Communities in Schools: Bringing a Support System to 100+ Austin Schools
Overview
Through daily, personalized tutoring, Literacy First helps Central Texas children learn to read before third grade.
Impact
More than 1,700 children became grade-level readers during the 2024-2025 school year through individualized support in 42 schools.
Early reading gains can shape a child’s entire education, especially by third grade, when reading becomes essential for learning in every subject. In Central Texas, Literacy First steps in at the right time, providing one-on-one tutoring each school day to help children build strong early reading skills.
Since 1994, Literacy First, an initiative of the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, has helped more than 30,000 children become confident readers. Focused on kindergarten through second grade, the program provides 30 minutes of individualized instruction every school day. Tutors build essential reading skills like recognizing letters, connecting letters to sounds, and reading aloud, so children are ready before state testing begins.
Structure, Consistency, and Results That Stick
Tutors are trained community members and school support staff who commit to nine months of service. About half of all tutors are bilingual, teaching children in Spanish. They follow a clear teaching plan and check progress each week to adjust lessons to each child’s pace. Most students complete the program once they are reading at grade level, typically within one school year.
This consistent instruction is accelerating reading growth. In 2024–2025, 84% of participating children improved their reading over the school year, growing two to three times faster on grade-level assessments than peers not in the program.
Early Screening That Drives Smarter Instruction
Each year, Literacy First screens most kindergarten through second grade students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. These assessments help identify who needs reading support and give schools a clearer picture of how the whole class is progressing in reading.
Research shows that students who learn to read by age eight experience a greater likelihood of high school graduation, college graduation, and career success. By acting early and adjusting instruction in real time, Literacy First helps schools keep more children on track to build the reading skills they need to succeed long term.
As demand grows, Literacy First is expanding across Central Texas, bringing a proven approach to more classrooms and more children — right when it counts.
