A BRAND-new First Book, Reading Universe, our new CFO, National Book Access Association – and more.

First Book celebrates with a bright new brand

Introducing our brand-new First Book! To celebrate our more than 30 years of dedication to educational equity, we are launching a fresh look and updated messaging?that represent our evolution as an organization and elevate our ongoing commitment to our nation’s children, and the educators who serve them.?

First Book is building a world where every child has access to a quality education. At the heart of First Book is the more than 575,000 members of the First Book Network, the largest online community of educators and professionals dedicated to children in underserved communities across North America.

Our Network is the key to creating systemic change. To support this Network, we’ve built three major programs at First Book. The First Book Marketplace, our eCommerce site that provides free and low-cost books and educational resources; First Book Research & Insights, which aggregates and elevates the voice of our community of educators to identify barriers to equitable education and inform strategic solutions; and the First Book Accelerator, which allows us to connect our community with evidence-based resources developed with leading experts, to address issues identified by our educators.?

Our new tagline – Eliminating Barriers. Inspiring Young Minds. – captures our commitment, passion, energy, and unbridled enthusiasm to support educators and elevate learning opportunities for our nation’s underserved children from birth through age 18.

You’ll see First Book’s new brand reflected on Firstbook.org, and the First Book Canada website, as well as on our social media platforms, and in all we do!?

Read on for exciting new resources, and partnerships to start this school year.

Barksdale Reading Institute, WETA, and First Book launch free multi-media educator platform focused on the science of reading

The Barksdale Reading Institute, WETA, and First Book have launched Reading Universe, a multi-media online platform bringing educators free, evidence-based resources for teaching reading. The science-based step-by-step professional development tool for teachers, paraprofessionals, and reading coaches includes lesson plans, in-classroom videos, printable activities, and decodable texts.?

Reading Universe builds on the success of the Barksdale Reading Institute, which catapulted reading scores in Mississippi from among the worst in the nation to 21st in 2022 – the only state in the nation to dramatically increase student reading scores.

This unprecedented resource comes at a critical time for the educators we serve, with reading scores at historic lows due to pandemic learning loss. As the Annie E. Casey Foundation reports, in 2022, 59 percent of white fourth graders were not proficient in reading, and the impacts are even more devastating for children of color. Eighty-four percent of Black fourth graders, 82% of American Indian fourth graders, 80% of Latino fourth graders and 63 percent of students who identified as two or more races were not proficient in reading.

To ensure the Reading Universe platform meets the needs of educators, First Book conducted extensive usability testing and additional research with our educators and field experts to inform the development of both the platform and the online resources. Now we’re bringing this resource directly to the First Book Network of more than 575,000 educators in classrooms and programs across the country. Learn more about Reading Universe here. ?

New resources on First Book Marketplace fuel learning nationwide

To celebrate the start of school, the First Book Marketplace, our online eCommerce site, is jam-packed with new books and resources to fuel learning in every setting imaginable: from classrooms and afterschool programs to barbershops and church basements. Our members select books and other resources from the Marketplace to use in their classrooms and programs or send home with students; all resources are provided at the lowest costs possible or for free. Our team recently updated the site, making it easier for visitors to navigate and explore.

Among the new resources for the school year is First Book’s 2023-2024 Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion in STEM calendar. This free, downloadable calendar celebrates diverse scientists and inventors from all walks of life that educators can use to inspire students’ interests in STEM. The calendar also features dates and themes with cultural, religious, or historical significance.?

In addition to wonderful book titles, the Marketplace is also stocked with new non-book items, such as resources to support social and emotional learning, like these Kind Kids cards, and resources that enable children to explore topics like coding with screen-free activity kits.

Please tell educators at Title I schools and programs about the First Book Marketplace and encourage them to come take a look. Educators can find out if they’re eligible and learn more here.

“First Book is an absolutely amazing resource! The amount of grant opportunities, classroom experiences, and book resources is truly unbelievable!” Jessica R., a?First Book Educator

Wendy Lin joins as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Team member

I’m happy to welcome Wendy Lin, who has joined First Book as Chief Financial Officer, and a member of the First Book Executive Team. Wendy brings extensive experience in corporate finance, P&L management, and product development. For the last 12 years, Wendy focused on the education field, serving in finance and product development roles for two international companies working to deliver affordable, high-quality higher education through multiple institutions. Wendy’s responsibilities included overseeing school financials and budget, strategic planning, and finance operations. Wendy also spearheaded a key strategic initiative to create online professional development offerings tailored to the needs of working professionals.?

Fluent in Chinese, Wendy grew up in Taiwan, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the National Chengchi University in Taipei. Wendy came to the United States in her early 20s to continue her education, earning an MBA in finance from Penn State University.

In addition to working in education, Wendy has experience in the manufacturing and healthcare industries. But the field of education has always been important to her – especially as she and her husband raise their wonderful five-year-old son.

“When I heard from First Book, I was struck by how closely the job description matched my own experience and the alignment was serendipitous. I’m impressed with the passion and caliber of people at First Book. This mission is so important: to remove the roadblocks to education for kids, and to provide real resources to educators and for children to impact their lives and their futures. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to actively contribute.”

We’re thrilled to have Wendy bring her experience to further our mission.?

First Book helps launch new National Book Access Association

More than a dozen organizations have come together to launch the National Book Access Association, a new association designed to unify, professionalize, and support groups that are working to provide equal access to books and promote literacy. The National Book Access Association is focused on furthering strategic collaboration, resource-sharing, and professional development for organizations that actively distribute books for free to underserved populations. The association is fiscally sponsored by First Book.?

“When we talked about who to reach out to in order to support our work, First Book was the preeminent organization that we all wanted to work with,” explains Emily Ball Cicchini, PhD, the Executive Director of BookSpring and President of the association. “In addition to having a shared vision regarding the power of books in people’s lives and the importance of book access, First Book has a long history of collaborating with and supporting fellow nonprofits. Many of our members rely on First Book to source beautiful, high-quality, diverse books for our programs. It was thrilling that First Book believed immediately in what we proposed and has been exceedingly helpful every step of the way.”

Many of the organizations working to address book deserts are local or regional in nature. Based on listings in Candid’s Guidestar, a national clearinghouse for nonprofit financial and program information, more than 2,300 organizations include “book distribution” as part of their mission. These organizations are making an enormous contribution to increase access to books in our communities across the country.

First Book is honored to support this new association and help build the national network of book providers. If you know of organizations in your community that are involved in book distribution, please encourage them to learn more here.

News from the Diverse Books for All Coalition

The Diverse Books for All Coalition, launched in October 2022 and spearheaded by First Book, now includes 40+ nonprofits and membership organizations from across the U.S. that are working together to tackle the lack of high-quality, affordable children’s books by and about diverse races, cultures, abilities, and identities. Here is the latest on this initiative:

In the News: Read Book Equity, the newest article about the Coalition, featured by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Thanks to my co-authors Lucy Recio, National Association for the Education of Young Children, and Robert Stechuk, UnidosUS, and to the Kellogg Foundation for sharing our work!

MomsRising partnership announced: The Coalition and MomsRising formally announced a new partnership designed to elevate the perspectives and insights of parents in the Coalition’s work. Our announcement is here.

Upcoming Events: The Coalition has submitted an exciting Commitment to Action for the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative, which takes place in New York Sept. 18-19. In addition, the Coalition will be among the panelists for the New York Book Forum’s Sept. 20 in-person program, A Lapse in Literacy. Stay tuned for more.?

New Members: Welcome to these new members joining the Coalition: ?Literacy Mid-South; and Ready, Set, Read.?

Support the Coalition: You can support the Coalition by following us and sharing information via social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn), or signing up for the Coalition’s quarterly newsletter. Keep your eyes on diversebooksforall.org.?

Your moment of WOW.

Take 60 seconds to hear from Linnea Hunter, an educator at a Philadelphia elementary school, as she talks about the challenges for students in learning how to read – and the power of books in students’ lives.?

First Book is building new resources of all kinds to support our nation’s educators and boost educational opportunities for children – and we need your help more than ever.?

We’re thrilled that you’re here with us – because you share our belief in the power of education, the life-changing role of educators, and the importance of every child feeling valued and having the educational resources needed for learning.?

Thank you for joining us as active champions for educational equity.

With gratitude,?

Kyle

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