Supporting Early Literacy

Early literacy is so important, especially now. The pandemic is widening resource gaps as families deal with the unanticipated economic and social impacts. The long-term impact will disproportionately affect those already most vulnerable. Millions of children have limited or no access to text. Some of the most critical years of a child’s life are during early childhood; early brain development has a lasting impact on a child’s ability to learn, and to succeed in school and in life.
Research has shown that children enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library increased kindergarten readiness by 28.9%, and has been linked to significantly stronger reading skills from kindergarten to 3rd grade, an entire four years after participating.