Don’t miss out on a great way for your business to invest in a proven way to help more Philadelphia children learn how to read proficiently by 3rd grade. Invest your Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) credits with Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI), an approved Educational Improvement Organization (EIO) for 2017-2018!

Since 2003, CLI has used EITC donations to provide educators in public and publicly funded charters with its validated program delivering classroom materials, training and coaching in effective practices for early literacy instruction “In CLI, the School District of Philadelphia has a partner to help achieve one of our anchor goals – 100% of 8‐year‐olds will read on grade level,” stated School District of Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite.

By investing EITC credits with CLI, an approved EITC Educational Improvement Organization (EIO) for 2017-2018, you can help improve the reading achievement of over 800 kindergarten (K) through 2nd grade Philadelphia students. CLI will earmark your 2017-2018 EITC tax credits to deliver its validated program of training and coaching in effective practices for early literacy instruction, plus high-quality, classroom literacy materials, to:

• 3 Mastery Charter Elementary Schools (Clymer, Harrity, and Mann)
• 33 K‐2nd grade teachers
• 9 Literacy Support Teachers
• 3 Assistant Principals for Instruction
• 3 Principals

The need for CLI intervention is critical. Publically funded Mastery is one of the Philadelphia’s highest-performing charter school management organizations, but the 3rd grade reading proficiency levels in the schools targeted for CLI’s 2017-2018 project are not yet optimal: only 30% to 49%.

An overwhelming body of academic research illustrates that children who do not read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade are more likely to leave school without a diploma.

Various organizations have validated CLI’s impact on educators and students:

• A three-year randomized control trial by American Institutes for Research found that CLI’s “intensive professional development and coaching program can be implemented with fidelity over multiple years and produce effects on teacher practice and student achievement in early elementary grades, despite common challenges.”
• In September 2017, CLI won the David M. Rubenstein Prize, the top honor in the Library of Congress Literacy Awards program for the organization making outstanding and measurable contributions in increasing literacy levels across the country.
• Each year since 2008, the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy (CHIP) identified CLI as an “exemplar agent” in improving early literacy instruction and one of five national educational organizations in which invested dollars do the most good.

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC) provides Pennsylvania companies with a tax credit up to 75% for a one year commitment and 90% for a two year commitment for contributing to non-profit educational organizations (EIO). Children’s Literacy Initiative is registered as an EIO for the 2017-2018 school year.

Donate your EITC credits to help more Philadelphia students read proficiently by 3rd grade. Contact CLI External Relations Manager Janet Pinkerton at 215-561-4676, x142, or jpinkerton@cli.org – or fill out the form above – to get started!