Black Hills Recognized for Work in Supporting Early School Success

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading announced today that it’s recognizing the Black Hills with Pacesetter Honors for its work in 2019. 

 

“We applaud the civic leaders and local funders whose time, talent, energy and imagination have fueled progress in these Pacesetter Communities,” says Ralph Smith, managing director of CGLR. “Mobilized communities — like these Pacesetters — support our big bet on the problem-solving potential of proximity.”

 

A collaborative effort by funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities to ensure that more children in low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship, CGLR focuses on promoting early school success as an important building block of more hopeful futures for children in economically challenged families and communities.

 

“Through our collaborative initiatives, Black Hills Reads has developed models that provide children with the tools they need to be successful in school,” said Kayla Klein, director of Black Hills Reads.

 

“Our partnerships and coalition building have allowed us to ensure professionals working with our most at-risk children have the tools proven to close the educational achievement gap. As this designation shows, we’ve made progress and need to continue to mobilize our community by working with our schools, city agencies, nonprofits, civic leaders and parents.”

 

There is an array of programming that Black Hills Reads focuses on with area partners, all of which can be found on the United Way of the Black Hills website. Black Hills Reads is being honored for the Race to Read program. The Race to Read program focuses on encouraging children to read by creating fun and interactive challenges that happen within their schools or communities or at a larger statewide level. Black Hills Reads works across sectors, with all interested parties to participate in the event. These entities include, but not limited to, local schools, banks, child care centers, non-profits, and many more. The goal was to work united to get more children and adults reading in a joint and organized challenge. Black Hills Reads and local partners hosted a total of 8 events from July 2019 - March 2020 with a total of 79,317 books read and 5,408 participants! “This was an effective and fun way to encourage reading and we couldn’t have been happier with the support not only our Black Hills partners had shown us but our statewide partners as well,” says Klein.

 

In the Black Hills, the local GLR campaign is supported by Black Hills Reads, United Way of the Black Hills, and the John T. Vucurevich Foundation. The Black Hills Reads initiative works with over 175 different partners throughout the Black Hills to make impactful changes to our areas most vulnerable youth. Focusing on innovation and real solutions, we are working together to truly move the needle and help our area youth succeed. 

 

About the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Launched in 2010, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities across the nation to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. Since its launch, CGLR has grown to include more than 300 communities, representing 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and two provinces in Canada — with 5,000+ local organizations and 510 state and local funders (including 200+ United Ways). To learn more, visit gradelevelreading.net and follow the movement on Twitter @readingby3rd.