Our History

The first Reading Foundation was formed in 1996 to support students in Benton-Franklin Counties attain the high standards required by Washington's Educational Reform Act of 1993. The five citizen founders recognized that if students didn't have strong reading skills they could not be successful in school and couldn't fairly represent their knowledge on assessments.

Eight neighboring school districts were founding members of the first Reading Foundation. The original design was based on the writing of Jim Trelease in The Read-Aloud Handbook (1995) and the “America Reads Challenge”, US Department of Education (1996). “The Most Important 20 Minutes of Your Day … Read With Your Child” became the slogan and prominent media message. Within two years, the “20-minute” message had permeated the culture, and 98 percent of adults surveyed had heard the message and agreed with it.

The Reading Foundation director received frequent inquiries from people wanting to replicate this model for the children in their communities. In 1998, the Mid-Columbia Board of Directors created a separate entity, the National Children's Reading Foundation, to assist communities in starting their own Reading Foundations.  It provided a network for community-based Reading Foundations to share materials and best practices, and discuss issues and solutions.

Two supporting programs were developed to support local Reading Foundation's in achieving their mission: Team Read Tutoring (2000) which trains volunteers to tutor struggling readers in first-, second– and third-grade; and READY! for Kindergarten (2002) which offers tools and training to parents with children ages birth to 5.