Literacy is the foundation on which life skills are built.
At its core, literacy is the ability to read, write, communicate, and think critically—all skills that are essential for successfully navigating school, establishing a career, and thriving as an adult.
At least a million reasons why we need to get our children on the same page by 2030.
Those who maintain grade-level literacy skills at an early age are more likely to graduate, acquire additional degrees, and earn up to a million dollars more than those who fail to meet the baseline standards. Unfortunately, right now only 41 percent of students in Hamilton County schools are meeting those standards—a shortfall that not only threatens their future but also the strength of our community as a whole. We have the plans, strategies, and programs in place to address this issue. But we all have to show up—at home, in the classroom, and across the community—to ensure the majority of our third- through fifth-grade children are reading and writing at grade level by 2030.
Help start a new chapter for literacy in Hamilton County.
At Home
Strategies to help families establish a strong foundation and set their children on the path to literacy.
In School
Resources and reports to help ensure our curriculum supports the latest breakthroughs on the science of reading.
across the community
Guidance and materials to help equip those who show up for our children outside of the classroom.
We need full attendance to achieve this mission.
Everyone has a role to play in championing literacy and improving the future of Hamilton County. Here's how to get started...
- Use our community’s definition of kindergarten readiness and the Chattanooga Basics to support your child’s early literacy from birth until kindergarten.
- Fill your home with great books beginning at birth and read together as a family. Sign up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation’s book distribution list. Check out Chattanooga 2.0’s Family Reads activities or make use of your K-12 student’s free Chattanooga Public Library card.
- Take advantage of the literacy resources that Hamilton County Schools and the Tennessee Department of Education have curated for families with K-5 students.
- Learn more about literacy by listening to podcasts like Sold a Story and the Knowledge Matters Podcast or watching documentaries like The Right to Read.
- Use the high-quality instructional materials that Hamilton County Schools has adopted to support students in school as they learn to read or receive intervention.
- Complete the Tennessee Department of Education’s Early Reading or Secondary Literacy Trainings.
- Learn more about literacy by listening to podcasts like Sold a Story and the Knowledge Matters Podcast or watching documentaries like The Right to Read.
- Connect employees with children to literacy resources, like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and go further by providing monthly books to families with children 0-11.
- Establish or support a one-classroom child care center or begin an adult literacy program for employees with children.
- Sponsor a strategy from Chattanooga 2.0’s literacy plan, like Family Reads, at an individual school or out-of-school time program.
- Learn more about literacy by listening to podcasts like Sold a Story and the Knowledge Matters Podcast or watching documentaries like The Right to Read.
- Contact your elected officials to advocate for continued support for evidence-backed strategies for improving literacy (e.g., improved pre-service teacher training, high-quality curriculum, sustained funding for high-dosage, low-ratio tutoring, increased book access and distribution).
- Learn more about literacy by listening to podcasts like Sold a Story and the Knowledge Matters Podcast or watching documentaries like The Right to Read.
- Attend or request a training to integrate best practices for supporting early literacy in your existing children’s programming.
- Learn more about literacy by listening to podcasts like Sold a Story and the Knowledge Matters Podcast or watching documentaries like The Right to Read.
- Align your literacy programming with the Science of Reading and Hamilton County Schools’ curriculum.
- Contact Hamilton County Schools to discuss joining the Student Success Planning initiative and using data to measure student outcomes in literacy.
- Learn more about literacy by listening to podcasts like Sold a Story and the Knowledge Matters Podcast or watching documentaries like The Right to Read.
- Align your programming with the Science of Reading and Hamilton County Schools’ curriculum in order to intentionally build students’ knowledge during and outside school hours.
- Learn more about literacy by listening to podcasts like Sold a Story and the Knowledge Matters Podcast or watching documentaries like The Right to Read.
