LiteracyINC When a child reads, a community succeeds!

LINC Presenters Ingrid Bentil - Director of Early Childhood Project Manager City’s First Readers Albania Jimenez - Director of Parent Engagement Arisleyda De La Cruz - Program Manager VIP

Agenda LINC History, Model, and Programs A Community Approach to Early Literacy LINC Initiatives

LINC History Literacy Inc. is driven by the belief that individual communities possess the resources and the ability to raise accomplished children. Mimi Levin Lieber had a successful career as founder and President of Lieber Attitude Research, a consumer and public opinion research firm. Passionate about education, she served for 15 years on the New York State Board of Regents. What she saw was an overwhelming number of young children from low-income neighborhoods struggling in school and later in life. What she learned was that early reading was a key component for their success. Mimi founded Literacy Inc. in 1996 to address these important concerns. The key is empowering parents to invest in their child’s education - Mimi Levin Lieber, LINC Founder -

Our Mission “When partnerships are linked to schools’ goals for student success, family and community involvement can measurably affect student learning.” -Dr. Joyce Epstein, PhD. Sociology, Johns Hopkins University Literacy Inc. builds neighborhood networks that support young readers by working with school, library, and community partners. Our community-based strategy targets families in high-need, high-potential neighborhoods across New York City.

LINC’s Comprehensive Literacy Model LINC’s Comprehensive Literacy Model provides interconnected programming designed to mobilize existing resources in the neighborhood in order to deliver reading opportunities for children. The combination and coordination of these three program areas emphasize and reinforce the importance of bringing literacy home and create a sustainable culture around reading. Community Approach - VIDEO

LINC’s Comprehensive Literacy Model PARENT ENGAGEMENT School and Community Workshops VIP (Very Involved Parent) READING BUDDIES PROGRAM READING EVERYWHERE PROGRAMS TIGER WALRUS

LINC’s Community Approach BRONX 9 School Partners 3 Library Partners 14 Community Partners MANHATTAN 11 School Partners 5 Library Partners 14 Community Partners BROOKLYN 4 School Partners 3 Library Partner 3 Community Partners QUEENS 4 School Partners 3 Library Partners 2 Community Partners LINC leverages existing community resources in high needs neighborhoods to increase reading opportunities STATEN ISLAND 5 School Partners 2 Library Partner 5 Community Partners School Year

LINC Initiatives City’s First Readers Reads Initiatives: South Jamaica Reads & East New York Reads

From a LITTLE READER to a SUCCESSFUL LEADER

Expanding on Mayor de Blasio's efforts to enroll all NYC children in free full-day pre- kindergarten programs, the New York City Council’s City’s First Readers initiative provides resources for children that support early reading development from birth through age 5. Together, these programs help make sure our city’s youngest residents begin school ready to be successful students.

Parent Engagement - Workshops to assist families in creating a daily reading routine and provide parents with fun and easy literacy-building activities that can be done at home. Reading Opportunities - Early literacy programs that provide reading opportunities in the home, libraries, doctor offices, parks, and local businesses. Access to Resources - To give parents, childcare providers, and teachers the resources needed to help children succeed. The synergy of the partnerships has created: Book Distribution - To provide free access to age-appropriate books for children. Network Building - Having a network of support is crucial to long term school success. City’s First Readers Initiative is committed to families, caregivers & teachers in developing connections to one another & the resources they need to support young children from birth to 5 years old as they develop literacy skills needed for school success.

CFR Initiative was able to reach: 137 New Sites And deliver services to over: 200,000 Families

We are piloting the City’s First Readers Map in Brooklyn Map is interactive and includes contact information for sites Allows us to search partnership and outreach opportunities by neighborhood and branch location BPL has seen increased program attendance after reaching out to neighborhood partners directly We hope to expand the map to all library systems and partners across all boroughs with continued support from City Council

For more information: Facebook.com/citysfirstreaders ext.135

TIGER (Together in Getting Everyone Reading) LiteracyINC

LiteracyINC 5030 Broadway Suite 641 New York, New York