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2016 Annual Report

The READY! for Kindergarten school read-

iness program engages families in their 

child’s learning from birth to age 5. READY! 

empowers parents with essential knowl-

edge, support, and resources to nurture 

their child’s development in ways that foster 

early literacy, language, math, reasoning, 

and social-emotional skills.
READY! offers parent and caregiver work-

shops with learning tools. These workshops 

equip parents and caregivers to help babies 

and young children develop strong brain 

connections, the foundation for learning. 
The program is available in English and 

Spanish and can be adapted for other 

non-English speaking populations. Lessons 

are flexible to meet local needs and oppor-

tunities including Head Start, preschools, 

home visitor, and other community models. 
In fiscal year 2016, there were 154 READY! 

programs nationwide in 22 states. Fourteen 

new programs were added during the fiscal 

year, including the first READY! for Kinder-

garten program in Montana.

The Children’s Reading Foundation 

welcomed Erin Dickey as the new 

national program manager of READY! 

for Kindergarten. Erin brings 11 years of 

curriculum design experience to her role 

at the foundation. Previously, she was a 

middle and high school English and history 

teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in 

Education from the University of Idaho 

and a Master of Science in Education from 

Southern Oregon University.

Birth to Age 5: 

Preparing Children for School Success

The READY! for Kindergarten app devel-

opment is nearing completion. By fall of 

fiscal year 2017, the app, in both English 

and Spanish, will be available to download 

from the ReadingFoundation.org website 

and on both the Apple App Store and 

Google Play. The app, designed for mobile 

devices, will contain skill development 

games for children ages 2 to 5 based on 

many of the READY! for Kindergarten Age 

Level Targets©. The app is designed to be 

played by a child with a parent or caregiver 

to reinforce learning and give children extra 

skill-building time. The app will also provide 

parents with data on their child’s progress.