Literacy Initiatives
Since 2011, E3 has worked to make early education a priority by raising awareness, advocating for policy change, and launching innovative initiatives to ensure more children have equitable access to quality education in their first eight years. Now, we’re turning our focus to solving the next major challenge: Virginia’s reading crisis.
The Crisis
Every child in Virginia deserves the chance to read and succeed, but too many are falling behind. Right now, 43% of Virginia’s third graders aren’t reading proficiently, and only 31% of fourth graders are reading at grade level. Early reading skills lay the foundation for academic achievement and life long success. At E3, we’re tackling this crisis through innovative, equitable solutions to ensure every child has the support they need to thrive.
Learn more about the reading crisis in Virginia and the Every Child Needs to Read Awareness Campaign
Learn more about the problem
Virginia’s Comprehensive Strategy to Solve the Reading Crisis.
- Raise awareness around the alarming data through the Kids Need to Read awareness campaign to educate the public in communities across Virginia and move them to action.
- Build a coalition and cultivate champions.
- Expand Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) to ensure equitable access to age-appropriate, quality books for all children birth to age five. Provide over 300,000 children and families with books to inspire a love of reading.
- Reach families and provide early literacy activities and read aloud tips for them to engage and interact with Imagination Library books.
- Build, implement and invest in the implementation of the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) year after year for our children, teachers and schools.
- Pilot Literacy Innovation and Impact “ VLA Proof of Concept” models in Portsmouth Public Schools, Roanoke City Public Schools and Richmond Public Schools.
- Develop and pilot an innovative early literacy model aligned with the Virginia’s Language and Literacy Screening System(VALLSS) in The New E3 School and public schools to be replicated and scaled to improve reading for every child.
