CHANGE STARTS WITH US
Fighting Social Injustice
The continued senseless violence perpetrated in communities of color must stop. It starts with all of us. Our organization is committed to doing our part in facilitating productive conversations about social injustice and racial equity.
Distance Resources
Teachers, Coaches & Families
We've created new resources to help teachers, coaches, and families continue
to provide the early literacy instruction our children need at home.
COVID-19 Response
A Letter from Our CEO
The world has changed, but our mission remains the same.
We work with teachers to ensure
all children have the power of literacy.
Happy Holidays from CLI!
ANNUAL REPORT
Learning Transformed
Our 2020 Annual Report is here!
Click here to see our impact, how we help both teachers and children, and how your donations make that possible in the communities we serve.

We are a national community of teachers, coaches, district and school leaders, advocates, and donors who, together, can transform instruction so that children can become powerful readers, writers and thinkers.
Our 2019-20 School Year
COMING SOON

A NEW comprehensive Pre-K curriculum from Children's Literacy Initiative.
Stay Informed!
Transforming Literacy Instruction
30 Years of Experience
Founded in 1988, CLI helps educators serving high-need student populations learn high-impact instructional strategies and nurture dynamic professional learning communities that continue the trajectory of improvement in schools.
Validated Approach
In 2010, CLI won a highly competitive $21.7 million Validation grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund to implement its program in 38 schools in four urban school districts.
Proven Impact
Our i3 Validation project found statistically significant results for CLI’s impact on teacher practice and student learning. Our approach and results are now part of the prestigous What Works Clearinghouse - the premiere source of scientific evidence for what works in education.
Expanded Reach
Using results from i3 Validation, CLI won, as the highest-scoring applicant, a prestigious, $19 million i3 Scale-up grant to expand into 27 public schools across the country in Broward County (FL), Denver, Elizabeth (NJ), and Houston.
Powerful Partnerships
CLI helps districts reach critical early literacy goals. The School District of Philadelphia saw positive results after CLI provided full-time literacy coaches to 58 of its lowest performing schools, an initiative now serving nearly every public elementary school in the district.
Sustained Impact & ROI
Schools served by CLI’s i3 Validation project in Philadelphia and Chicago are still outperforming the control schools from that study on third grade standardized assessments.