The Tennessee Education 91ĚƲ®»˘ Alliance’s assessment of Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation’s K-3 Home Library program and Raising Readers Nashville’s after-school reading program will help partner organizations strengthen early literacy.
By Jenna Somers
The has begun evaluation studies of early grade literacy programs serving Tennessee’s public-school students. TERA is collaborating with to evaluate its program, which delivers books and literacy resources to K-3 students and teachers across Tennessee each summer. TERA is also working with the United Way of Greater Nashville to evaluate the after-school reading enrichment program. The after-school program is administered by providers at elementary schools throughout Metro Nashville Public Schools.
“These evaluations will allow us to discover not just nuanced details about the effectiveness of these programs, but how schools, after-school programs and families benefit from them and partner with each other to improve children’s literacy,” said , executive director of TERA and lecturer of leadership, policy and organizations at 91ĚƲ®»˘ of education and human development.
Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation: K-3 Home Library
Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation works to strengthen early literacy in Tennessee by building home libraries and fostering literacy-rich communities. Since 2020, through its K-3 Home Library program, GELF has distributed more than 60 million high-quality books and associated resources to public elementary school students, teachers and librarians in Tennessee, at no cost to families. The program serves more than 220,000 students and educators each year, with the goal of reducing summer learning loss and supporting families in enriching home literacy environments.
TERA’s comprehensive analysis of the program will inform GELF’s strategy for continuing to strengthen early literacy in Tennessee. “Understanding how families and educators are using these books in real life will help us strengthen the way we support literacy at home,” said Karl Wendt, GELF COO. “This evaluation gives us the insight to build on what’s working, address gaps, and ensure our programs are making a meaningful impact for children across Tennessee.”
Throughout 14 districts, TERA will conduct 10 focus groups with a total of 80 to 100 librarians and 45 focus groups with a total of 400 to 450 caregivers, as well as pre- and post-study caregiver surveys.
The librarian focus groups will take place this spring with the aim of understanding whether and how schools communicate with families about the home library program and what librarians want families to know about summer literacy and learning practices.
“Librarians are the linchpins in the school literacy environment,” said , senior research associate at TERA who will lead efforts to code and analyze the focus group data. “Talking to them about how this program is trickling down to the students’ literacy skills is a good perspective on how it’s working.”
During the spring, kindergarten families will also complete a pre-study survey about their home literacy practices, offering the research team and GELF a better understanding of families’ home literacy environments and behaviors before they ever receive materials from GELF’s program.
At the end of this summer, approximately 1,000 caregivers of children in grade levels K-3 will be sent a follow-up survey focused on how the program benefits their home literacy environment and ways it could possibly be improved.
“We’re aligning our study with what the research literature demonstrates are home literacy practices that promote student learning,” said , the study’s principal investigator and an associate professor of the practice of leadership, policy and organizations at Peabody College. “Is the child asking questions? Is the caregiver asking the child questions? Are they summarizing the story and engaging with new vocabulary? All of these are practices that strengthen literacy and that GELF seeks to encourage within families.”
The caregiver focus groups will offer a deeper understanding of the barriers families face in developing home literacy environments and will inform GELF’s future actions to improve the program.
“Right now, GELF is alleviating some of the barriers by putting these books in families’ mailboxes, but what’s happening after that? It’s a little bit of a black box. That’s where we’ll be able to help GELF determine what additional levers can be pulled to support families,” Booker said.
Raising Readers Nashville: after-school reading enrichment
In fall 2025, Raising Readers Nashville began partnering with Metro Nashville Public Schools, Lipscomb University and community after-school programs to train after-school providers on the pillars of early literacy and on developing the early literacy skills of K-3rd grade students. Raising Readers Nashville designed the resources and curriculum in alignment with the district’s early literacy K-3 standards.
The after-school providers have implemented the reading enrichment program this spring with approximately 150 students across five MNPS elementary schools. TERA’s study of the pilot program will offer the United Way—Raising Readers Nashville’s —insight into the program’s effectiveness for improving student literacy outcomes and whether the program should be scaled across more schools.
To measure effectiveness, TERA will compare outcomes on the district’s standardized literacy assessments for students who participate in the program and those who do not. Additionally, they will track students’ attendance to compare how attendance and absenteeism may affect literacy outcomes.
TERA will also design surveys for caregivers and providers. Caregivers will respond to questions about their satisfaction with the reading and literacy instruction their children are receiving. Providers will answer questions about whether they felt the curriculum and training supported their work with students, what they found most useful and what they would want to change about the program.
As the state of Tennessee and partner organizations continue to prioritize early literacy development, TERA’s rigorous evaluation of GELF’s K-3 Home Library program and Raising Readers Nashville’s after-school program will provide evidence-based guidance for scaling and improving literacy initiatives across public schools.
About Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation
Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation (GELF) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to strengthen early literacy in Tennessee by building home libraries and fostering literacy-rich communities. GELF’s Home Library work delivers books and resources directly to families and educators through programs like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, K–3 Home Library, OWL Fest, and Tenn Under 10. GELF’s Community Through Literacy work brings reading beyond the classroom through Storybook Trails, Book Buses, and SELECT, a statewide network uniting partners to expand literacy access and impact. Founded in 2004 by former Governor Phil Bredesen, GELF champions early literacy as the foundation for lifelong learning and success. Learn more at Ěý´Ç°ůĚý.
About Raising Readers Nashville
Raising Readers Nashville is a community group of over 65 organizations who collaborate to improve the systems and structures supporting Nashville’s families and young children. The partners involved with Raising Readers Nashville have deep understanding of the complexities of this work and are committed to the communication and collaboration needed to realize long-term change. Raising Readers Nashville works to maintain a highly diverse group of involved partners to more deeply understand varying perspectives and to develop more informed solutions and positive outcomes. Learn more at
