reading corps partnership_We are very proud to partner with Minnesota Reading Corps to bring early learning experts into family child care settings to work directly with children and child care providers on early literacy. This partnership is producing amazing results. Check out this video to see how it works.

Every week, early literacy professionals from the Reading Corps visit family child care programs to directly work with children on early literacy. Children learn their letters, how to write their name, and many other tools for literacy. And the best part? The child care providers learn and implement literacy best practices taught by the Reading Corps. This improves the quality of their child care program instantly and for the future.

“It definitely has increased my professionalism, and my ability to provide quality child development to children,” said Trinette Potts, family child care provider featured in a film about the program.

This exciting partnership allows us to reach children who need our help the most, and it’s producing fantastic results, according to a third party study. It found:

AmeriCorps tutors with Minnesota Reading Corps helped four- and five-year-old students meet or exceed spring targets for kindergarten readiness in all five assessed areas.  Students in comparison classrooms did so only for one. The effect sizes were not only significant, but substantial in magnitude.

Continuing this partnership is crucial for reaching even more children who need the most help to be prepared for kindergarten, a key indicator for success in school and life.