The Countdown to Kindergarten (CTK) program was developed to increase family awareness of kindergarten expectations, create a positive relationship with families, and support smooth school transition and kindergarten readiness for children who were from diverse backgrounds and/or had adverse experiences. We used a mixed methods design to study the…

In 2019, the Texas legislature passed a historic education finance bill that included an initiative to add up to 30 days to the school-year calendar. One way districts can do this is to offer a voluntary summer learning program. In 2020, the American Institutes for Research, with support from The Wallace Foundation, launched the six-year Texas…

The purpose of this article is to examine the pilot program, STRIKE (Sustaining Technology-and Reading-Infused Kid-Friendly Education) at Night Literacy Camp, a week-long bedtime read-aloud camp held virtually on Facebook and YouTube Live platforms. The online program aims to increase access to culturally relevant, high-quality literature, include…

This appendix provides additional details on the underlying data, statistical models, and results presented in "The Big Lift Descriptive Analyses: Progress across Three Kindergarten Classes." First the authors describe how they created each control and outcome variable and its source (e.g., parent report), followed by an overview of the…

The Big Lift™ (Big Lift), a collective impact initiative extending from preschool through third grade in San Mateo County, California, aims to boost reading proficiency and kindergarten readiness through four programmatic pillars: High-Quality Preschool, Summer Learning, Attendance, and Family Engagement. In this report, the authors present…

The Big Lift™ (Big Lift) is a preschool-third-grade collective impact initiative in San Mateo County, California. The initiative is a partnership of the County of San Mateo, the San Mateo County Office of Education, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Launched in 2012, the initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency by third…

This Wallace "Perspective" delves into what makes for a high-quality, voluntary summer learning program, one that provides children from disadvantaged communities with engaging academics as well as stimulating enrichment activities during the interval between the end of the school year and back-to-school time. Interest in these programs…

This research summary explores READS and the rigorous research behind its development over the years, as well as the program's outcomes and key components. The brainchild of James Kim, a Harvard University education professor, READS provides 10 free, carefully-matched books to third through fifth graders over the summer, along with three key…

The Big Lift™ (Big Lift) is a preschool-third-grade collective impact initiative in San Mateo County, California. The initiative is a partnership of the County of San Mateo, the San Mateo County Office of Education, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Launched in 2012, the initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency by third…

In the first learning community session since last summer's programs, foundation staff at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving in Connecticut invite providers to share their news. "What worked? What challenges did you see?" Seasoned providers highlight field trips taken, books introduced, newsletters crafted by youth and shared with…

The Big Lift is a collective impact initiative extending from preschool to third grade in San Mateo County, California. The collective impact effort consists of people and organizations from various sectors uniting to tackle a single, complicated societal problem -- in this case, third grade reading achievement. The initiative is a partnership of…

There is a growing belief that access to academic opportunities during the summer can help close the achievement gap between low-income students and their higher-income peers. But while significant research is emerging on summer programs for school-age children, information on the preschool period is limited. The Expanding Children's Early…

The authors conducted a cluster-randomized trial to examine the effectiveness of structured teacher adaptations to the implementation of an evidence-based summer literacy program that provided students with (a) books matched to their reading level and interests and (b) teacher scaffolding for summer reading in the form of end-of-year comprehension…

This "Eighth Annual Report Card" tracks progress on Boston's goals for educating learners of all ages. The report lays out Boston Opportunity Agenda's current metrics, the baseline that has been established for the future, and the progress to be made over the course of the next five years. This report card contains the most up-to-date…

This qualitative study explored the perceptions of parental and programmatic support among 20 urban youth. Existing literature indicates that educators often place blame on parents for their perceived lack of involvement in their children's schooling. However, the participants identified their family members (e.g., parents, siblings) as providing…