FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chattanooga 2.0 Joins Nationwide Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

PARTNERS ACROSS HAMILTON COUNTY COMMIT TO BOOSTING EARLY LITERACY

Chattanooga, Tennessee (February 17, 2025) – Chattanooga 2.0 is excited to join the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR), a collaborative network to improve reading proficiency, early learning and early school success for children from economically challenged families.

“We are committed to building a robust and aligned system of literacy supports for children from birth and reaching them at home, in school, and across the community,” says Brandon Hubbard-Heitz, Director of Literacy and Student Strategy at Chattanooga 2.0. “Our membership will enable us to leverage the expertise and the innovation of the campaign and its network members to ensure 70% of our students in grades 3-5 are reading and writing proficiently by 2030.”

Reading proficiently by the end of elementary school is a critical milestone toward high school graduation and success later in life because it marks the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Students who have not mastered reading by that time are more likely to drop out of high school and therefore experience less opportunities as adults. CGLR adds value to communities by providing backbone support, network learning, and resources to move the local work forward.

Students in Hamilton County have made significant progress since 2020 when Hamilton County Schools adopted a new elementary English language arts curriculum and invested additional resources into training and coaching for teachers. But with 40.4% of students in grades 3-5 reading and writing on grade level last year, our kids are counting on ALL of us to help set every child on a path toward literacy.

In Hamilton County, the GLR campaign is guided by Chattanooga 2.0’s Early Childhood and Literacy Councils and led in partnership with the many members of Chattanooga 2.0’s Early Matters and Out-of-School Time Alliance action teams. “Improving literacy rates is not a challenge that any single organization can tackle alone. It requires the collective effort of our entire community—families, educators, policymakers, and local organizations—working together towards a common goal,” says Jennifer Andrews, Director of Early Childhood Strategies at Chattanooga 2.0. “By joining the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, we are harnessing the power of collaboration to ensure that every child in Hamilton County has the opportunity to succeed. Together, we can create a thriving future for our children and our community.”

Chattanooga 2.0’s action plan addresses underlying challenges that can keep young children, especially those from economically challenged families, from learning to read proficiently — school readiness, school attendance and out-of-school learning.

“We welcome Chattanooga 2.0 to our growing network of communities,” says Ralph Smith, managing director of CGLR. “Their commitment to this vital mission comes at a critical time when too many children are falling beyond the reach of schools. We need systems that can assure 24/7/365, two-generation supports and interventions. By taking up this challenge, Chattanooga 2.0 commits to do more, to do better and to make a difference in assuring more hopeful futures for the next generation.”

Membership in the CGLR Network gives Chattanooga 2.0 access to experts and policymakers focused on early literacy; assistance in addressing the challenges that keep many children from learning to read; and access to real-time learning and engagement opportunities. The support from CGLR provides seamless access to relationships, content and data that can be used to drive impact and improvement on measures of early school success for children from low-income families.

About Chattanooga 2.0

Chattanooga 2.0 was established in 2016 and is a small but mighty nonprofit that works to change systems in order to impact generational changes in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, TN. The ultimate goal is to improve economic opportunity and quality of life — and Chattanooga 2.0 believes education attainment is the first step. From early childhood education to the attainment of a thriving wage career, the small team leads initiatives to remove systemic barriers and provide intentional supports to children, students, and their families. Chattanooga 2.0 convenes and leads community groups such as Early Matters, Great Teachers Great Leaders, the Out-of-School Time Alliance, and the Hamilton County–Chattanooga Children’s Cabinet.

About the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Since its launch in 2012, the CGLR Network has grown to include more than 350 communities, representing 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and two Canadian provinces — sponsored by 5,200+ local organizations, institutions and agencies supported by 500+ state and local funders, including 200+ United Ways. To learn more, visit gradelevelreading.net and follow the movement on Twitter @readingby3rd.

# # #

Contact: Brandon Hubbard-Heitz

• 678-977-5355
• brandon@chatt2.org