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ICoF Funder Coalition Members Attend National Funder-to-Funder Huddle

FUNDER COALITION MEMBERS TO DATEClaude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation | Community Foundation of Marshall County | Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque | Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation | Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation | Grinnell College Office of Community Enhancement and Engagement | Iowa West Foundation | Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation | R.J. McElroy Trust

NATIONAL SUMMER LEARNING DAY IS JUNE 19th!

Pictured:Dubuque representatives Eric Dregne and Nancy Van Milligen, along with State Lead Becky Miles Polka (pictured above, back row) pose for a photo with representatives from other Pacesetter communities at the Campaign’s Funder-to-Funder Huddle in San Francisco.

Iowa Campaign representatives Laura Sauser (Iowa Council of Foundations); Nancy Van Milligen and Eric Dregne (Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque); and Becky Miles-Polka (Iowa Campaign Lead) attended the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading National Funder-to-Funder Huddle in San Francisco April 23 – 24. Sauser, Van Milligen, and Dregne each helped lead a breakout session during the two-day conference which drew funders from around the country. Van Milligen and Dregne also accepted a Pacesetter award for their Campaign work in Dubuque.

Summer Learning Day is a national advocacy day recognized to spread awareness about the importance of summer learning for our nation’s youth in helping close the achievement gap and support healthy development in communities all across the country.

What are you doing to increase awareness about summer learning for your GLR Community? Please take a moment to share your ideas/plans on The Huddle.

Here are some links to great resources for effective Summer Learning practices/programs from the National Summer Learning Association:

• Resources for Communities (incl. customizable press release, talking points, online logos and banners, and much more).

• Tips to recruit and select seasonal staff

• Don’t quite have your Campaign up and running yet? Resources for Families

• Training for Summer Learning Stakeholders, including Webinars and in-person training.

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a partner of the National Summer Learning Association.

To read and learn more about the GLR Campaign partnership with The National Summer Learning Association, check out their website here

CALENDAR OF EVENTSWebinar, Wednesday, May 27 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm: Betting on Elmo, Martha, and Lena: The Promise of Technology to Reach & Support Parents in Creating Literacy and Language Rich Environments. Learn more and register

Webinar, Friday, June 12 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm: From Slipping and Sliding to Present and Soaring: Engaging Parents to Reduce Chronic Absence & Summer Learning Loss. Learn more and register

F R O M O U R S T A T E C A M P A I G N L E A DBECKY MILES-POLKAIOWA ATTENDANCE LEARNING NETWORK…Now what?

Thanks to everyone who attended the April 10th workshop with Hedy Chang from Attendance Works. Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and continue our efforts to combat chronic absence. Next steps: 1. Please work with your district partners who attended

the April 10th event to schedule a follow-up coaching call with Attendance Works. SIGN UP HERE.

*There are a limited number of slots for calls. If none of these slots work for your community, please let us

know and we will work to find another time. We will send out call-in information to you before the scheduled call.

If you have District partners that could not attend the last meeting but are interested in participating as we move forward, let Becky know and we will find a time to schedule a call and help to catch them up.

2. Let us know your availability for the next TA session with Hedy Chang. This session will target Principals and building-level staff. We originally envisioned this as a face-to-face session but after consultation with a few communities and Attendance Works staff, we are considering a shorter 3-hour virtual TA session (which means travel is not required). If you have thoughts on virtual vs. face-to-face please let us know.

CLICK ON THIS DOODLE POLL to sign up for our next TA session with Hedy Chang in August.

We recommend that you target your elementary schools with the highest chronic absence rate to attend this meeting. Please share the Doodle Poll link with your District partners: http://doodle.com/b48rsfnicqfkus67

If you completed a self-assessment at the last meeting, we have transcribed those and sent via a separate message. If you or your District partners completed the self assessment after the session and you would like it transcribed, you can scan and email to Becky at bmilespolka@gradelevelreading.net or fax to her at 515-255-3890.

RESOURCE CORNERIOWA READING RESEARCH CENTER > The work of the IRRC focuses on statewide instructional strategies and interventions, student reading assessments, a statewide data system, community partnerships, family resources, professional development for educators, and an intensive summer reading program.

The IRRC website houses an online collection of literacy resources available to the public for teaching, learning, research and at-home support for reading.

In honor of June 19th’s National Summer Learning Day, please read about the importance of summer reading programs available to you through the IRRC right here in Iowa and peruse their website for excellent resources to help with the GLR Campaign in your community:

http://www.iowareadingresearch.org/reading-in-iowa/summer-reading/#importance

Research shows that summers without quality learning opportunities put our nation’s youth at risk for falling behind – year after year – in core subjects like math and reading. The math and reading skills low-income students lose each summer are cumulative and contribute significantly to the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income kids.

- National Summer Learning Association

TIME TO GET

PROACTIVE!

G L R CAMPAIGN I O W A

APRIL SURVEYThank you for your patience this

month as we revamped the monthly survey. If you haven’t already, please

CLICK HERE and record your activities for the month of April by

May 31st.

If you need to view your responses from previous months, please

contact Mary Mouw at mmouw@iowacounciloffoundations.org. She can download the responses

that have been submitted and send them to you. This is a new tool we're

trying out to make the survey process easier for you. We

appreciate hearing your feedback!

GLR Campaign funders wear many hats...Which hat(s) have you worn?

Technical Assistance Dollars Still Available

ICoF members who have committed to actively participate in the Campaign are eligible to apply for a Technical Assistance grant for support in bringing the Campaign into your local community. The annual budget for the ICoF technical assistance pool is $10,000. Funds from this pool are awarded on a first come, first served basis. NOTE: The grant must be requested by and gifted to ICoF members only, and must be matched dollar for dollar. Questions? Contact Mary Mouw, Grant Coordinator.

WELCOME TO THE CEDAR VALLEY CAMPAIGN FOR GRADE-LEVEL READING!

The ICoF Funder Coalition welcomes Lekeisha Veasley to the GLR Iowa network! Lekeisha is the Cedar Valley Coordinator for the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. Lekeisha has spent her career helping families to thrive while at Operation Threshold, Cedar Valley’s community action agency. She has coordinated numerous efforts to help families including income tax preparation for low-income families, neighborhood-based economic literacy workshops, and emergency assistance for families facing foreclosure.

If you have news, data or tips you’d like to share on your community’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading or strategic alignment efforts, please contact Mary Mouw.