In July 2011, Raising A Reader MA’s Board of Directors approved a one-year strategic plan for the organization. This plan, detailed below, was created with significant support from a team of consultants organized through Harvard Business School’s Community Action Partners program.
The two goals laid out in the FYE 2012 strategic plan include:
Goal 1) Enhance and Standardize Core Service Model
- Fundamental emphasis on parent engagement and education
- Utilize program partners in parent outreach efforts
- Incorporate new staffing structure
Goal 2) Leverage Additional Impact Through Community Integration and Commitment - Beacon Community Model
- Collaborate with community coalition committed to early literacy
- Measure effectiveness of Beacon Community Model in enhancing parent outreach efforts
- Explore potential to scale Beacon Community concept
From these goals emerged the following strategic priorities:
- Pursue a deep immersion strategy of changing literacy behavior in the home;
- Measure the enhanced impact of our Beacon Community Model over our Core Service Model and identify key drivers of success;
- Translate the essence of the value we deliver into high impact communications;
- Strengthen development infrastructure.
As we wrapped up FYE 2012 and move into FYE 2013 we saw that Raising A Reader MA was in the position to expand its evidence-based, early literacy program to serve up to 150% more children living in vulnerable communities over the next three years. With funds from the Race to the Top/Early Learning Challenge grant awarded to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in December 2011, Raising A Reader MA is developing collaborations with local Coordinated Family and Community Engagement grantees to create new avenues for supporting family-oriented early literacy development. The Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care asked Raising A Reader MA to be prepared to serve as many as 3,000 new children and families in four new cities by as early as January 2013.