The Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation (GBBF) was honored to be a part of the Read to be Ready launch event in February. Read to be Ready is a statewide initiative focused on the critical importance of reading with a goal to move 3rd-grade reading proficiency in Tennessee to 75 percent by 2025.

GBBF President Theresa Carl joined other state department heads on stage as Governor Bill Haslam announced the Read to Be Ready initiative on February 17. We also had a booth at the event.Read to be Ready is a coordinated approach that addresses everything from classroom instruction, to teacher preparation, to adult literacy rates, to school-community-parent partnerships for after-school and summer programs. Read more about Read to be Ready at www.tn.gov/readtobeready and check out Governor Bill Haslam’s February monthly column about the initiative.  Click here to see all of the photos from the Feb. 17 launch event.