The History of Read 20!
Over Read 20’s nearly decade and a half of work towards getting every child in Hamilton County reading on grade level by the end of 3rd grade, Read 20’s efforts have been remarkably consistent.
The tenor of Read 20’s work was set early and is sustained today with a small staff and an enormous community network driven by collaboration, intentionality and follow-through, ideation and innovation, capacity building, sustainable solutions, efficiency and effectiveness, universal access, community ownership, deepened understanding, and sincerity.
The long-term commitment to achieving and sustaining change is evident as Read 20 continues to:
- Introduce thought leaders and best practices to inform collective work around childhood literacy
- Launch innovative events
- Support long-lasting, grassroots community initiatives
- Structure and incentivize children’s reading initiatives
- Simplify how parents and other adults gain knowledge on the importance of and how to promote school readiness
- Work collaboratively to provide teachers with tools and training to improve their success in developing grade level readers
Read 20 remains focused on core programmatic areas:
- Awareness of the importance of reading and early literacy
- Access to reading materials
- Adult actions and techniques to influence reading
The Timeline below details the highlights of notable milestones, activities, and events by year:
2010
- Kindergarten Guide used across the state through CCR&R
- 1st of 4 Scenic City Literacy Conferences for area teachers
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 28,637 students for 602 hours and distributed 41,294 books to area students and families
2011
- Recognized 57,067 students for reading on grade level and donated books to classroom libraries 2008-2011
- Reading 20 minutes every day is mandated in all HCDE elementary schools by Superintendent
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 32,226 students for 606 hours and distributed 56,945 books to area students and families
2012
- Kindergarten Screening Tool mandated across all HCDE elementary schools
- Probasco (Millionaire) Readers launched
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 33,448 students for 774 hours and distributed 64,616 books to area students and families
2013
- Launched Read 20 Neighborhood Libraries
- East Side Elementary won the first Millionaire Reader contest with 42% of the school’s students reading one million words during the school year.
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 39,132 students for 759 hours and distributed 55,920 books to area students and families
2014
- Launched new website
- Pre-K/Kindergarten Institute replaces Scenic City Literacy Conference
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 30,196 students for 717 hours and distributed 54,307 books to area students and families
2015
- Early Childhood Education Summit in partnership with HCDE and United Way
- Research illustrated awareness levels of reading 20 minutes a day more than doubled over 8 years.
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 31,850 students for 710 hours and distributed 52,710 books to area students and families
2016
- Developed Guides for Young Children Birth-4
- Initial leadership of Early Childhood Coalition as part of Chattanooga 2.0
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 31,476 students for 753 hours and distributed 49,101 books to area students and families
2017
- Leadership with 2.0 Early Matters
- Established fall event of Harvest Moon Storyland Maze
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 28,956 students for 672 hours and distributed 40,100 books to area students and families
2018
- Increased listing of resources for teachers and parents on website
- Altered Probasco Readers contest to split the winnings in half for 2 schools
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 23,111 students for 616 hours and distributed 33,350 books to area students and families
2019
- Distributed over 1 million books since 2006
- Altered Probasco Readers contest for 3 winners
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 27,171 students for 666 hours and distributed 34,808 books to area students and families
2020
- Pandemic shutdown forced Read 20 to shift to online read aloud videos on Facebook and a newly created YouTube Channel
- The Readmobile saw and read aloud with 2,969 students for 102 hours and distributed 27,681 books to area students and families
- Partnered with HCDE to provide books to students and families receiving supplemental food/nutrition during the pandemic shutdown
- Partnered with Signal Centers to provide a free book to every student in HCDE elementary schools with CARES Act relief funds
- Altered Probasco Readers contest for 10 winners in order to increase the number of schools participating
- Thought Paper for strategic planning outlines work for future
- (As of April 2021) Read 20’s Read Aloud Videos have garnered more than 20,000 online views and more than 600 subscribers/followers
