Council earns more honors in Grade-Level Reading campaign

The national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading last week recognized Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County with a sixth Pacesetter Honor for its work in summer camps and afterschool programs in 2019.
CSC also was honored as a “Bright Spot” for its ongoing work with the Thirty Million Words (TMW) Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago. That project provides at least one TMW intervention (video) to 60 percent of families with children birth to 3 in nine targeted ZIP codes near St. Mary’s Hospital. 

CSC previously was recognized in July for establishment of the Strong Minds Network to increase the quality of early childhood care and education, support for the Palm Beach County Birth to 22 Alliance, development of the EveryParentPBC.org website and EveryParent apps, and strategic use of videos and data.

“At this challenging time, we have much to learn from each other,” says Ralph Smith, managing director of The Campaign for GLR. “These Pacesetter and Bright Spot communities are leading the way in the six impact areas that we know matter. We congratulate them for this achievement and encourage our entire network to learn from them.” 

“CSC’s scholarships for summer camps and afterschool programs provide students in communities with limited access to resources – a high prevalence of them Black and Hispanic – the same opportunity to participate as students from families of well-resourced communities,” says CSC CEO Dr. Lisa Williams-Taylor. “This turns a time of risk into a time of opportunity by keeping kids safe and engaged in meaningful activities alongside caring adults, while also allowing parents to continue working.”

More than 14,500 children received scholarships through CSC in FY 2019.

Other examples of CSC work may be found here by clicking here.

CSC and Palm Beach County also received GLR Pacesetter honors in 2013 and 2017.

About the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Launched in 2010, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities across the nation to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. Since its launch, CGLR has grown to include more than 300 communities, representing 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and two provinces in Canada. To learn more, visit gradelevelreading.net and follow the movement on Twitter @readingby3rd.