We stand out from other organizations providing books and professional development – our programs are independently evaluated and proven to transform learning outcomes for children.

In the predominantly Black and Brown communities served by CLI, families were hit disproportionately hard not only by COVID-19 health issues, but also by job losses and housing and food insecurity. Many of the households in these CLI-served districts, on top of dealing with traumatic events, didn’t have reliable internet connections or consistent access to online schooling technology. These issues compounded quickly, making more apparent than ever the inequities in education that so many CLI-served communities face.

In order to truly change practices, professional development should occur over time and preferably be ongoing.

CLI’s work has been validated by prestigious independent organizations and has garnered national attention for its ability to raise student literacy scores while building schools’ internal capacities for teacher professional development.

Results from a three-year, randomized control-group study of CLI’s i3 project in four cities by American Institutes for Research, showed that:

• Kindergarten and second grade students in CLI schools scored significantly higher on standardized early reading tests than students whose teachers were not exposed to CLI.

• CLI had a significant positive impact on the quality of teachers’ literacy instruction in both kindergarten and first grade classrooms.

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.

UPenn’s Center for High-Impact Philanthropy has re-affirmed CLI as an “exemplar agent” improving early literacy education and making a long-term impact year after year.

A 2009 control-group study by OMG Center for Collaborative Learning, funded by the William Penn Foundation, showed that kindergartners and first graders in Philadelphia schools with CLI classrooms consistently outperformed peers on district literacy skill assessments.

By helping educators learn high impact instructional strategies and nurturing dynamic professional learning communities, CLI builds lasting capacity in teachers and principals over time.