Raising A Reader MA is excited to have launched in the city of Lynn this fall! With generous support from the Nordblom Family Foundation, the Gisela B. Hogan Charitable Foundation, Salem Five Bank, and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, we will be serving over 500 children in this first year. This launch is unique for us. For the first time, we already have a presence in the community through our Indirect Service partners- the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE) council and Cerebral Palsy Association of Eastern Massachusetts have been implementing Raising A Reader through our train-the-trainer model with approximately 75 children for the past year and a half. Their enthusiasm and support has helped pave the way for this broader launch. We are starting small this year, focusing on the public schools and Gregg Neighborhood House, with the hopes of increased funding that will lead us toward community saturation.

Raising A Reader MA’s growth strategy is focused on the state’s Gateway Communities, 26 mid-sized cities with lower average incomes and educational attainment rates. Lynn, one of these designated communities, has a diverse population. The city is home to a large number of immigrants and refugees; 30% of residents are foreign born and 44% speak a language other than English at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Residents are 27% white, 12% black, 48% Latino, and 7% Asian. Despite characteristics that typically present barriers to children’s academic success, the city has a number of assets, such as a civic commitment to education and a history of effective collaboration. National and local evaluation shows that our dual intervention has the greatest impact on these priority populations; we are eager to become a part of this exciting, collaborative community, and confident that our dual intervention will become an important part of the support network for the cities’ youngest children and their families.