Partner Agreement
Organization:
Contact Name:
Email:
Campaign Overview
Read by 4th is a citywide effort working to ensure that children in Philadelphia are reading on grade level by the time
they enter 4th grade. Currently, less than 40% of children in Philadelphia are reading on grade level by this time. Our goal
is to double this number by the fall of 2020, which will mean increasing the number of children reading on grade level by
1,500 each year. To achieve this ambitious goal, our coalition includes a broad, cross-sector coalition of partners that
contribute diverse skills, expertise, and capacities to this important work.
The Read by 4th campaign has four key focus areas: increasing school readiness, increasing daily, on-time attendance,
enhancing summer and out-of-school time learning, and improving instructional strategies.
We believe we will move the needle in these four areas – and ultimately grade-level reading – through three essential
cross-cutting strategies:
 Empowering families with knowledge and resources to support their children’s early language and literacy skills
 Improving, enhancing and expanding programs and services to young children (ages 0-8)
 Shifting the environment in our communities to prioritize and support early language and literacy skills in both
traditional and non-traditional ways
Partner Role
Read by 4th is a collaborative effort of a strong network of partners, working both individually and collectively to advance
campaign goals. Partners work to advance the campaign focus areas and cross-cutting strategies listed above, although
specific roles vary based on the mission, expertise, and capacity of each organization. Additional roles and expectations
are described on the following pages.
Managing Partner Role (Free Library of Philadelphia)
As Managing Partner of the campaign – also known as the “backbone organization” – the Free Library of Philadelphia
serves in the following roles:
 Convene partners and facilitate committees that advance the four focus areas of the campaign
 Identify and share research, information and resources to create shared understanding of key issues and
promote shared measurement of progress toward campaign goals
 Facilitate communication between partners to assist in aligning policies and resources
 Ensure continuous improvement and accountability through evaluation of the campaign’s efforts and progress
 Lead the development of communications and public awareness resources that can be used by all partners
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Partner Roles
The strength of the Read by 4th campaign lies in the diversity and breadth of the network of partners. For this reason,
the campaign has articulated two categories of partners (see below). Each organization is encouraged to select the
category of partnership that aligns best to the interests, expertise, and capacities it has to offer.
Community Partners
As a Community Partner, we agree to support the goals of Read by 4th in the following ways:
Share information with Read by 4th’s Managing Partner (Free Library of Philadelphia):
 Annually describe (through a renewed partner agreement) activities, programs and services we offer in support
of the Read by 4th campaign focus areas (see submission instructions at the end of this document)
Share key campaign messages with the families and communities we serve:
 To the extent possible, integrate the Read by 4th annual messaging calendar into our communications with
families and communities (for example, by encouraging summer reading during the summer months,
attendance during back-to-school season, and kindergarten registration deadlines in the spring)
 When relevant to your followers, actively promote Read by 4th social media posts by engaging with posts on
Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram (for example, by sharing, retweeting, or liking posts)
Promote the use of campaign resources:
 Link to Readby4th.org from your website (where appropriate and possible)
 When appropriate, actively encourage families to access tips and resources identified or created through the
campaign through our existing programs and interactions with families
 Distribute campaign collateral (flyers, postcards, etc.) in public places and/or by sharing directly with families
Actively participate in the Read by 4th partner network:
 Participate regularly in the quarterly partner network meetings
 Identify your organization as a Read by 4th partner where appropriate (e.g., on your website or other collateral)
 Seek opportunities to expand the breadth or depth of your work in alignment with the Read by 4th work plan to
support the campaign’s goals
Core Partners
All partner organizations are invited to consider becoming a Core Partner, signifying a deeper level of commitment to
advancing systemic change in support of the campaign. The contributions of Core Partners will be counted, aggregated,
and highlighted as part of Read by 4th’s reporting of the campaign’s impact and progress. Core Partners will receive
special recognition on the Read by 4th website, printed collateral, and other venues as opportunities arise.
As a Core Partner, we agree to all of the above as well as the following:
Share relevant system-level data (as appropriate):
 Within the boundaries of data sharing regulations and agreements, we agree to share data with Read by 4th for
the annual campaign report card (for example, 3rd grade reading levels and attendance rates)
 Report quarterly on specific campaign outputs (for example, the numbers of books distributed, book nooks
created; teachers trained; or families trained) that our organization has been active in generating
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Proactively seek to align efforts and policies with the strategies of the Read by 4th campaign and its partners. These
activities will vary depending on the unique capabilities and opportunities of each organization. Examples include:
 Seek opportunities to integrate early language and literacy skill acquisition tips into existing parent workshops
 Shift policies to automatically enroll families receiving services in Ready Rosie or Vroom (with an opportunity to
opt-out if they choose)
 Agree to track and report on outcomes such as attendance or reading levels for children in your programs
Co-brand early language and literacy efforts with the campaign:
 Include the Read by 4th logo on collateral related to our organization’s early language and literacy efforts
Actively promote the adoption of campaign models (TBD in partnership with the partner network)
 When appropriate, implement the models developed and shared at partner network and/or working group
meetings (and described in implementation guides on the Read by 4th website). For example:
o Share tips to create and maintain a book nook with a community location
o Replicate the community ambassadors’ effort to work with families to increase daily on-time attendance
o Encourage and support community literacy conversations
Please check below if you agree to the Core Partner activities as well:
Yes, we agree to be a Core Partner.
Organization Information (to be completed by all partners)
Organization name (as you want to be
listed on Read by 4th website):
Organization website link (if applicable):
Facebook link (if applicable):
Twitter handle (if applicable):
Instagram handle (if applicable):
1. As an organization, we are involved in programs or services that advance the goals of the following focus areas:
Early learning / school readiness
Summer and out-of-school time learning
Attendance
Instructional strategies
2. In a separate attachment, provide a brief description of how your organization’s work supports the focus areas
selected above.
3. As an organization, we annually serve (#) approximately ______ children / ______ families through programs
that support early language and literacy development.
4. As an organization, $________________ / _______% of our budget is invested in programs that support early
language and literacy development.
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Managing Partner (Free Library of Philadelphia)
The Managing Partner agrees to support the partner network and advance campaign goals in the following ways:
Facilitate partner network activities and exchange of information:
 Facilitate the development and updating of partner agreements
 Facilitate regular working group meetings for each of the focus areas (each one meeting every 4-6 weeks)
 Facilitate partner network meetings (quarterly)
 Provide opportunities for partners to share promising practices related to the campaign focus areas
Track and report on progress of the campaign:
 Track progress and manage the work plan(s) to engage partners in support of the various strategies
 Annually aggregate activity and effort across the city of Philadelphia in support of the campaign
 Synthesize data provided by partners into an annual report on progress (with both internal and external
versions) that shows how the efforts of the partners relate to the overarching goal and the progress
Promote partner organizations and their campaign-related work:
 List the partner organization on the Read by 4th website and include partner logo on collateral (when appropriate)
 Highlight the work of partners through social media, newsletters, and other venues as opportunities arise
 Actively promote partners’ social media posts related to grade level reading and the campaign focus areas
Develop shared messaging and communications tools for partners to promote key Read by 4th messages:
 Facilitate development of annual calendar of key messages to share with families (with partner input)
 Develop campaign collateral for use and distribution by partners (talking points, flyers, postcards, etc.)
 Generate and supply social media content to be shared
Identify and shares best practices to support literacy development:
 Develop implementation guides for campaign models (specific models TBD, e.g. attendance ambassadors)
 Develop and maintain Read by 4th website to include research, implementation guides for replicating campaign
models, and other resources
Signatures
___________________________________________________________
Partner Organization, Lead Contact
__________________
Date
___________________________________________________________
Partner Organization, Executive Director (if different than above)
__________________
Date
___________________________________________________________
Jenny Bogoni, Executive Director, Read by 4th
__________________
Date
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