivers were seved directly benefitting over 244,000 children. Statewide surveys show that ready4k has positively impacted home learning habits and literacy development for tennessee families. 81% of parents reporting doing at least one ready4k activity per week. 92% of parents said that ready4k activities helped children grown their litearcy skills. Eighty-nine percent of parents experienced an increase in their confidence to support their children's learning because of ready4k. 96% of parents said their relationship with their children were stronger after doing ready4k activities. Children begin learning at home before they ever reach the classroom, but many families face barriers to providing high-quality early learning opportunities. Research shows that promoting home learning activities and effective teaching strategies can foster early learning and improve school readiness. Through this program, we hope to provide families with simple, everyday tools to help children strengthen early literacy skills.

Through our book bus program, we partner with local school systems to establish mobile libraries that provide children and families with access to high-quality literacy resources. Partnering school systems retrofit decommissioned school buses with seating and shelving to house books and literacy resources creating a learning space for children and families to enjoy. Many of the book buses are focused on serving children in areas that face challenges to accessing books, such as library deserts, low-income communities, or rural areas where transportation to a bookstore or library is difficult. Some book buses operate year-round, while others prioritze service over the summer, working to prevent summer learning loss. Many also partner with local food programs and health-care providers, providing a unique opportunity to offer wrap-around services to the community. During the stops, educators on the bus read aloud to the children, lead reading workships to provide families with the tools to help children strengthen early literacy skills, and give away books. Research shows that two to three months of reading proficiency is lost for students who do not read over the summer, causing a student to be behind in achievement gains for the upcoming school year. Reading four to six books has the potential to mitigate, stop or even reverse "summer slide." books busses foster early literacy and work to prevent the "summer slide" in students. The program was launced in 2018. From july 1, 2023- june 30,2024, 122 school districts are being served by 43 book buses traveling 10,000+ miles and delivering over 250,000+ books to families.

Launched in 2021, the select program aims to breakdown silos, build connections and increase visibility within the early litearcy lanscape in tn by bringing together the state's early literacy leaders for a collaborative conversation to learn, connect and build awareness around a shared vision. This initiative aims to build bridges between organizations through networking, learning opportunites and resource-sharing. This privately funded initiative had 130+ partners as of june 2024.

Through our storybook trail program, gelf collaborates with tennessee state parks conservancy and local parks to create outdoor reading experience where families interact through literacy and physical activity. This program presents a children's storybook on child-height panels along a short trail to promote adult-child interaction around books and nature. Each panel features a reading tip to encourage family engagement by bringing the book to life for children. Gelf's storybook trail program now include 64 trails in 47 tennessee counties, including locations at 24 state parks, 29 city parks, 10 libraries and one botanical garden and estate.