Thursday, July 21

• 3–4:30 p.m. ET, Community Coalition-Leading Organizations:
  Celebrating Community and Cultivating Resilience
  Register Here »

• 7:30–9 p.m. ET, All-America City Awards – Closing Ceremony
  Register Here »

Friday, July 22

• 2–3:30 p.m. ET, Assume Collaboration: The Consultative Conversation on Aggregating for Impact Continues (by invitation only)

2022 All-America City Award Sessions Co-Convened with the National Civic League

Monday, July 18

3–4:30 PM ET
A Virtual Gratitude Session – CGLR Salutes Our Public Library Partners

Public libraries have been a mainstay of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading since its inception. As trusted centers of the community, libraries have been in a unique position to attract potential partners and provide benefits and resources to organizations with common goals.

GLR recognizes the importance of public libraries, not only for their role in the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading but also for their part in serving their communities as a hub, a connector, a beacon for civil society and a place for learning, resilience and discovery. We acknowledge that public library support for important GLR-supported initiatives has been critical. Initiatives such as Lunch at the Library, Book-Rich Environments, Digital Equity, Equitable Learning Recovery and Early School Success have provided invaluable benefits to thousands of children and families on the wrong side of the digital divide and in most need of unfettered support.

Our “gratitude” session will consist of testimonials in our essential focus areas:

• Libraries in providing Digital Equity
• Libraries in helping Remake Learning
• Lunch at the Libraries
• Libraries and Summer Learning
• Libraries and Literacy at the Laundromat
• Libraries in support of Book-Rich Environments

A panel of library leaders will join in a conversation to discuss the attributes of the testimonials from both historical and contemporary perspectives in an ever-changing information and resource-challenged environment.

Moderator:

• Susan Hildreth, Library Consultant & Former Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services

Panelists:

• Melanie Huggins, Executive Director, Richland Library, Columbia, South Carolina
• Pilar Martinez, Chief Executive Officer, Edmonton Public Library, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• Erin Silva, Board Member, Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) & Youth & Teen Services Librarian, North Liberty Library, Iowa
• Felton Thomas, Jr., Executive Director/CEO, Cleveland Public Library

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Tuesday, July 19

12:30–2 PM ET
The Case for Housing as a Platform: A Philanthropic Perspective

Public housing authorities and affordable housing organizations are critical partners in supporting children of economically challenged, fragile and marginalized families by meeting them “where they are” with 24/7/365/multigenerational systems of services and supports. In this plenary workshop, philanthropic leaders will discuss this essential role of affordable housing and the importance of funders working collaboratively to address complex issues facing children, families and communities.

Moderator:

• Jeanne Fekade-Sellassie, Executive Director, Funders for Housing and Opportunity

Speakers:

• Dana Bourland, Senior Vice President, Environment & Strategic Initiatives, The JPB Foundation
• Monica Valdes Lupi, Managing Director – Health, The Kresge Foundation
• Charles Rutheiser, Senior Associate – Civic Sites and Community Change, Annie E. Casey Foundation

Commentor:

• Schlonn Hawkins, CEO & Publisher, Shelterforce

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3–4:30 PM ET
Building Blocks for the New Normal: Mining the Bright Spots and Silver Linings

Despite the challenges faced by children, educators, families and all who are committed to advancing early school success during the pandemic, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading retains our relentless and restless optimism about what is possible. This optimism is fueled by the innovative approaches to slow, stop and reverse learning loss and spur equitable learning recovery that we’ve seen in communities across the country. These “bright spots and silver linings” that have emerged, with sustained investment and action, could drive transformative change for years to come.

Featuring a panel of exceptional national leaders, this session seeks to lift up and celebrate several pandemic-driven developments that can contribute to a better “new normal.” We will explore the emerging consensus and sense of urgency around assuring digital equity; the deepening understanding that parents are essential partners in improving education outcomes for their children; the growing acknowledgement that child care providers play a vital role in both children’s learning and development and the nation’s economic infrastructure; and the expansion of high-dosage tutoring programs to accelerate equitable learning recovery.

Moderator:

• John Gomperts, Executive Fellow, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Former President & CEO, America’s Promise Alliance

Panelists:

• Jean-Claude Brizard, President & CEO, Digital Promise
• Yolie Flores, National Campaign Director, Building a Parent Nation, TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, University of Chicago
• Jacqueline Jones, Ph.D., President & CEO, Foundation for Child Development
• Susanna Loeb, Ph.D., Director, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Founder and Acting Executive Director, National Student Support Accelerator, Brown University

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5–6:00 PM ET
All-America City Awards Opening Ceremony

• Attendees will be welcomed to the virtual event by League President Doug Linkhart and Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Managing Director Ralph Smith and Adrianne Todman, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Wednesday, July 20

11:30am–1 PM ET
Housing as a Platform Roundtable Learning Exchange

Attendees will engage in dialogue and sharing of on-the-ground experience in breakout rooms based on the seven areas of focus of the 2022 AAC theme. This session is open to both 2022 All-America City finalists and leaders from communities across the country. Sessions will be moderated by practitioners and participants will be encouraged to share learnings and lessons from their own communities.

Areas of Focus and Moderators:

• Digital equity: Malai Amfahr, Senior Program Officer, Constituency Outreach and Engagement, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
• Relational supports: Becky Miles-Polka, Senior Consultant, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
• Afterschool, summer, and out-of-school learning opportunities: Javier Maisonet, Director of Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives, MathTalk
• Transforming non-school places and spaces into learning-rich environments: Miriam Shark, Senior Consultant, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
• Promoting school readiness, regular attendance, and summer learning: Emily Samose, Senior Consultant, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
• Parents succeeding as essential partners: Yolie Flores, National Campaign Director, Building a Parent Nation, TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, The University of Chicago
• Parents succeeding in their own journey toward sustainable self-sufficiency: Abra Lyons-Warren, Director of Cross-Sector Initiatives, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA)

Register »

3– 4:30 PM ET
$65B to Advance Digital Equity: Leverage Challenges & Opportunities for State & Local Funders

With the 2021 passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the federal government is making a historic investment to advance digital equity, including programs to build internet infrastructure, teach digital skills and increase access to the broadband necessary for work, school, health care and more. This funding builds on the early investments made by state and local funders who took immediate action to ensure that children and families had access to the connectivity, devices and assistance needed to continue learning when schools were operating virtually. It also represents a call-to-action for those and other funders who can now take action to ensure that these new public programs reach those most in need. Featuring a panel of philanthropic leaders and advocates who have been working to promote digital equity throughout the pandemic, this session will explore their progress and lessons learned to date and the incredible opportunities afforded through this new federal funding.

Speakers:

• Cheri Coryea, Manager, Digital Access for All Initiative, The Patterson Foundation

• Shayna Englin, MPP, Director, Digital Equity Initiative, California Community Foundation

• Amina Fazlullah, Equity Policy Counsel, Common Sense

• Jack Lynch, Chief Operating Officer, EducationSuperHighway

• Ashley Pollard, MPP, K-12 Digital Access Program Manager, City of Philadelphia

Moderator:

• An-Me Chung, Ph.D., Director, Teaching, Learning & Tech and Strategic Advisor, Education Policy Program, New America

Register »

Thursday, July 21

3–4:30 PM ET
Community Coalition-Leading Organizations: Celebrating Community and Cultivating Resilience

The GLR communities across our network have experienced both highs and lows this past year. In this session, we will celebrate the highs by recognizing the communities being honored as Pacesetter finalists. These communities have shown exemplary efforts in one or more areas, including increasing school readiness, ending chronic absence, reversing the summer slide, addressing health-related challenges, equipping parents to succeed, advancing grade-level reading and math, or taking key steps to slow learning loss and accelerate equitable learning recovery.

As we celebrate the highs, we also will hold space to discuss how resilience and attending to social-emotional needs are necessary for successful outcomes. Linda Liu from McKinsey & Company will provide opening remarks. Collective resilience has been woven into many of our GLR communities. Addressing the many challenges faced by our children, families and stakeholders working within our sector provides the hope we all need to move forward together. We recognize there are many perspectives to this topic, and attendees will have the option to join the group discussion from the point of view that most resonates:

• Cultivating resilience from the funder perspective, conversation led by Melissa Litwin with The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation and Mark Dinglasan with CUMAC
• Cultivating resilience from the early childhood program perspective, conversation led by Kerrie Urosevich with Early Childhood Action Strategy
• Cultivating resilience from the family engagement perspective, conversation led by Ken Livingston from United Way of Delaware and Valerie Brown with The Skills Connextion
• Cultivating resilience from the summer and out-of-school learning program perspective, conversation led by Liz Woody-Remington with The Learning Alliance
• Cultivating resilience from the greater community engagement perspective, conversation led by Beth Tomlinson and Jill Pereira from United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley

A full set of comprehensive resources will be created from each of the perspectives and shared with attendees in the post-session summary.

Speakers:

• Valerie Brown, Founder, The Skills Connextion L.L.C.
• Mark Dinglasan, MBA, Executive Director, CUMAC
• Ken Livingston, Director, Get Delaware Reading, United Way of Delaware
• Melissa Litwin, MBA, Early Childhood Program Director, Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation
• Jill Pereira, MSW, Vice President Education & Impact, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
• Beth Thomlinson, MSS, MLSP, Senior Director of Education, Co-Founder of Resilient Lehigh Valley, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
• Kerrie Urosevich, MA, PhD, Network, Design, and Innovation Lead, Early Childhood Action Strategy
• Elizabeth “Liz” Woody-Remington, M.Ed, Co-Founder and Director of Professional Development, The Learning Alliance

Register »

7:30–9 PM ET
All-America City Awards: Closing Ceremony

During the closing session of the 2022 All-America City Awards, the National Civic League and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading will announce which communities won the 2022 AAC Awards. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to celebrate the successes of all the AAC finalists and to congratulate the 2022 winners!

Speaker:

• Sharon Davies, President and CEO of the Kettering Foundation

Register »

Friday, July 22

2–3:30 PM ET
Assume Collaboration: The Consultative Conversation on Aggregating for Impact Continues (by invitation only)

This invitation-only session continues the conversation launched during GLR Week 2021. Focusing primarily on the two major collaborative efforts highlighted — the Rapid Response Virtual Home Visiting Collaborative and the Hand-in-Hand Community Framework for Early Childhood Collaboration — the panel of presenters will be invited to provide an overview of each initiative’s progress over the past year, the challenges (anticipated and not) encountered and the lessons learned so far. The agenda is being developed to allow for a deeper dive on the initiatives by providing each a separate Zoom room for Q&A, feedback, and exchange with the respective speakers as well as other key insiders.

“The research literature provides no credible evidence that any one of even the most exemplary and acclaimed programs is sufficiently powerful that it alone can close the gap….Efforts to align, stack and bundle promising and proven programs must move from the ‘good things to consider’ bucket to the ‘urgent, must do.’” — Toward Closing the Gap(s), 2016

Session Moderator:

• Barbara Chow, Director of Education, Heising-Simons Foundation

Breakout Moderators:

• John Gomperts, Executive Fellow, The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
• Yolie Flores, National Campaign Director, Parent Nation at TMW Center, Univ of Chicago

Speakers:

• Janet Adams, Executive Director, Atlanta Fulton Family Connection
• Jeanna Capito, Lead, Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies
• Constance Gully, President & CEO, Parents as Teachers
• Michelle Sioson Hyman, Senior Vice President, Programs and Partnerships, Raising A Reader
• Matthew Melmed, Executive Director, ZERO TO THREE
• Kimberly Martini-Carvell, Executive Director, Help Me Grow National

Commentators:

• Brenda Blasingame, M.A., Social Sector Consultant and Leader
• Anu Malipatil, Vice President, Education, Overdeck Family Foundation