Why Early Childhood Literacy Matters
Developing literacy begins at birth. The human brain develops rapidly in the first few years of life, when a child’s brain builds 1 Million connections per second! By age three a child’s brain will be 85% of its adult size. By the time a child enters kindergarten, their brain is nearly fully formed. This “wiring” shapes infants and toddlers’ ability to learn to read and think critically. Because of that fact, as early as age three, a child’s vocabulary can predict third-grade reading achievement. What is the best way to ensure a child is armed with the knowledge they need to succeed? Reading aloud to that child and giving them access to books.
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That’s where the Imagination Library of Denver comes in. Through our partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, we are working to send every child in Denver from birth to age five a new book each month. Research has shown that a child with 25 books in their home complete an average of two additional years of schooling compared to their peers without books in their home. Our goal is that every kindergartner begins school with 60 books in their home.
Research & Outcomes
of a person’s intellect, personality, and social skills are developed by age 5.
85%
95%
of public investment in education occurs after age 5, when the most critical learning years have passed. (3)
Children in middle- and high-income homes have an average of
13 books per child.
Children living in poverty have an average of
1 book per 300
children
Because of this, low-income preschoolers have fewer learning opportunities than children from
high-income backgrounds –
a major reason why they lag behind
in reading achievement throughout their school years. (4) (5)
We can change these statistics. Education is the path out of the trap of generational poverty. The benefits of the Imagination Library program go beyond children having more books. Early language development is critical to a child’s literacy. And participants receiving books through the Imagination Library have been able to see this development in real time.
Key Findings:
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Children enrolled in ILCO scored 0.125 standard deviations higher on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment at kindergarten entry compared to non-participants in the same schools.
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ILCO participants were 16–24% less likely to score “well below benchmark” on DIBELS, reducing the need for costly remedial reading support.
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Benefits were seen broadly across student groups, with no significant differences for multilingual learners or children from low-income families. This increase is substantial, particularly given the low cost of ILCO implementation. This can set students on a positive reading trajectory and reduce the system, district, and school resources needed to make up early gaps.
“The results suggest the Imagination Library is an effective and affordable way to boost early literacy skills,” said Dr. Kristin Klopfenstein, Executive Director of the Colorado Lab. “Because strong readers help lift their classmates, these benefits may ripple across classrooms and grade levels. Continued state investment in ILCO could potentially decrease the number of students with significant reading deficiencies and reduce the number of students struggling with reading in the early grades.”
A huge thank you to Imagination Library Colorado for spearheading this project!
