Thanks to the New York City Council’s renewed allocation, City’s First Readers enters its 10th year of serving New York City families and children with diverse early literacy programs; all support some of our most at-risk children on their path to acquiring the reading proficiency that will help them to achieve in life.
As the facilitating partner for this critically important initiative, Literacy, Inc. (LINC) is pleased to extend its deep appreciation to the Council for recognizing our collective commitment to improving access and creating opportunities for young children. Below is a letter from LINC’s Executive Director, Shari Levine.
We all look forward to working with you to benefit your constituent families.
-------------------------------------------------
Dear Councilmembers,
On behalf of all 17 City’s First Readers (CFR) partner organizations, I want to share a very grateful ‘thank you’ for recognizing the critical role of early childhood education by renewing the Council’s early literacy initiative. This support - your support - has profound citywide impact at so many levels. Direct services to children provide focused interventions and stimulation. Many partners’ programs are 2-Gen, involving parents, which can change behaviors for siblings and even whole families around reading. Families who value literacy change communities.
The City’s First Readers initiative makes it possible for partner organizations who address different aspects of early literacy to understand each other’s work and collaborate. We are so much stronger together.
Together we create access to programs that ensure children have positive experiences which prepare them well for the formal instruction they will receive in a classroom setting and inculcate a lifelong love of reading. Ultimately the city budget is a social document, reflecting our values and priorities. Early education is an important step toward educational equity. Thank you for making this journey possible.
In gratitude,
Shari Levine
Executive Director