Read LA!
Read LA! is a campaign to ensure that all of Los Angeles’ students can read and thrive.
Focused on reversing the decades-long early literacy crisis in our city, our coalition of partners will build a movement to elevate early literacy as a top priority. We will partner with LAUSD to ensure that students receive effective literacy instruction, engage and equip families of young children to support their children’s literacy at home and advocate for them at school, and help address other barriers to children’s early literacy development. AND we will equip and support parents to advocate for state legislation to ensure that literacy instruction in public schools is aligned to evidence-based practices and the science of reading.
Our Goal: By 2030, 70% of LAUSD students will read proficiently by the end of third grade.
Campaign Updates
On April 30, 2025, Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas introduced AB 1454 (Rivas, Muratsuchi, Rubio), an early literacy bill representing a compromise between AB 1121 (Rubio)—which we co-sponsored—and AB 1194 (Muratsuchi). This bill maintains core priorities FIS championed in AB 1121, including professional development for teachers and access to high-quality instructional materials that are aligned to evidence-based literacy practices and the science of reading.
Literacy Ambassadors
Read LA! Literacy Ambassadors are parents, caregivers, educators, and more who are dedicated to ensuring all of Los Angeles’ students can read and thrive. Ambassadors take the Read LA! campaign to their local communities and promote the importance of early literacy by equipping families with information and tools to help their children at home and advocate for them at school.
This is a volunteer opportunity that offers leadership training, resources, and parent-to-parent networking. We invite you to read the overview and apply to become a Literacy Ambassador!
Read LA! Storytime
In response to the LA County wildfires, FIS mobilized Read LA! Storytime: Bringing Comfort through Stories to bring joy and literacy support to young children impacted by the fires. Through partnerships with libraries, community centers, and book donors—Scholastic, PaperPie, and Age of Learning—volunteers lead Storytime sessions and distribute books to children from Pacific Palisades to Pasadena, Altadena, and beyond.
We call on parents, community members, and more to join us as Storytime volunteers and help us reach our goal of recruiting 100 Storytellers by the end of 2025 to make reading a source of healing and hope for every child!
Bright Spots in Los Angeles Report
Following our first report, Families In Schools’ groundbreaking report on the early literacy crisis shares the stories of “bright spots” and “districts to watch” in Los Angeles County that are making positive strides through literacy policies and practices grounded in research.
Campaign Launch Event
Families In Schools launched Read LA! on November 14, 2023, bringing together over 100 leaders, parents and students. LeVar Burton, actor, advocate and producer of the documentary The Right to Read, and LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho engaged in a conversation with CEO Yolie Flores about what it will take to ensure all students are reading on grade level.
Other panelists included Dr. Karla Estrada, LAUSD Deputy Superintendent; Dr. Genesis Aguirre, Literacy Coach at Esperanza Elementary; Dr. Magaly Lavadenz, Center for Equity for English Learners at Loyola Marymount University; and Balbina Hernandez, parent at Esperanza Elementary.
Data
In 3rd grade, when reading proficiency highly influences future student success, too few LAUSD students are meeting reading standards. These challenges are not unique to LAUSD; reading proficiency across California is also too low.
Source: All reading data for LAUSD and California are based on 2022-23 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress data. Link.
Stay Connected: Read LA!’s Monthly Family Newsletter
Our Read LA! monthly newsletter offers caregivers and literacy advocates the latest from our campaign, programs, and early literacy resources for families. Sign up to learn and be inspired by how Read LA! is championing literacy across Los Angeles and California!
To get involved in the Read LA! Campaign, sign up here
Join us to ensure all children in Los Angeles learn to read and thrive.
Coalition Partners
