Initiative

READ Wayne

READ Wayne is a coalition dedicated to providing support and resources to children from birth to age 8 and their families, with the aim of ensuring that all children are proficient readers by the end of third grade. With a commitment to equity and inclusivity, Read Wayne works in partnership with families and community organizations to bolster school readiness, school attendance, and summer learning.

READ Wayne believes that engaged communities have the ability and responsibility to mobilize to build a literacy-rich community, to provide accessible parent education, to create awareness, and to increase cross-sector partnerships in order that all children can read and succeed. Therefore, our core strategies are to engage and empower parents through education, to ensure access to health resources for children, to carefully track our impact, and to advocate at a local and state level for issues affecting families such as access to childcare.

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Fast Facts

Relevant Actions
State or Local? Local
CountiesWayne
Lead Agency Wayne County Public Library
Type of Agency

State/Local Government Agency

Racial Equity Lens
  • The leadership of READ Wayne regularly seeks out and participates in training that brings greater awareness to equity issues in this work.
  • READ Wayne seeks out the counsel of community leaders of color that are leading in different capacities to ensure that our planning processes encompass a variety of effective strategies and a growing awareness of community needs.
  • READ Wayne disaggregates available data by race and socioeconomic status to guide strategy and evaluate impact.
Community Voice
  • READ Wayne invites family and community members of all ages and backgrounds to participate in action teams and in volunteer opportunities.
  • READ Wayne engages parents in volunteer and advocacy opportunities that bring awareness to barriers to school attendance, kindergarten readiness, and summer learning.
Impact
  • Since 2014, READ Wayne has reduced information silos and increased collaboration between community partners regarding cross-county efforts to increase parent education, reduce barriers to kindergarten readiness, and develop a literacy-rich community.
  • READ Wayne has educated community leaders, families of young children, and school staff about developmental milestones that children need to reach between the ages of 0 to three years old to be successful in kindergarten and in their literacy journey.
Next Steps
  • READ Wayne will expand its work by increasing the involvement of parents in the action teams that address Kindergarten readiness, summer learning, and school attendance.
  • READ Wayne will also expand its reach through targeted marketing campaigns that address the community solutions mentioned.
  • READ Wayne will focus on building a literacy-rich community by expanding on current efforts to increase the number of books available in homes and public places.
Primary Partners
  • Wayne County Public Library
  • Partnership for Children of Wayne County
  • Wayne County Public Schools
  • WAGES
  • Goldsboro Pediatrics
Primary Funders
  • Wayne County Public Library
Contact Heather Gray

Active Counties