Only 29.5 percent of five-year-olds in low income families in our state are kindergarten-ready as measured by the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills program. By the same assessment, 55 percent of all Clark County five-year-olds enter kindergarten without all the skills needed to succeed on the first day. To mitigate this, the Washington State Department of Early Learning has issued a goal that 90 percent of children are ready for kindergarten by 2020.

Grow a Reader is a district-wide outreach project. “Read While You Wait,” creates value with low impact on staff time and reaches non library users. Bins containing books and bookmarks with literacy tips, available in three languages, are placed in waiting rooms of facilities where high-needs populations are receiving services. “Learn Together,” focuses on partnering with service providers (like WIC) to provide pre-literacy education and skill building in a four part series for parents.

Outcomes for Read While You Wait: -Kindergarten readiness of five year olds is improved -Number of books read to children ages zero to six is increased -Caregivers understand the connection between reading aloud and future literacy outcomes for "Learn Together" -Participants demonstrate that they know at least one of the five pre-literacy skills -Participants understand the value in using pre-literacy activities with children zero through five -Partner organization(s) find the sessions valuable for their clients