Literacy

New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) launched a citywide effort in spring 2023 to ensure every student is a confident reader and empowered to succeed academically, professionally, and personally, ultimately contributing to a brighter future for New York City.  The Fund partners with NYCPS to bring private support from the philanthropic community to invest in the district-wide implementation of NYC Reads.

NYC Reads

New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) has a bold vision to reimagine the learning experience for all students from birth through graduation. In spring 2023, NYC Reads was launched to fulfill this vision, ensuring that every student in NYC public schools develops strong reading skills, regardless of their background or circumstances. Literacy is the cornerstone of learning and a crucial aspect of racial and socioeconomic equity. We must do better for our children and educators. NYC Reads is designed to tackle the challenges that NYC—and so many districts across the country—face in ensuring all students receive quality literacy instruction.

Building on evidence and insights from literacy bright spots outside the five boroughs, NYC Reads is distinguished by three core elements:

  1. A relentless focus on core instruction: NYCPS is implementing high-quality instructional materials with fidelity and providing strategic, consistent support to district teams, school leaders, and teachers as they adopt and implement evidence-based practices with expert coaches based on the science of reading and the latest research about effective strategies to support literacy.

  2. Consistent engagement of families and communities: We know this is essential to creating a supportive ecosystem for this initiative, uniting educators, families, and the broader community in support of every child’s success, regardless of their background. Collaborating closely with NYCPS, community-based organizations and businesses foster community engagement with NYC Reads throughout the five boroughs.

  3. Close monitoring and evaluations: Critical to supporting continuous improvement and achieving successful outcomes, NYCPS is leading a multi-phased evaluation to assess implementation, make real-time improvements to practice, and focus on outcomes tracking. Innovative tools and technology are used to support this historic effort.

Philanthropic support from national and local partners facilitated by The Fund has enabled NYCPS to collaborate with experts, vendors, and partners to support this effort. While the full impact of NYC Reads will take years to realize, private support has already deepened and enhanced the level of engagement across our schools and communities. As a result, teachers are consistently using the selected high-quality curricula and making significant curriculum-based instructional shifts that are directly impacting our classrooms.