Forsyth County for Grade-Level Reading is a community-wide effort to create and implement a plan that addresses the educational opportunity gap in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, ensuring all our students can read on grade level by the end of the third grade, one of the strongest indicators for success in school and life.
Promoting grade level reading as a key to early school success
The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading supports collective learning for a national network of communities and coalitions promoting grade-level reading as a key to early school success.
Love Literacy is leading a cross-sector effort for Forsyth County to join the Grade-Level Reading Network as a part of the North Carolina Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (led by the NC Early Childhood Foundation).
WHO WE ARE
We are joining the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Grade level reading by the end of 3rd grade begins at birth
Support for grade-level reading by the end of third grade begins at birth. From birth to age 3, a child’s brain develops rapidly; by age 3, it is 80% of its adult size. Experiences in the early childhood years build the foundation for future learning. Ensuring that children are ready for school when they enter Kindergarten is critical to ensuring they are on the right track to be successful readers by the end of third grade.
THE STARTING POINT
Kindergarten Readiness
% of students at or above benchmark Given to all incoming Kindergartners - Beginning-of-year DIBELS, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. DIBELS defines students who meet benchmarks as those who are at little or no risk of falling behind in reading.
Hispanic/Latino- 12%
Black/African- American 27%
White, non-Hispanic- 38%
3rd Grade
Reading Proficiency
% of students scoring a 3, 4, or 5 on their End-of-Grade English/Language Arts Test.
Economically Disadvantaged- 32%
White, non-Hispanic- 69.7%
Black/African- American 31.6%
Hispanic/Latino- 28.3%
Community wide effort to ensure
all students can read on grade level by the end of the 3rd grade
OUR VISION
The Forsyth County for Grade-Level Reading collaborative envisions a community where race and zip code do not determine a child’s outcomes, every child is fully supported, every school and community is fully funded, and economic mobility is expected and possible.
Eliminate silos and work across sectors.
1
MAKE AN IMPACT
Four ways to create sustainable change in our community
2
Elevate and incorporate the voices of those closest to the challenge
3
Identify and amplify effective programming that addresses the whole child and increases early reading success.
4
Create innovative strategies that disrupt the status quo and transform systems.
SUMMER LEARNING
3
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
2
SCHOOL READINESS
1
REPLACE ME
North Carolina’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading has a vision where diverse and inclusive communities grow thriving readers, beginning at birth and continuing through third grade, so each child is prepared for success. They do this by promoting understanding, spearheading collaboration, and advancing policy. Joining the NC Campaign for Grade-Level Reading network allows us to join a learning community that shares best practices, data, and resources.
The North Carolina Campaign for Grade-Level Reading focuses on three pillars:
3rd Grade predicts a child’s success in school and BEYOND
Where are we?
A cross-sector leadership team, including organizations, elected officials, businesses, and community members, leads this effort. We have submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the NC Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. The LOI addresses how our community is working to improve outcomes in grade-level reading, with a focus on school readiness, school attendance, and summer learning. The LOI must include evidence of cross-sector leadership and support, a description of the process and potential goals, and baseline data.
How does community voice lead in this?
As part of this effort, we will conduct Community Listening Sessions. These sessions will allow the leadership team to hear from those most invested in our students' success —parents/caregivers, teachers, community organizations, and leaders—to ensure the CSAP is grounded in our community's experiences.
Where are we headed?
Our next task is to develop a Community Solutions Action Plan (CSAP) WITH our community. The plan will outline the strategies and action steps necessary to take over the next four years to ensure that children from economically disadvantaged families and other marginalized communities succeed in school. The plan will respond to seven areas of focus:
1. Stop playing catch-up,
2. End chronic absence,
3. Reverse the summer slide,
4. Address health-related challenges,
5. Equip parents to succeed,
6. Advance grade level reading and math,
7. Stop, slow, and reverse learning loss, to achieve positive and measurable outcomes.
The journey to grade level reading
ROADMAP TO SUCCESS
Ways you can impact the journey
TOGETHER, WE CAN
Spread the word:
Share our website, and social media with others in your network.
Add your voice:
Complete our survey to provide input to our community strategic plan to address grade-level reading by the end of third grade.
We are developing a network of partners
We are developing a network of partners to create a community-wide, integrated strategy to support third-grade reading proficiency in Forsyth County. Learn more about our community partners below.
OUR BACKBONE
Contact
Stewarded by Love Literacy on behalf of our community
Forsyth County for Grade-Level Reading
c/o Love Literacy
875 West 5th St.
Winston-Salem, NC 27101