
Students participate in learning activities during Summer Academy.
Every Child Reads – Dubuque County launched in 2012, answering a call to action by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. In Dubuque, 26% of third-grade students are not reading at grade level. To address this, a network of dedicated partners from schools, nonprofits, higher education, business, neighborhoods and the faith community convened to develop a comprehensive, realistic and sustainable plan to improve the reading proficiency of Dubuque’s students by the end of third grade. The Community Solutions Action Plan that was developed provided a roadmap for the future efforts of the network.
Key accomplishments include:
- 160 first- and second-graders attended Summer Academy in 2017, and 88% of students maintained or increased reading proficiency.
- New strategies for responding to chronic absence and improved attendance data have led to a measurable decrease in chronic absence at Title I schools, and data is now collected district-wide.
- In 2015, the Campaign supported the increase of quality-rated preschools and child care centers in the community enhancing school readiness.
Every Child Reads partners:
- Carnegie-Stout Public Library
- CDI Head Start – Serving Dubuque,
- Delaware, Jackson Counties, IA
- City of Dubuque
- City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program
- Dubuque Community Schools
- Dubuque County Early Childhood
- Dubuque Dream Center
- Dubuque Community YMCA/YWCA
- Dubuque Visiting Nurse Association
- Four Oaks Family and Children’s Services
- Iowa Child Care Resource & Referral of Northeast Iowa
- Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
- Keystone Area Education Agency
- Northeast Iowa Community College
- St. Mark Youth Enrichment
- United Way of Dubuque Area Tri-States