Implementing Raising a Reader Plus: Lessons Learned From the Family Engagement Impact Project

This brief highlights the lessons of five community partnerships in implementing Raising a Reader Plus, an evidence-based program designed to increase family engagement in children's early literacy and reading development.

It outlines the partnerships’ successes in implementing the program and their challenges in balancing integrity and flexibility—staying as true to the model as possible while accounting for local conditions.

The brief is based on the Family Engagement Impact Project, which enhanced the capacity of communities, professionals, and parents to engage in children’s learning and improve educational outcomes for low-income immigrant children from birth through age 8. The Heising-Simons Foundation awarded funds to strengthen public-private partnerships, coordinate and integrate family engagement efforts across organizations, and leverage existing community resources. The project had three phases: planning, implementation, and sustainability. Mathematica Policy Research evaluated the implementation phase of the project.