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First grade isn't just another year. It's the pivotal year that determines a child’s lifetime success in reading.

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Pledge to ensure every child learns to read on time. Make the First Grade Promise.

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I pledge that every child deserves to read by the end of 1st grade, and I will advocate to make it happen.
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Signing the First Grade Promise Pledge isn’t just a personal commitment to ensuring students learn to read on time. It’s joining the community that’s building a world where every child has the tools they need to become a confident, fluent reader. 
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Sign the Pledge

First grade isn't just another year. It's the year.

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90% of students not reading at grade level by the end of 1st grade will still be below grade level in 4th grade.2

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1st grade reading skills predict reading ability at age 42 — early difficulties often continue into middle age.3

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83% of 1st graders at benchmark for phonics are on track for all reading skills by 3rd grade.4

“First grade is so foundational to what every child is learning. It is a very powerful place to start. It's just a really awesome opportunity to make sure that they are prepared to be lifelong learners.” 

Willa Smith, Supervisor of Student Learning
DeSoto Parish, LA

“If they don't learn to read as a 1st grader, the chances of it happening anytime after that get smaller and smaller and smaller. The stats are so clear. Reading by the end of 1st grade is where it's at.” 

Lisa Lineweaver, Principal
Chelsea, MA

"First grade is such a critical year, and when students start to fall behind, it can be discouraging.” 

Megan Pauley, Assistant Principal
Camden, NJ

A Promise From
Ignite Reading

Decades before we built Ignite Reading, I was a young classroom teacher in New York City who did not know how to teach my kids to read.

It wasn’t until my third year, when I finally landed in a school using an evidence-based curriculum, that everything clicked. I remember that moment vividly: realizing reading is a science … and also thinking,

“Why wasn’t I prepared to teach my kids to read the moment I entered the classroom?”

Back then, I thought I was an outlier. But I wasn’t. So many educators weren't being prepared to teach this fundamental skill, and nearly 20 years later, too many still aren't.

More than that, even the most experienced and dedicated teachers can't solve a systemic problem alone, not without the right materials, screening protocols, intervention support, and policy backing.

We know that America has a reading problem. That problem is not our teachers or our kids.

The problem is access — access to the quality and precision of early literacy instruction that kids need, right when they need it.

We cannot solve this problem alone. No single educator, parent, company, community member, or program can.

This is why Ignite Reading is stewarding the First Grade Promise — not as our campaign, but as a vision we can collectively fight for.

Reading isn't just about decoding words on a page. Reading is ...

  • Power
  • Access
  • The ability to navigate a world that assumes you can read everything from street signs to job applications to your own medical records.
  • The difference between a life constrained by illiteracy and a life of infinite possibility.

First grade is when we have the best shot at getting this right.

The First Grade Promise is a platform for advocates — educators, parents, community members, and organizations — to speak up for policies that work:

  • Evidence-based literacy instruction in every classroom
  • Universal screening so no child falls through the cracks
  • Timely, individualized intervention when students need support
  • Funding that prioritizes our youngest readers

We're providing the tools, the research, and the community. But the voices? Those belong to advocates like you.

This is why I’m inviting you to make the First Grade Promise Pledge. Add your voice. Stand with us.

My Promise to You

The First Grade Promise is not about Ignite Reading. It’s not about our early literacy intervention program or our company.

The First Grade Promise is about ensuring that every child — in every zip code and in every classroom — gets the support they need in 1st grade to build a strong foundation for lifelong reading success.

Together, we can build a future where learning to read by the end of 1st grade isn't an aspiration. It’s a promise to every child.

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Jessica Reid Sliwerski
CEO & Co-Founder
Ignite Reading

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What Comes Next

The First Grade Promise is a commitment to changing the future of literacy in the U.S. — and you won’t have to do it alone. After you sign the pledge, you’ll get access to our First Grade Promise Advocacy Toolkit.
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Your specialized toolkit contains:

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We’ll also stay in touch with advocacy news throughout the year to keep you up-to-date on ways to get involved.

Sources:

1. Neitzel, A.J. (2025). Evaluation of Ignite Reading virtual literacy tutoring in Massachusetts: Year 2 quantitative findings, 2024–25. Center for Research and Reform in Education, The Johns Hopkins University.
2. Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(4), 437–447.
3. Ferrer, E., Shaywitz, B.A., Holahan, J.M. et al. Early reading at first grade predicts adult reading at age 42 in typical and dyslexic readers. npj Sci. Learn. 8, 51 (2023).
4. Curriculum Associates Research Report, January 2023