A few months ago, we announced that we would be expanding our work beyond early childhood education and into the K-12 space. This year, our K-12 work will focus on bringing together a diverse coalition of literacy advocates to work toward a shared vision of increasing the number of children who are reading on grade level by the 4th grade — a pivotal point in a child’s reading development.
There has been so much work put in this past year to launch the coalition, and we’re excited to continue to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into building a coalition to create equitable systems changes in our community.
We all know that a good story highlights the who, what, where, when, why, and how. But, these are also critical questions and factors that we engage with in our systems change work. Today we’re going to look at “the who.”
Who is in the coalition, and what role does United Way for Greater Austin play?
We are thrilled to announce that our newly formed coalition has chosen the name: Greater Austin Reading Coalition. This coalition is comprised of nonprofit and community leaders, librarians, teachers, and parents working toward a shared vision of supporting children, grades K – 3, to ensure they are reading on grade level by the fourth grade.
The coalition is convened by United Way for Greater Austin as part of our collective impact work to fight poverty.
Current coalition members include:
Austin Black Chamber of Commerce
Alison Dwyer
Austin Early Childhood Council
Austin Bat Cave
Austin ISD
Austin ISD Families as Partners Program
Austin Library Foundation
Austin Parks & Recreation
Austin PBS
Austin Public Health
Austin Public Library
Andy Roddick Foundation
Austin Voices for Education and Youth
Bastrop ISD
BookSpring
Cherrylynn Burris
E3 Alliance
Education Austin
Frischo, Ltd.
Go Austin/Vamos Austin!
Half Helen
Literacy Coalition of Central Texas
Literacy First
Pflugerville Education Foundation
Pflugerville ISD
Pflugerville Public Library
Texas Book Festival
Texas Empowerment Academy
Travis County Health and Human Services
United Way for Greater Austin
Webber Family Foundation
Welcome Table
How does the coalition prioritize the voice of people with lived experience?
In partnership with Austin ISD’s Families as Partners program, the coalition has formed a parent advisory committee that consists of 6 parents with children in grades K-3. As paid advisors, the committee will provide valuable input on initiatives and projects stemming from the coalition’s strategic plan, as well as amplify awareness for new coalition projects in our community.
Interested in learning more about the Greater Austin Reading Coalition’s work? Check out this blog and video and learn why increasing grade-level reading rates is a critical part of United Way’s mission to fight poverty in our community.