Governor's Early Literacy Foundation

Book delivery, through dolly parton's imagination library: through our birth-5 book delivery program, we deliver books each month to children from birth to age five, through dolly parton's imagination library, to foster a love of reading at an Early age. This program is a gift of up to 60 high-quality, age-appropriate books, selected by a blue ribbon committee of Early childhood education experts, to build a child's home library before kindergarten. Dolly parton's imagination library is available to all age-eligible Tennessee children through a unique public-private partnership with gelf and affiliate programs in each of Tennessee's 95 counties. With vital financial support from the Tennessee general assembly, foundations, and corporate sponsors, gelf funds half the cost of imagination library books for enrolled children statewide, supporting grassroots organizers in each of Tennessee's 95 counties as they raise the other half of the cost of books for enrolled children in their county. Since 2004, we have mailed over 47 million books to children statewide. From july 1, 2021 to june 30, 2022, gelf mailed 3,432,536 books to enrolled children statewide. During this period, 71,937 children were newly enrolled in the program, and 68,214 children graduated from the program as they reached the maximum participation age. All 95 Tennessee counties continued to maintain their affiliate imagination library programs through child enrollment, community engagement and local fundraising to cover their 50% book and mailing cost commitment of approx. $1.07 per book. Gelf, now in its eightteenth consecutive year of service, continued to provide a grant equaling the remaining 50% of the cost of these imagination library (il) books for each county. The primary source of gelf's statewide program funding is derived from its state-approved annual appropriation. The program has experienced continued growth since inception, now serving 70% of the state's age-eligible population, mailing approx. 286,000 books each month. As a result, we continue to fundraise privately on behalf of individual counties and to build capacity for our statewide program's continued growth. Based upon our diversified strategies and methods to increase statewide enrollment, coupled with our targeted efforts to enroll children as newborns, we expect this growth pattern to continue. The first five years of a child's life are critical to language and vocabulary development and having books in the home has proven to increase school readiness and future educational success. Tennessee research shows that children who participate in the imagination library program enter kindergarten more prepared to learn than their non-participating peers and that children who are enrolled in the program for longer periods of time are more likely to score higher on academic assessments into third grade. Further, this research indicates students who participated in the program are more likely to have increased school attendance and less likely to be suspended.

Book bus: 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 prioritize service over the summer, working to prevent summer learning loss. Many also partner with local food programs and healthcare providers, providing a unique opportunity to offer wrap-around services to the community. During the stops, educators on the bus read aloud to children, lead reading workshops 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." Book buses foster Early Literacy and work to prevent the "summer slide" in students. The program was launched in 2018. From july 1, 2021 - june 30, 2022, 60,000 individuals were served by 31 book buses traveling 7,098 miles and delivering over 213,909 books to families.

Storybook trail: through our storybook trail program, gelf collaborates with Tennessee state parks conservancy and local parks to create outdoor reading experiences 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 includes 47 trails in 36 Tennessee counties, including locations at 24 state parks, 17 city parks, 10 libraries and one botanical garden and estate.

K3 home library program: through our growing k-3 home library program, we deliver quality books and Literacy resources to combat learning loss and support student learning in the home. In collaboration with scholastic education, this program mails a pack of high-quality books to elementary school students and teachers during the summer, at no cost to families or school districts. The program launched in june 2020 and provided more than 30,000 rising first through third grade students in 36 school districts with books and resources delivered directly to their homes over the summer. Participating school districts were chosen based on the county's designation of "distressed or "at-risk" by the Tennessee department of economic & community development. Since its launch, the k-3 home library program has quickly grown to become one of gelf's key programs, and the first statewide k-3 book delivery effort in the u.s. In 2021. From july 1, 2019 to june 30, 2020, this program served over 30,000 k-3 students in Tennessee. In august 2020, gelf partnered with the Tennessee department of education to deliver ten books to students and teachers during the fall while many were still navigating the challenges of remote learning allowing 570,000 books to be delivered to 57,000 students and teachers. In april 2021, the state legislature approved funding for the program to be available statewide for students entering first grade allowing the program to serve more than 89,000 students and teachers. From july 1, 2021 to june 30, 2022, 1.2 million books were delivered to over 219,000 children and teachers. Over 97% of caregivers reported liking and using them in the home while 95% of teachers reporting using the books in the classroom. Research shows that two to three months of reading proficiency is lost for students who do not read over the summer, and data shows a decline in third grade reading proficiency due to increased time spent out of the classroom during covid-19 school closures. Research shows placing books and resources directly into the homes of families helps combat learning loss. Through this program, we hope to increase third grade reading proficiency in Tennessee by providing students with resources outside of school.

Caregiver engagement: "through our caregiver engagement program, we equip caregivers to be deeply engaged as a child's first teacher. This program gives families the tools to turn conversations into learning opportunities 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, 2021 - june 30, 2022, over 180,000 caregivers were served directly benefitting over 211,000 children. Statewide surveys show that ready4k has positively impacted home learning habits and Literacy development for Tennessee families. 81% of parents reported doing at least one ready4k activity per week. 92% of parents said that ready4k activities helped children grow their Literacy 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 relationships 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.

Select (statewide Early Literacy education collaborative of Tennessee): launched in 2021, the select program aims to breakdown silos, build connections, and increase visibility within the Early Literacy 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 opportunities, and resource-sharing. This privately funded initiative had 29 partner organizations as of june 2022.