Initiative Recognizes Public Housing Agencies as Portal to Early Learning Success

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading added Housing Catalyst to its Public Housing Communities Honor Roll. Honorees employ strategies and tactics that leverage the resources of public housing agencies and organizations to advance seamless systems of coordinated and aligned care, services, and family supports that are 24/7/365 and multigenerational.

Honor Roll members demonstrate their leadership and depth and breadth of contributions in supporting children through a variety of programs and partnerships. These public housing communities have:

  • shown sustained effort for more than a year;
  • prioritized collaboration with school districts, other agencies, organizations, and institutions to amplify the desired outcomes;
  • used data to set baselines and targets, track progress, and promote accountability for outcomes; and
  • addressed foundational critical early school success and equitable recovery objectives, such as school readiness and attendance.

Critically, many honorees have intentionally addressed learning losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, working in areas of learning recovery, digital equity and connectivity, and health, employing innovative and creative ways to stem further setbacks and spark growth. A wide range of efforts identified include:

  • read aloud events with volunteers and tutors;
  • book distributions;
  • community garden development and nutrition education;
  • year-round out-of-school programming;
  • on-site educators;
  • digital literacy initiatives;
  • broad connectivity projects; and
  • device distributions and technical assistance.

The mission of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) is to disrupt the generational cycle of poverty by improving the prospects for early school success for children growing up in economically challenged, fragile and otherwise marginalized families. The national CGLR team provides backbone support to the GLR Network by acting as a hub, broker, dissemination channel and accelerator for established and emerging practice, policy, ideas, data and research. They also provide catalytic leadership to the movement and the field as a whole.

“Safe, stable and affordable housing plays a vital role in improving educational outcomes from childhood through the postsecondary years. NAHRO’s partnership with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading recognizes the relationship between housing and education, and the role they both play in providing all children with the opportunity to thrive.”

George Guy
National President, NAHRO