Kindergarten Readiness - It's More Than Storytime!
Anne Arundel County Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
Anne Arundel County Public Library's Kindergarten Readiness Initiative includes a comprehensive committment to quality early literacy programming, outreach to underserved communities, wraparound services such as job help, computer training, social workers and food pantries. When basic needs are met, families can more readily focus on education!
Challenge/Opportunity
Kindergarten Readiness scores in our county came in at 40% in 2022, a number that our County Executive pledged to get to 76% by 2026. In 2023, the score rose to 43%, but we aren't there yet. The library is committed to working with the school system, health department, workforce development and community to reach kids who aren't getting the support they need and help them build kindergarten readiness skills.
Key Elements of Innovation
We added two outreach vans that will be equipped with wifi and a collection of giveaway books to help build home libraries. Staff in the library and in the community will be sharing early literacy skills and educating parents about the components of Kindergarten Readiness that go beyond literacy. We will also provide paired programs, family support and education to enable them to focus on day to day functioning in addition to the many skills needed for preschool learning.
Achieved Outcomes
This is a work in progress as we have until 2026 to meet our goals. Here are our outcomes:
- Children are more well prepared to take the KR test
- Increased accessibility to library services and programs for everyone
- Families have increased capacity and access to resources to support their children in kindergarten