<p> Solutions-Oriented Support Working Group</p><p>This federal-state Working Group will promote intergovernmental conversation and collaboration to advance efforts to increase the number of children from low- income families reading proficiently by the end of third grade. In a unique form of advocacy, the “good offices” and assistance of philanthropy can encourage, enable and expedite cooperation and creativity to find solutions that will lead to better outcomes for the children who are of high priority to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. As the lead sponsor of the Working Group, Kellogg will bring the knowledge, experience, prestige and clout to help assure that the Working Group is an effective forum for change. </p><p>The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading</p><p>Launched in 2010, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort by funders, nonprofit partners, states and communities across the nation to ensure that more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. The Campaign focuses on reading proficiency by the end of third grade, a key predictor of high school graduation and a milestone missed by 80 percent of low-income children. The goal:</p><p>By 2020, a dozen states or more will increase by at least 100% the number of children from low-income families reading proficiently by the end of third grade.</p><p>The milestones1 by which the GLR Campaign will assess whether it is on track for sustainable momentum toward the 2020 goal are:</p><p>If by 2015, grade-level reading has become: a priority for parents, educators, sector leaders and policymakers; a performance measure for schools and school districts; a target for increased investment and citizen service; and a catalyst for policy advocacy.</p><p>1 The GLR Campaign initially defined milestones for the mid-point of the effort, which will be 2015. It subsequently has broken out the 2016 milestone related to student progress, because that will synchronize with the availability of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. If by 2016, at least two dozen communities report measurable progress on critical indicators of school readiness, student attendance, summer learning and grade-level reading at the end of first, second and third grades.</p><p>A Priority for Government at All Levels</p><p>The GLR Campaign’s message and mobilizing efforts have tapped into widespread consensus about the need for more high school graduates and a fundamental sentiment that children should learn to read, with encouraging results. Despite a highly politicized and deeply partisan environment, the Campaign’s “enabling narrative” that the achievement crisis among the nation’s young low-income children is amenable to practical, consequential and achievable solutions is resonating in Washington, in red, blue and purple states, and in urban, suburban and rural communities.</p><p>Led by governors, chief state school officers and legislators, as many as 30 states have put a “stake in the ground” for third-grade reading. The nature of these actions range from comprehensive plans to provide better supports for families and children from birth to policies that focus on children’s skills at the end of third grade and mandate that they read at grade level before moving on. As diverse as these actions are, they have in common a concern and commitment about the importance of putting children on the path for success in school and in life. </p><p>The energy and enthusiasm for this agenda at the state level is more than matched locally, as demonstrated by the number of communities that are launching local campaigns to increase the number of children from low-income families reading proficiently by the end of third grade. In 2012, 124 communities hailing from 34 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands became part of the Campaign’s GLR Communities Network by completing a rigorous, locally led process to form coalitions of local stakeholders and develop plans to address important barriers to students’ reading achievement. These communities encompass 350 school districts with 8 million K-12 students. More than 1,600 groups are part of the local coalitions. In an indication that momentum is growing, Arkansas, with five communities, joined in April 2013, and another two dozen communities from an additional six states have expressed intent to join.</p><p>There is strong federal support for the grade-level reading agenda and approaches that can contribute to its success, as well. Most recently, of course, the President has proposed assuring that all low- and moderate-income four-year-olds have access to high-quality preschool. Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge and District Competition, Striving Readers, Promise Neighborhoods and i3 are providing resources to promote and assist innovation. The Affordable Care Act authorizes funding for proven programs like Nurse-Family Partnership. The Corporation for National and Community Services has pledged to recruit volunteers and service members as tutors. And even less visible agencies like the Institute of Museum and Library Services are joining up, making grants and providing guidance to encourage these institutions located in communities across the nation to become part of the local efforts. The Solutions-Oriented Support (SOS) Working Group</p><p>The President’s call for increasing expenditures for high-quality pre-K is echoed by advocates and many others who recognize that the nation’s future depends on making greater investments in its young children and especially in those who begin life facing the host of challenges that come with poverty. But realizing this in a time of tight budgets and concerns about the debt will be extremely difficult.</p><p>In the meantime, there is a great deal that can be done to move the grade-level reading agenda within existing budget and legislative constraints. The proposed SOS Working Group is envisioned as a forum where representatives of all relevant federal agencies, state officials and selected others can come together to identify problem-solving ways that the federal government could support and help expedite state efforts and promote innovation. For example, solutions-oriented support might include:</p><p> Technical assistance in identifying, adapting and implementing proven and promising practices and programs;  Opportunities to seek fast-track guidance, review and approval of requests for waivers, regulatory relief, flexibility and streamlining of rules and required processes, including across agencies;  Competitive preferences and priorities that would provide leverage and further incentivize state policies and investments to assure on-track child development, early learning and third-grade reading; and  Better coordination of similar programs, for example those targeting “healthy” homes, schools and communities, and/or greater flexibility to allow coordination at the state and local level.</p><p>By working together to make the smartest use of the resources that are available, federal and state officials can help make significant strides in key areas such as ensuring that young children receive health and developmental screenings and good nutrition, reducing housing insecurity and housing- related drivers to family mobility that disrupt learning and increase absences, and promoting more seamless systems of care, services and supports. </p><p>Why Philanthropic Involvement?</p><p>While, as noted above, government at all levels is demonstrating a commitment to the shared goal of increasing the number of children from low-income families who achieve reading proficiency, translating that into intergovernmental action will take perseverance and creativity. The presence of philanthropy – in the form of sponsorship of the SOS Workgroup by the Kellogg Foundation and participation in the deliberations by key philanthropic and GLR Campaign leaders – can provide the additional resources and neutral third-party perspective that may be critical to sustaining fruitful deliberations that yield substantive changes.</p>