Energy and excitement continues to build across the Triangle as communities join the NC Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. The campaign is part of a national initiative of more than 300 communities working to ensure more low-income children are reading at grade-level by the end of the third grade. Reading proficiency by the end of the third grade predicts academic and life success and fourth grade is the start of students reading to learn, while before fourth grade, they were learning to read.
There’s already been forward movement since What Matters – Bull City Reads in Durham County and Chatham Reads in Chatham County have completed their action plans to join the Campaign. Campaign plans focus on the national campaign’s solutions – school readiness, summer learning and attendance.
Those spearheading collaborations in Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties met in July to build their collective impact knowledge and sharpen their action plans. The Collective Impact Forum’s Robert Albright led a half-day workshop about building and sustaining collaborations. Bull City Reads and Chatham Reads accepted an opportunity to have their planned reviewed by their peers. Led by the NC Early Childhood Foundation with support from United Way of the Greater Triangle and Triangle Community Foundation, a strong learning community around literacy, community and parent engagement and collective impact is developing across the Triangle.