Central New York is the birthplace of the modern literacy movement. Yet in Central New York where many literacy services were pioneered, the problem of illiteracy continues for thousands of citizens. The inability to read, write and do basic calculations continues to erode people's hopes for a brighter future. Without functional literacy skills, our neighbors, families and whole community remain vulnerable and at a disadvantage in today's global economy.

To tackle this issue, people from our community - from diverse backgrounds and occupations, public, private and the not-for-profit sector – have been coming together to find new solutions.

Spearheaded by the continued efforts of the Central New York Community Foundation, the literacy planning coalition is a compilation of the efforts of over 200 community leaders who are working together to address the literacy needs in Onondaga County. To date, members have worked to develop and refine literacy indicators and have identified multiple priority recommendations for future implementation.

The Community Literacy Indicators are defined as follows:

1. An increased number of incoming kindergartners prepared for school
2. An increased number of K-12 students meeting proficiency standards on New York State English and Language (ELA) assessment
3. An increase in high school graduation rates
4. An increased number of adult learners, including those who speak English as a second language, meeting national proficiency standards
5. An increased number of children who read or are read to daily
6. An increased number of literacy and community programs using evidence-based practices to serve people with diverse learning needs and styles (program development)
7. Increased funding and community support for literacy-related programs and services
8. An increased number of adults employed at or above the predetermined literacy levels needed to succeed in the workplace

Currently, the Community Foundation and the Family Literacy Alliance of Greater Syracuse are working to convene local institutional partners to build the governance structure for future implementation. Work is also underway with multiple studies to inform strategic and program development efforts. A literacy mapping project, local literacy provider survey and extensive funding analysis should all be completed by September, 2008.

In 2003, the Board of Directors of the Central New York Community Foundation chose literacy as a fundamental issue of concern in our community. Recognizing that a literate population is the cornerstone of a thriving community they agreed that the Community Foundation should dedicate its resources to improving the local literacy picture. After an extensive research effort, the Community Foundation defined the parameters of a multi-year grantmaking and public awareness initiative, and named it read ahead. To learn more about read ahead, visit www.readahead.org.


The Family Literacy Alliance of Greater Syracuse (FLAGS) is a collaboration of individuals from more than 70 organizations that provide family literacy services in Greater Syracuse. The Alliance’s purpose is to improve the availability of comprehensive, quality literacy services for children and adults. Members work both collectively and individually to identify the needs of organizations and agencies and to support improved literacy services. To learn more about FLAGS, visit www.flags-cny.org.