About the Campaign
New York is one of five states yet to enact any laws related to the science of reading, a vast body of scientifically based research on how children learn to read.
The New York Campaign for Early Literacy, convened by The EdTrust–New York, is a statewide movement designed to harness the collective voices of individuals and civil rights, education, parent, and nonprofit to improve student reading outcomes through evidence-based instruction aligned with the science of reading. The Campaign is devised on the principle that reading is a civil and human right and that all children can learn to read by the end of third grade with evidence-based instruction and holistic support inside and outside of school, beginning at birth.
The Campaign is the natural next step in Ed Trust–New York’s work to ensure early literacy and the science of reading are prioritized at the state and district levels.
The New York Campaign for Early Literacy seeks to:
Continue raising awareness and urgency with state and local leaders about the literacy crisis facing New York children from birth to age 8
Advocate for policy changes and instructional shifts that promote evidence-based literacy instruction in the
classroom
Support effective implementation of new policies and instructional shifts by amplifying promising practices, analyzing early literacy data, and providing continued advocacy for these changes at the state, school, and community levels
Get the Facts
Consider the facts about student achievement in reading for New York from The EdTrust–New York’s Call to Action: The State of Early Literacy report (April 2023)
Nearly 4 in 5 parents
believe the state and New York schools should adopt policies aligned with the science of reading and a similar number believe the state and districts should prioritize the use of evidence-based literacy instructional resources in schools.
%
of all third graders tested scored proficient in English language arts on the 2021-22 New York State Assessment.
The three cities in New York with the highest concentrations of child poverty — Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo — also have some of the lowest third-grade proficiency rates on state ELA assessments.
Rochester 11%
Syracuse 13%
Buffalo 24%
%
of NYS teacher preparation programs teach the science of reading or evidence-based teaching methods to aspiring teachers.
%
of all parents are unaware of what reading curriculum their school is using, but would like to know, with Black, Latinx, and low-income parents most interested in learning about their school’s curriculum choice.
Meet our Members
Members from the New York Campaign for Early Literacy represent various geographies and interests in New York State.
Organizations
-
- #DegreesNYC
- Adirondack Birth to Three Alliance
- Advocates for Children of New York
- Akron Central School District
- Alliance of NYS YMCAs
- Book Fairies
- Brightside Up, Inc.
- Child Care Council of Orange County
- Community Action Organization of WNY
- Decoding Dyslexia – NYC Chapter
- Democrats for Education Reform NY
- Dobbs Ferry Union Free School District
- Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children
- Dyslexia Services of WNY, LLC
- Early Care & Learning Council
- Early Childhood Education Center
- EDceptional, Inc.
- The EdTrust–New York
- Educators for Excellence
- Empire Center Public Center
- ERASE Racism
- ExpandED
- FPWA (Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies)
- Goddard Riverside
- Greater Rochester Summer Learning Association
- IBERO American Action League
- Learning Ally
- Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County
- Literacy Inc.
- National Book Access Association
- National Parents Union NY
- NAACP NYS Conference
- New York State School Counselor Association (NYSSCA)
- New York Association for the Education of Young Children
- NYS Network for Youth Success
- ParentChild+
- Parents Supporting Parents NY
- Reach Out and Read
- Read Alliance
- Read to Succeed Buffalo, Inc.
- Reading Partners NYC
- READY
- Rochester Public Library & Monroe County Library System
- Schenectady City School District
- Schenectady Takes Action for Reading Success (STARS)
- Skaneateles Central School District
- Springboard Collective
- Teach My Kid to Read
- The Children’s Agenda
- The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families
- The New York Public Library
- The Reading League – National
- The Reading League New York
- The Windward School & The Yale Child Study Center
- Tinker Tree Play/Care
- United Way of Buffalo and Erie County
- United Way of Central New York
- United Way of the Greater Capital Region
- Wayne County Community Schools
- We The Parents of Buffalo and WNY
- WNY Education Alliance
- WXXI Education
Individuals
- Algine, A.
- Benner-Beattie, S.
- Bradley, K.
- Butch, S.
- Carney, T.
- Castillo Blaber, J.
- Dufficy, D.
- Feder, C.
- Floyd, A.
- Good, A..
- Groman, A.
- Howard, T.
- Jensen, A.
- Johnson, K.
- Kingsley, R.
- Lamba, S.
- McCarthy, K.
- McDermott, K.
- Meyer, D.
- Michel Wynne, C.
- Millan, J.
- Miller, S.
- Radford III, S.
- Sanchez Orona, K.
- Semiglazova, Y.
- Steger, M.
- Tangel, T.
- Vivolo, B.
- Wasserman, L.
- Webber, K.
- Whitebay, E.
- Williams, L.
- Williamson, K.
- Zeigler, M.