The Kenneth Rainin Foundation is dedicated to unlocking the potential of Oakland’s youngest learners. Our goal is to ensure that every child is kindergarten-ready and reading at or above grade level by the end of third grade. Investing in the adults who love and teach children is the first step. By providing key ingredients—skilled and loving adult support, and literacy-rich experiences steeped in proven learning strategies—we are helping children to succeed.

The 2017-2018 school year began for us with an exciting leadership transition. After four fruitful years as Director of Education Strategy & Ventures, Susan True handed over the reins to Carla Bryant. Susan spearheaded our pilot of SEEDS of Learning, placing this promising literacy model at the heart of our school partnerships. She and her team also mobilized resources for additional community-based strategies that enhance early childhood well-being and learning.

Carla’s career reflects a similar commitment to the success of young children through comprehensive early learning programs. Her experience includes leadership roles in San Francisco and creating system-level solutions in Seattle to align early learning with K-12 education.

Their transition sets the stage for building on grantee successes and what we’ve learned so far, and advancing to the next stage of our education strategy. We will prioritize quality data and the power of partnerships to understand and address systemic obstacles to achieving long-term outcomes. The Education team will continue to scale what works and identify strategies that support reading success through third grade.

The Rainin Foundation targets its investments in both schools and community settings. Most significant is our work with the Oakland Early Learning Literacy cohort, which grew to 16 schools in 2017. The schools focus intensively on boosting student outcomes by building a continuum of learning from transitional kindergarten through first grade. Our funding includes a robust professional development program to strengthen instructional leadership and improve curriculum, along with classroom tutors and coaching support for teachers. These schools use regular assessments to monitor and apply strategies that help children progress.

Three in five Oakland students enter kindergarten without the early literacy skills they need to succeed, so the need for a strong, comprehensive strategy is clear.

The Rainin Foundation’s investment in SEEDS of Learning began in 2014 and now extends to numerous school partners in Oakland. SEEDS is a nationally recognized relationship-based professional development program that supports teachers in building social, emotional, language and literacy skills in young children. By monitoring student progress, this program also helps teachers identify and target skills where children need extra support. SEEDS expanded to include preschool teachers at nearly every City of Oakland Head Start classroom. In 2017, additional investments continued to benefit 14 independent charter schools and 26 district schools. This eight-month professional development program for preschool, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten teachers included materials, classroom tutor resources and ongoing coaching. SEEDS programming overall grew 25% last year, from 72 classrooms in 2016-2017 school year to 92 in the 2017-2018 school year.

We continued to see positive results for preschool and transitional kindergarten students during the fourth year of our SEEDS programming. In reviewing student data, however, we found that these early literacy gains may not hold steady into third grade. We saw this first-hand with one of our school partners. But their amazing team of educators immediately mobilized around collaborative problem-solving to address a variety of obstacles to longer-term success. This is how data gathering and strong grantee partnerships contribute to success—they energize opportunities for collaborative learning and growth.

In 2017, we invested $1.4 million through responsive grantmaking to community-based organizations that are helping families prepare children, birth to age 8, for success. Grantee partners provide a bountiful array of resources to enhance children’s well-being and reading success. Summer and after-school programs like Springboard Collaborative equip families to support their kids as they become successful readers and joyful learners.

Other grantee partners help kids build their own libraries at home through free book giveaway programs at schools, libraries, family resource centers and health clinics. Book Trust, a new grantee partner, hosts book parties to deliver books with a generous helping of fun. Reach Out and Read integrates routine baby health checkups by trusted, literacy-wise pediatricians with a free book (maybe a lollipop, too!). And organizations like Lotus Bloom Family Resource Center infuse playgroups with literacy, healthy social emotional development and positive parenting.

In 2017, we continued digging into research findings by Dr. Marc W. Hernandez from NORC at the University of Chicago. In partnership with the Foundation, his team conducted an extensive household survey of 427 Oakland families with young children in 14 elementary school communities. By illuminating their experiences, we discovered numerous informal strategies they rely on to support their children’s success. We also understood more about primary caregivers’ dreams for their children, and their concerns and beliefs about how children learn.

Insights into the cultural, economic and social distinctions and similarities of each neighborhood are also revealing. Some findings challenged our own assumptions about community needs and assets. The household interview results offer a treasure trove of data, and we began sharing them last year. In combination with student data from our partner schools, this research is invaluable to supporting families and their children’s reading success. We remain grateful to all the families who participated. They are helping us learn how we and our community partners can provide valued, effective resources.

The Rainin Foundation supports programs that help Oakland children be ready for kindergarten and on track for third grade reading success. We are honored to partner with these schools and community-based organizations who are helping children become confident, capable and joyful learners. View more information about these grants.