Yes. The Blueprint name was adopted from the original report, from 2018. In the fall of 2022, we went through a formal naming process and facilitated identity/messaging work to establish a name separate from the report, reflecting where we are today. The Blueprint for Early Childhood Success is now Raising Readers Nashville.

We do have strategies focused on kindergarten specifically, and are directly partnered with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) in that work. See the objective for Action Team 2 for more information.

For children in grades above kindergarten, our work is focused in areas in which our community partners can have true impact, such as serving needs outside the 4 walls of the classroom. We have an objective that focuses on getting books and other learning resources to families and communities that need it most, as well as an objective to ensure families with all ages of children are able to give input to our work. Our work with these age groups is designed to complement the efforts of teachers in the classroom.

Both Bright Start TN and the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation cite extensive research that highlights how important early childhood learning foundations can set up a child for future success. The reality is that the brain develops more in the first five years of life than any other time, with rapidly expanding neural connections “wiring” the brain for future learning, behavior and health. As such, we have to start looking at milestones much earlier than third grade - things like language development and kindergarten readiness. These skills set children up to be reading well by the time they get to third grade. These early years determine whether a child’s developing brain provides a weak or strong foundation for future learning and development.

Source: https://tqee.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022-TQEE-Child-Care-Study.pdf

YES! Nashville’s community of collaboration is very strong. We work collaboratively with many groups to ensure we are aligned and reduce duplication of efforts. These include MNPS, Alignment Nashville, ACE Nashville, Tennessee Alliance for Economic Mobility (TAEM), led by Martha O’Bryan Center; and Vanderbilt University’s Prenatal to 3 Policy Impact Center. Individuals from these groups sit on our Steering Committee and are contributors to our objectives and Action Teams.

Primary data/research recommendations: Bright Start TN, The Campaign Grade-Level Reading, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation are great resources.
https://tqee.org/bright-start/clearinghouse/
https://gradelevelreading.net/
https://www.aecf.org/topics/education