Nebraska Children and Families Foundation Awarded 
Nearly $10 Million Federal Grant to Boost Early Literacy

Five-year U.S. Department of Education award will expand a proven program that gets books — and better reading skills — into the hands of Nebraska kids and families.

LINCOLN, NE — Nebraska Children and Families Foundation (NCFF) has been awarded a federal grant of nearly $10 million over five years to study and expand a program that's already putting books into the homes and early childhood programs of Nebraska preschool-age children. The Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant comes from the U.S. Department of Education and will fund a major expansion and evaluation of Nebraska Growing Readers (NGR), a program NCFF built with the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) to strengthen early reading skills.

The grant will support an enhanced version of the program, called NGR+, which builds on Nebraska Growing Reader’s foundation of getting Nebraska-themed books into preschool-age kids' homes by adding hands-on tools for both parents and early childhood educators. NGR+ integrates two evidence-based programs—FamilyRead and TeacherRead—into the Nebraska Growing Readers framework to enhance early literacy. Families will receive simple, visual guides to make shared reading time more effective, while educators will get training and materials that reinforce the same skills. Every participating family will receive up to 100 books.

“Through our work with communities across Nebraska, we heard a clear need to strengthen early literacy. That led to a partnership with NDE and Unite for Literacy on the Nebraska Growing Readers initiative. Results from four pilot communities showed statistically significant gains in early literacy. We’re excited to build on that success with this EIR award and continue growing children’s love of reading and literacy skills, which will prepare them for school and future careers,” said Dr. Joshua Cramer, Executive Vice President of Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.

Over the next five years, roughly 120 sites across Nebraska — many in rural communities — will take part in the study. Researchers will compare three approaches: the original NGR program on its own, NGR paired with the new family-focused tools, and NGR paired with both the family tools and classroom-based teacher training. The goal is to find out which combination does the most to help kids build the skills they need before kindergarten, including phonological awareness, print knowledge, and vocabulary.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to enter kindergarten with the skills and confidence needed to thrive,” says Nebraska Commissioner of Education Brian Maher. “The Nebraska Growing Readers initiative has already shown promising results, and this federal investment will allow us to expand and strengthen that work while learning even more about the practices that have the greatest impact on early literacy. The knowledge gained through this project will benefit children, families, and educators across Nebraska for years to come.”

Many Nebraska children arrive at kindergarten already behind in language and literacy skills, a gap that can follow them through their school years. Research shows that shared reading is one of the most effective ways to close that gap early, before it widens. This project is designed to find out exactly how much of a difference that makes when families and early childhood educators are working from the same playbook.

NCFF is partnering with the University of Notre Dame, which is co-leading implementation support, and the American Institutes for Research, which is conducting an independent evaluation. Results from the study will help guide efforts to expand coordinated literacy support across Nebraska, including in rural areas that often have fewer resources for early education programming.

###

About Nebraska Children
For nearly 30 years, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation has partnered with communities and other organizations to create a statewide well-being system that strengthens families, supports unconnected young people, creates learning opportunities for Nebraska’s future workforce, and empowers parents to raise healthy children. To learn more about our work, visit www.NebraskaChildren.org.

Grant Disclosure
The contents of this release were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program. The Department does not mandate or prescribe practices, models, or other activities described or discussed in this document. The contents of this release or related publications may contain examples of, adaptations of, and links to resources created and maintained by another public or private organization. The Department does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. The content of this release does not necessarily represent the policy of the Department. This release is not intended to represent the views or policy of, or be an endorsement of any views expressed or materials provided by, any Federal agency.