All Osceola County children should be ready for the first day of kindergarten!

Did you know children are more prepared for kindergarten if they are exposed to reading from an early age? Currently, less than 50% of Osceola County kindergarten students are prepared for their first day of school.

We want our teachers to move children forward in education rather than being the first ones exposing them to literacy skills on day one of kindergarten.

Osceola Reads is here to help:

Osceola County families

Teachers in public, private and charter schools

Childcare facilities

How we help the community.

Provide tips and resources for parents and teachers

Share information on literacy and early childhood events and resources through partner organizations in Osceola County

Host reading challenges to encourage families to read together

Partner with the Osceola County Library System with reading challenges on Beanstack and Storytime events

Register Osceola County children with the FREE reading app, Footsteps2Brilliance

Teacher reading to multiple children as they participate in the activity

Why did our community need Osceola Reads?

In Fall 2014, only 13% of kindergarten students in Osceola County scored proficient on their kindergarten readiness assessment. The Osceola County School District leadership recognized this problem. If students were not prepared to come into school, they would continuously be “catching up” rather than moving forward.

In 2015, the Osceola County School District piloted Footsteps2Brilliance in VPK classrooms during their summer programming. They also trained all reading coaches and teachers to implement the program in their VPK through 3rd grade classrooms.

Along with Footsteps2Brilliance being available to all Osceola County School District students, Osceola Reads’ goal is to spread awareness of the importance of early childhood literacy and help prepare children to be “reading ready.” By providing parents and teachers with resources such as blogs, videos, and downloadables, we can assure that children are prepared for their first day of kindergarten.

Teacher and child working at the board while the other children give their full attention