Reach Out and Read Florida Poised for Further Growth

The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (SCGLR) is a community-wide effort in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties to help children, especially those from low-income families, succeed in school by ensuring they read on grade level by the end of third grade. One of the programs that has been part of this work is Reach Out and Read (ROR). ROR is a nonprofit organization that gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together. Through guidance from pediatricians and nurse practitioners participating in ROR, parents are learning ways to support their children’s early literacy development.

In 2017, the ROR program in Florida was emerging. SCGLR worked with national ROR to have several clinics in Sarasota and Manatee counties participate in ROR as independent sites. The Patterson Foundation (TPF) partnered with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County (CFSC) and Manatee Community Foundation (MCF) to bring ROR to those clinics. The three organizations aspired to strengthen relationships with healthcare professionals and asset-limited families with children under five. TPF provided administrative support for ROR, and MCF and the CFSC funded the books. 

Our work and the administration of ROR have evolved and changed as time passed. Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership Inc. has been named the Florida affiliate for ROR, making the administrative support we’ve provided redundant. As of May 31, 2023, TPF is sunsetting administrative support for ROR.

The Reach Out and Read Florida (ROR FL) contact through Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership is Natalia Coletti, ncoletti@childreadiness.org, or RORFlorida@childreadiness.org. Under the auspices of the Miami-Dade Family Learning Partnership, ROR FL has implemented systems to support high-quality delivery of the ROR model across all sites, including training, technical assistance, and funding sustainability through policy and advocacy engagement.

Reach Out and Read Florida
10800 Biscayne Blvd. Suite 500
Miami, Florida 33161
(305) 891-7323