Children’s Literacy Initiative Receives $500,000 Donation from Target

Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) has received a $500,000 donation from Target as part of the retailer’s longstanding commitment to education and reading. This donation will be used to expand CLI’s Model Classroom program in Chicago Public Schools and create an online professional development portal. This contribution is part of Target’s commitment to helping more U.S. children reach the critical academic milestone of reading proficiently by the end of third grade. This fall specifically, Target is donating a total of $50 million to educators, schools and nonprofit organizations across the country to help ignite a love of learning among children. 

“We are thankful for Target’s commitment to ensuring all students are proficient readers by third grade,” said Kelly Hunter, Ed.D., Executive Director of CLI. “We know teachers are key in-school factors for success, and the online portal, along with our training, coaching and resources, help teachers by providing them with the knowledge to be successful.” 
                                                                                                                                                                                                         
CLI works nationally with pre-K through third-grade teachers to transform instruction so all students can become powerful readers, writers, and thinkers.  It offers training and coaching for teachers, literacy coaches, and school leaders; provides high-quality children’s books to high-need classrooms and helps build each school’s capacity for professional development through its Model Classroom design, as well as ongoing coaching and training.

The Target Reading grant to CLI will support providing all the K-3 teachers in selected Chicago Public Schools with intensive, sustained training and coaching as well as physical resources to transform classroom environments.  In addition, CLI will establish one Model Classroom per grade level, providing those teachers with additional materials, coaching, and leadership training.

Additionally, the grant will allow CLI to create an online Model Classrooms Portal, sponsored by Target, which will provide enhanced professional development resources to existing Model Classrooms and their schools, as well as make CLI’s professional development trainings, classroom materials, and assessment tools available to a larger group of teachers and schools across the country.

CLI has worked with 250 Chicago Public Schools pre-kindergarten teachers since 2005, through both early literacy curriculum and the development of pre-K Model Classrooms. The district’s long-term education plan places a priority on developing high-quality teachers, and CLI increased its work in the district last year through a $21.7 million federal Investing in Innovation (i3) grant. The i3 grant allowed CLI to expand training and introduce more Model Classrooms in kindergarten through third grade in the same schools as the pre-K Model Classrooms.

“To ensure more students are reading proficiently by the end of third grade, and in turn, graduating from high school on time, Target is dedicated to providing resources to help bring learning to life,” said Laysha Ward, President, Community Relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with Children’s Literacy Initiative as part of our ongoing commitment to invest in innovative education programs that help keep children on the path to graduation.”

In addition to supporting education through grants such as the one received by CLI, Target also funds several signature education programs aimed at helping students and teachers excel. Take Charge of Education is an initiative that empowers guests to direct a portion of their Target REDcard purchases to an eligible K-12 school of their choice. Another example is Target School Library Makeovers. Through this initiative, Target leverages its design and construction expertise to completely transform school libraries across the country. 

These are just two examples of the many ways Target supports local communities and helps to reinforce the important role reading plays in shaping a child’s future. It is through these programs and many others that Target plans to reach a total of $1 billion in giving to education, with a focus on reading, by the end of 2015.

About Target: Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,762 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. In addition, the company operates a credit card segment that offers branded proprietary credit card products. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs; today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week. For more information about Target’s commitment to corporate responsibility, visit Target.com/hereforgood.

CLI's partner in Chicago, Target, highlights their education programs in an interview with Laysha Ward, President of Community Relations, on a Forbes online forum.