To combat learning loss over the summer, Tennessee is funding the delivery of surprise books to keep almost a quarter million kids engaged with reading.

The Governor's Early Literacy Foundation (GELF) expanded its K-3 Home Library program to now include all rising 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students enrolled in a public school. In collaboration with Scholastic publishing, the program will deliver 1.2 million books to more than 200,000 students, teachers, and librarians this summer.

Six packages consisting of grade-level books will be delivered directly to the homes of participants, at no cost to families or the 152 school districts.

Children enrolled in school districts and charter schools were signed up to receive the books with an opt-out option for families, making it easy for all K-3 students to be a part of the program, with 40,000 more students getting them this year, compared to 2022.

"My son struggles to read but is making improvements by the week," said one parent from Warren County, who joined the program last summer. "These couldn't have come at a more perfect time!"

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A Morgan County educator pointed out that when schools are closed for the summer, access to books diminishes. "Many of our students do not have access to books at home so this is a great program to get books into students' hands."

"If we don't get reading right, everything else can go wrong," said James Pond, GELF President. "Our goal is to promote a culture of reading in Tennessee by meeting students where they are with the books and resources they need to become lifelong learners-and we hope other states look to us as a leader in collaborative early literacy efforts."

Research shows that students who do not read over the summer lose two to three months of reading proficiency-but reading four to six books has the potential to stop, mitigate, or reverse this "summer slide."

This is GELF's fourth summer collaborating with Scholastic to deliver books. Since 2020, the K-3 Home Library program has grown by 528%, placing more than 3.1 million books in the homes of more than 509,000 elementary school students and teachers.

Research conducted by GELF showed that 97% of parents reported that their children were thrilled to receive the books and said they were valuable to their family.

The books-including Three Hens and a Peacock (about a flashy newcomer getting attention while hens do all the work), and The Squirrels Who Squabbled (about two greedy squirrels on a chase for pinecones)- were all selected by GELF's Educator Advisory Council, a diverse group of 28 Tennessee educators.

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