Detroit Parent Network and The Education Trust-Midwest have announced an exciting partnership to help prepare and equip Detroit area parents for Michigan’s ‘Read by Grade Three’ law.
Made possible through the support of the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, the effort will focus first on tools for families in Detroit. 
Check back regularly for additional tools and resources.

Michigan’s Third Grade Reading Law

In 2016, Michigan lawmakers pass a law focused on improving reading rates for Michigan third grade students. Known as “Read by Grade Three,” the law requires schools to focus on early reading, support student learning, and communicate with parents about their children’s learning.

The law also requires students to be proficient in reading, before moving into the fourth grade.

Use this guide to understand what this law requires and how schools are expected to support students.

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Suggested Questions for Talking with the Teacher

Parents and teachers are very important for helping children learn. Working together begins with clear communication.

Use this guide to help start a conversation with your child’s teacher.

Learning takes place wherever your child goes. Knowing how to help them after school, over the weekend, and during the summer will help your child start school strong. These questions can help you get the most out of time with your child’s teacher.

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Communicating with Parents

Teachers and parents are both very important for helping children learn. Working together begins with clear communication.

Use this guide to help direct conversations with the parents of students in your classroom. Through collaboration, learning can be better supported in the evenings at home, over the weekend, and over the summer.

Learning takes place wherever children go. But parents may not know how to support their children’s learning outside of school. These questions can help parents support their children outside of the classroom and over the summer.

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Additional Learning Resources – Detroit

You are not in this alone.

Helping your child learn outside of school and outside of your home can be difficult. Local programs in the community can help.

Use this guide to learn about programs near you that can help your child learn after school and over the summer. This guide will be periodically updated with additional resources.

Have a program that you would like to share? Email [email protected] with program information.

Resources are provided for informational purposes only and are not reviewed or endorsed by Detroit Parent Network or The Education Trust-Midwest.

About The Partnership

Detroit Parent Network and The Education Trust-Midwest have announced a partnership designed to help prepare and equip Detroit area parents for Michigan’s ‘Read by Grade Three’ law.

By the end of summer 2019, co-developed toolkits for parents and families will be publicly available as a result of this collaboration. Designed to help parents ensure that the needs of their students are being met, the toolkits will focus on the requirements of the law, ways to engage with schools and school districts to support student learning, and identify existing community resources to help students learn to read.

“This partnership joins together the research and policy development expertise of the Education Trust-Midwest with the trusted voice and long history of successful parent engagement of Detroit Parent Network,” said Amber Arellano, executive director of the Education Trust-Midwest. “We are excited to combine our efforts to help support parents and students in our region.”

Tools and resources for parents will be available at www.MichiganAchieves.org/read. The web portal will be developed by parents, for parents, making early literacy tools available to any parent with internet access.

“Our children thrive when our families and communities are strong,” added Jametta Lilly, chief executive officer of Detroit Parent Network. “DPN is proud to join with the Education Trust-Midwest in this important strategy that will help expand parent awareness and understanding of the significance of early literacy and the Third Grade Reading Law. We look forward to helping inform and coach parents with the accessible information and peer-to-peer training that supports learning in their home, school and community.

Made possible through the support of the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, the effort will focus first on tools for families in Detroit. Beginning late summer, jointly-developed trainings will begin that equip parents and community members to utilize available tools and resources.

Passed in fall 2016, Michigan’s ‘read by grade three’ law requires that schools and school districts identify struggling readers, create and implement a plan to improve reading, and communicate clearly with parents about reading progress. Beginning with the 2019-20 school year, students who are not at- or near-proficiency in third-grade reading may be subject to retention.