Communities
It Takes a Community to Support a Family
Families are at the heart of imagineOne.
Parents and caregivers have the greatest opportunity to build the language experiences that prepare children for reading. Communities help make that possible.
imagineOne brings families, healthcare providers, educators, civic organizations, businesses, and community partners together around one shared goal:
Every Child Reading Ready Before Kindergarten.
Together, we help families access the tools, knowledge, and support they need during the critical birth-to-five years.
When we start early, we can help prevent reading struggles before they begin.
Prevention Changes the Math
Reaching a child early costs about $50. Research shows struggling readers who aren’t caught up by third grade often need intervention programs averaging $7,100 per student.¹
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$50
To prepare a child for reading
Books, portal access, and family support during the years that matter most.
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$7,100
To help a child catch up later
¹ Average cost of evidence-based reading intervention programs (Wilson Reading System, Corrective Reading, Reading Recovery). Hollands, F.M., et al (2016). Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 9(1), 30–53.
Strong Readers Help Build Strong Communities
Reading readiness matters far beyond the classroom.
When children enter school with strong foundations for reading, they are better prepared to learn, communicate, participate, and continue building skills as they grow.
When communities invest in children and families early, the benefits reach further:
Stronger families. Stronger schools. Stronger communities.
Preventing illiteracy isn’t only an education issue.
It’s a community issue.
Every Community Has a Role to Play
No single organization can create a Reading Ready Community alone.
Families lead the work at home. Childcare providers, educators, healthcare partners, civic organizations, businesses, libraries, schools, and community leaders each bring different strengths.
imagineOne helps connect those strengths so families are surrounded by support and communities can work toward one shared goal:
Every Child Reading Ready Before Kindergarten.
Rotary Clubs & Civic Organizations
Civic organizations can become powerful champions for reading readiness.
Through funding, volunteer engagement, community awareness, and family events, they help put tools directly into families' hands and bring local partners together around a shared goal.
One Child. One Family. One Community at a Time.
Healthcare Partners
Reading readiness is a community wellness issue.
Healthcare providers are among the first trusted professionals families see during a child's earliest years.
During well-child visits and developmental care, they can help families understand how talking, singing, reading, playing, and connecting support language development and reading readiness.
Through imagineOne partnerships, families can receive My First Steps to Reading® and access the Reading Ready Portal™ for practical, age-based guidance they can use at home.
Schools & Early Learning Centers
Preschools, childcare centers, schools, and early learning programs are trusted partners for children and families.
imagineOne gives providers and educators tools and training to strengthen the work they're already doing while helping families continue building language and reading readiness at home.
Children can receive My First Steps to Reading® for their home library, while families receive ongoing support through the Reading Ready Portal™.
Businesses & Foundations
Investing early creates lasting impact.
Businesses, foundations, and philanthropic partners can help bring the Reading Ready System™ to families and communities that might not otherwise have access.
Community investment can:
• put books and resources directly into homes
• give families ongoing guidance and support
• provide training and tools for trusted professionals
• help communities build a coordinated approach to reading readiness
• expand access to more children and families
Together, we can invest before children struggle—not after.
The Reading Ready System™
Tools + Knowledge + Support. Families at the Center.
Putting books into a child’s home can be a wonderful beginning.
But families need more than books alone.
The Reading Ready System™ brings together the tools families can use, the knowledge that
helps them understand what to do, and the support that helps make reading readiness part of everyday life.
What Families Have
My First Steps to Reading®
A 26-book home library, Parent’s Guide, activities, and resources that give families something practical to use together.
Tools
What Families Learn
Reading Ready Portal™
Simple, age-based parent and caregiver education that helps families understand how children become ready to read and how everyday moments can build those foundations.
Talking. Singing. Reading. Playing. Connecting.
Guidance is designed around the developmental stages of:
Ages 0–2 Ages 3–4 Ages 5–6
with multilingual access expanding in English, Spanish, and Somali.
Knowledge
Who Helps Make It Possible
Childcare providers, educators, healthcare partners, civic organizations, businesses, libraries, schools, and other community partners help families access the System, reinforce its messages, and stay connected to support.
Families are at the center. The community surrounds them.
Support
Reading Ready Communities in Action
Reading Ready Communities don’t all look the same.
Each community builds on its own relationships, resources, and strengths.
Greater Mankato, Minnesota
Where It Started
Greater Mankato became imagineOne’s first Reading Ready Community, bringing together families, childcare providers, educators, schools, healthcare partners, libraries, Rotary, and other community organizations around a shared goal.
What began with putting My First Steps to Reading® into families’ homes has grown into a broader community effort to help families build reading readiness from birth.
Desert Sands Unified School District
California
Through our partnership with Desert Sands Unified School District, thousands of children and families have received My First Steps to Reading®, extending the Reading Ready approach beyond Minnesota and demonstrating how the model can work through a school district.
Different communities. Different pathways. One goal.
Every Child Reading Ready Before Kindergarten.
Join the Reading Ready Revolution™
We’re making reading readiness joyful, simple, and possible for every family.
This revolution isn’t a fight. It’s fun.
And every community has a part to play.
Bring families, childcare providers, educators, healthcare partners, libraries, civic organizations, businesses, and community leaders together around one shared goal:
Every Child Reading Ready Before Kindergarten.
We don’t have to wait for children to struggle with reading.
We can start before the struggle begins.