Congress of the United States Washington, DC 20515

The consequences of the pandemic – serious losses in reading proficiency and learning – have been particularly acute for children in families with limited incomes and children of color already facing educational inequities. [...] In addition to activities that enrich traditional educational settings, IAL grant support through non-traditional and informal educational settings can help children and their families – including the youngest children for whom healthy child development is critical to school readiness. [...] The grant supported improvements to student’s reading capacity; updated library resources to include specialized and modern literacy tools, ranging from Native American-specific books to wireless reading devices; implemented methods to work with parents in home reading techniques; formed collaborative efforts between teachers and library staff to enhance classroom efforts; and book distributions,. [...] RIF was also part of an IAL project with the Kentucky Education Development Corporation to support participating schools through access to books, resources and training resulting in improved student performance in literacy • Reach Out and Read (ROR), a pediatric primary care model, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, that embeds early literacy promotion in well- child check-ups, partne. [...] For American families living in poverty and limited to the services of high- need local educational authorities, lack of access to quality reading materials and adequate learning facilities is prohibitive, fostering chronic disadvantages for already underserved youth.