Michael Haggen, Chief Academic Officer at Scholastic, and James Pond, President of Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation (GELF), are featured in the latest issue of NewsLinks, spotlighting their collaborative efforts to close literacy gaps across Tennessee.
Their article highlights the statewide K–3 Home Library initiative, a collaboration between GELF and Scholastic that delivers six high-quality, grade-level books and evidence-based literacy resources directly to students’ homes at no cost to families or schools. Since launching as a summer pilot in 2020, the program has distributed more than 6 million books and helped boost third-grade reading proficiency from 32% to 41%.
With a 164% increase in district participation and a 145% growth in book distribution, Haggen and Pond demonstrate how strategic investment in book access can lead to measurable impact.
Read the full article: https://iss.education/NL25book.