The Get Georgia Reading Campaign is designed to nurture and facilitate collaboration so that, together, we create the conditions necessary for each and every child in Georgia to be on a path to reading proficiently by the end of third grade.
We aim to provide partners and stakeholders with useful resources to learn more and take action. These videos, partner links, and publications are aimed at helping parents, teachers, community leaders, and organization partners spread the message, share ideas about programs and strategies, and take action in your community.
You are your child’s first and most important teacher. Our partners offer resources, data, and more that you can use to support your child’s language and literacy development.
Use this toolkit and community-level data to learn about the four-pillar framework and engage public and private partners that care about children ages 8 and under in a conversation about what needs to be done.
Georgia is innovating a practice that integrates strategies from the preschool model of PBIS into the school-wide model used in K-12. These tools will help teachers and administrators understand and apply the knowledge of child development to better lay a secure foundation for children during their first few years of early elementary school.
This toolkit is designed for individuals, practitioners, and policymakers to institute a new, proactive approach that employs language as a well-being indicator similar to others—like vision, hearing, and oral health—and is foundational for educational, mental health, and well-being outcomes.
Partner Resources
- All In! Campaign: This campaign seeks to engage all community partners in creating positive learning environments for Georgia’s children and youth.
- Attendance Works: This national and statewide initiative promotes better policy and practice around school attendance.
- Books for Keeps: This program works to address barriers related to the accessibility and appeal of reading material by providing books to children in grades pre-k through 12.
- Bright By Text: Bright by Text is a free service that provides activities, games, and resources right to your smartphone. Messages are targeted to your child’s age and include information on child development, language and early literacy, health and safety, behavioral tips, and more. Message and data rates may apply. To get started, text GPB to 274448 or fill out this form. Subscribers can receive texts in English or Spanish.
- Bright from the Start: The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL): Parents of children ages 0-5 can get family friendly information about child care programs, parenting tips, and access to meals.
- The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading: Our national partner’s website shares ideas and inspiration from communities across the nation. Watch Ralph Smith, the national Campaign’s managing director, discuss the power of the Get Georgia Reading Campaign’s four-pillar framework.
- Chat About Children: This educational series for families from DECAL features episodes on monitoring development, supporting transition back to child care and school, building your young child’s brain, engaging children in play, how early language builds literacy, and more.
- Comprehensive Reading Solutions: The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) provides free access to materials for professional learning.
- Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: The GaDOE offers teachers rigorous standards, quality instructional resources, and online professional learning materials to prepare students for graduation and postsecondary college and career opportunities.
- DECAL Scholars: Early childhood professionals receive support in continuous learning through academic pursuit, training, technical assistance, and mentoring.
- Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Dolly Parton aims to foster a love of reading among preschool children and their families by giving children one free, age-appropriate book per month from birth to age 5. Parents can register their children for this program that’s available in Georgia in Bartow, Camden, Catoosa, Clarke, Dade, Elbert, Hart, Lincoln, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Oconee, Richmond, Stephens, and Walker counties and Savannah.
- Early Warning: Why Reading By the End of Third Grade Matters: This KIDS COUNT special report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation summarizes the research basis for focusing on third-grade reading proficiency and launching a national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.
- Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy: FFCL provides books for local communities to prepare all Georgia children ages 0-5 for reading and learning success.
- Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS): Explore advocacy, data, and economic impact information about early learning quality across Georgia.
- Georgia Early Learning Development Standards (GELDS) Toolbox: DECAL offers supplemental resources to support early learning programs in implementing the GELDS.
- Georgia KIDS COUNT: Georgia Family Connection Partnership compiles current, reliable data on child well-being in each of our state’s 159 counties, reporting year-to-year data highlights, trends, and disparities to inform planning, budget, and policy decisions regarding priorities, services, and resources that impact Georgia’s children, families, and communities.
- Georgia Pathway to Language and Literacy: This Community of Practice (CoP) comprised of professionals, advocates, and parents serves deaf and hard-of-hearing students throughout Georgia.
- Georgia Public Library Directory: Use this search tool to find a public library near you.
- Georgia SHAPE: This network of partners, agencies, and athletic teams offers assistance and opportunities to achieve a greater level of overall fitness.
- GeorgiaStandards.Org: This free website provides information and resources to meet the educational needs of students as well as enhance and support teaching and learning of Georgia standards.
- Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network: This is a great resource for after school, before school, and summer learning programs in Georgia.
- Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0: The first step to improving school climate is to measure and analyze it with a school climate survey instrument. The GSHS 2.0 identifies safety and health issues that have a negative impact on student achievement and school climate.
- GeorgiaSummer.org: Parents can access links to healthy meals, safe environments, and books and educational opportunities that will keep children engaged during the summer break.
- Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) Report Card and Georgia School Reports: The Report Card includes school-, system-, and state-level reports providing detailed data on a wide range of student achievement and demographic indicators for every public school in the state. The School Reports include A-F letter grades for each school based on school performance, performance on state tests, the makeup of the student body, and graduation rate.
- Governor’s Reading Mentors Program: Literacy Language Specialists (LLSs) work with participating schools to facilitate the change needed to strengthen current instructional practices and train teachers and administrators on new practices to help more students read at grade level by the end of third grade. View a list of currently awarded districts served by LLSs.
- Great Start Georgia: Parents expecting a baby or families with young children can learn about all the services in their community they can turn to when needed.
- Horizons National Summer Learning: This tuition-free, summer academic program serves low-income public school students at independent schools, colleges, and universities.
- Inclusion Services: DECAL offers resources and documents that help support early care and education providers’ successful inclusion of children with disabilities in early care and learning programs.
- Innovation in Teaching Competition: Beyond the Textbook: This competition promotes excellence in the classroom by recognizing and rewarding educators who are using innovative strategies to advance student achievement, and then making videos of the winning teachers, along with their unit plans and supplementary materials, available to all Georgia educators.
- myON Digital Library: During the summer months, myON makes its digital library of more than 10,000 books for children and youth available to Georgians for free.
- National Summer Learning Association: NSLA’s vision is that all children and youth have access to high-quality summer learning experiences to help them succeed in college, careers, and life.
- 1,000 Books B4 Kindergarten: Public libraries across the state encourage parents to read 1,000 books with their children before the age of 5 through this fun and easy program.
- Online Analytical Statistical Information System (OASIS): The Georgia Department of Public Health developed this suite of tools to obtain tables, maps, and charts of a variety of public health indicators. These indicators in each tool are selectable by a variety of population, disease, and survey characteristics.
- Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS): This evidence-based, data-driven framework is a way to improve school climate, reduce disciplinary incidents, increase a school’s sense of safety, and support improved student outcomes.
- Pre-K Summer Transition Programming: DECAL’s six-week intensive academic program is for rising kindergarteners that meet specified criteria. The experience is designed to reduce the achievement gap by providing additional family support and resources to targeted high-needs populations.
- Quality Rated Child Care: DECAL offers an online search tool to find “Quality Rated” early-learning programs along with tips about choosing the best child care program.
- Reach Out and Read Georgia: Young children receive a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together. Find a program near you.
- Read Right from the Start: These resources from the Rollins Center for Language and Literacy are for parents and educators including a Cox Campus training link.
- Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) Growing Readers Program: This K-3 literacy professional learning grant is administered through GOSA and aims to provide consistent, high-quality professional learning to teachers on effective reading instruction to help more children read at grade level by the end of third grade.
- Safe and Drug-Free Schools: The GaDOE provides teachers and administrators with resources aimed at preventing bullying, suicide, and alcohol and drug use in schools.
- School Climate Star Ratings: Schools that provide a warm, welcoming, and nurturing environment to students and staff tend to have higher attendance rates, better test scores, and higher graduation rates. The GaDOE evaluates and measures school climate for parents and stakeholders with a 1-5 star rating. The comprehensive report that schools receive helps them identify and address areas in need of improvement.
- Social Emotional Engagement – Knowledge and Skills (SEE-KS): This professional development model is built around neuroscience-based instructional strategies that help educators integrate social-emotional engagement practices into lesson plans to ensure all children are forming positive relationships that fuel the motivation essential for language and literacy development.
- Sightwords.com: The Georgia Preschool Association sponsors free resources to help teach your child to read.
- Springboard Connect: This free web-based, texting app provides personalized tips, resources, and reminders to support parents as reading coaches to their children, charting families’ progress on the learning journey.
- Summer Meal Programs: Many children go hungry during the summer and can fall behind in school. To ensure all kids have access to nutritious meals and learning opportunities to keep them on track year round, DECAL and the GaDOE have a summer meal program locator. Learn how to become a summer meal site sponsor.
- Talk With Me Baby: This Georgia-based collaborative works to ensure all infants and children receive abundant Language Nutrition to support early brain development. They have developed a wide array of resources for parents, caregivers, nurses, educators, and concerned citizens.
- Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC): This federally funded health and nutrition program is for children ages 0-5 and women who are pregnant, nursing, or have recently given birth.
- Words2Reading: Words2Reading brings families, caregivers, and teachers the best resources in developing early language skills and reading readiness from birth to age 8. Grow your young reader through easy-to-follow videos, web links, downloadable documents, e-books, and audio clips all available online.