Reading for the Future: A Community-Wide Commitment to Literacy
At Achieve Brown County, Partners and staff believe that reading is not just a milestone, it’s a gateway. A child’s ability to read at grade level by the end of third grade is one of the most important indicators of future academic success, economic mobility, and lifelong well-being. Yet in Brown County, only 54% of third graders meet grade-level expectations.
That’s why Reading for the Future exists.
Launched as a collective impact initiative, Reading for the Future brings together cross-sector partners—including educators, early childhood providers, parents, businesses, healthcare systems, and nonprofits—to align efforts around one shared goal: ensuring that every child in Brown County is reading at grade level by the end of third grade.
What is Happening in the Reading for the Future Initiative
From community-wide engagement to data-driven strategy, this partner driven initiative is built around systems change. Here’s a closer look at the ongoing and emerging work taking place under Reading for the Future:
Community-Wide Visioning, Goal Setting & Action Alignment
Achieve Brown County Partners developed a 2030 county-wide goal for meeting third grade reading expectations. This long-term vision was and is being shaped collaboratively to reflect community priorities, values, and the systemic shifts needed to achieve it.
Achieve Brown County also hosts bi-annual Early Literacy Convenings to unite early childhood and literacy-focused partners across sectors. These gatherings are designed to drive alignment, track progress, and keep momentum going across all aspects of the initiative.
Community Education Series
We’re engaging the broader public through community learning events that elevate promising practices and emerging trends in literacy. Past events have included:
- A screening and panel discussion of The Right to Read documentary
- A presentation on Act 20 and the Science of Reading
- Education leader panel discussions on school district issues
Early Literacy Data Dashboard
We’re building a dashboard that tracks key indicators from birth through third grade to help our community align efforts and measure progress. This dashboard will serve as a shared tool for nonprofits, educators, health systems, and families to identify meaningful metrics, set benchmarks, and focus collective energy where it’s needed most.
Asset Map of Early Literacy Resources
An asset map of Brown County early literacy resources is being developed to support a variety of partners.
1) Youth and Family Service Providers aim to have a way to efficiently know what exists and where they can direct families. 2) Parents are looking for a way to find information on what they can be doing in the home to build early literacy skills with their children. 3) Partners aim to use the map to identify gap or barriers families may have with accessing needed resources.
Building this tool will inform future actions our community can align on to continuously improve how we collectively support families with early literacy.
Reach Out and Read Expansion
We’re working to scale evidence-based practices across Brown County and Reach Out and Read is a proven model bringing early literacy directly into the pediatric care setting to help families understand the importance of reading aloud from birth.
Public Awareness Campaigns
To create a culture that celebrates and supports early literacy, we’re planning a countywide campaign designed to ignite awareness and excitement around early literacy and its lifelong impact. This messaging campaign will help families, educators, and community members understand their role in supporting young people in becoming strong readers.
Built Literacy Environments
The community is exploring ways to bring literacy into everyday community spaces through creative, engaging experiences that promote early literacy concepts:
ABC Conmigo/ABC With Me: Brings multi-lingual alphabet to parks and other public spaces supporting all of our neighbors with ways to engage with simple literacy development during every day activities.
Laundry Literacy: Creating small library nooks in laundromats to provide books and resources to families in informal settings.
Convening Action Teams
Achieve Brown County’s projects happens through teamwork and collective action. Currently, backbone staff facilitate and convene two core action teams made up of Achieve Brown County Partners:
Reading for the Future Strategy Team
Change takes process and strategy. The Reading for the Future Strategy Team is focused on forming structure, direction and cohesion for the Reading for the Future Initiative and its current and future Collaborative Action Teams.
Reading Begins at Birth Action Team
The Reading Begins at Birth Action Team aims to ensure all parents and at home caregivers of children age 0-4 in Brown County feel confident in their abilities to support their children in learning to read
Our Three-Year Outlook
We’re not here to do this quickly—we’re here to do this right. Over the next three years, Reading for the Future will:
- Develop a countywide early literacy target
- Launch and sustain the Early Literacy Dashboard as a key community tool
- Expand access to literacy environments and materials
- Engage and center families as partners and decision-makers
- Build public understanding and engagement of early literacy
- Host Early Literacy Convenings to maintain momentum, accountability, and shared action
- Track measurable progress in third-grade reading
- Scale evidence-based models like Reach Out and Read across systems
Join the Movement
This initiative belongs to all of us. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, health provider, or simply someone who cares about our community’s future—there’s a role for you in this work. Together, we can ensure every child in Brown County learns to read—and grows up ready to thrive.
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