The condition of the gift was that Read USA first raise an additional $1 million, which was done through other donors, bringing the total raised to the nonprofit to $2 million.
Jacksonville teacher distributes donated books to improve literacy skills
With donated books, Dorothy Gillette makes the rounds to facilities in Jacksonville to get the books into the hands of underserved children.
Jacksonville-based literacy nonprofit Read USA has received a $1 million donation from the Michael Ward & Jennifer Glock Foundation, the largest gift in the organization’s 13-year history, and it comes with a stipulation that doubles its impact.
Ward, former CEO of CXS Corp., and his wife, a family and couples therapist, challenged Read USA to raise an initial $1 million, which was matched by other donors.
Your donation will benefit $2 million to promote literacy, particularly for the nonprofit’s primary partner, Duval County Public Schools.
“Read USA has developed smart, well-constructed programs. We’ve seen the impressive results and real progress, especially among students who are furthest behind,” Ward said. “You also have to look at the bigger picture of what Read USA is doing. With teacher shortages and difficulties in recruiting, declining college education programs and other challenges, Read USA is getting young people exposed to the profession, which is so important.”
Read USA’s funding increase comes as part of citywide literacy and attendance initiatives led by City Hall, the school district and community leaders.
Read USA created the Michael Ward & Jennifer Glock Literacy Institute to deliver its teacher professional development program as well as its customized training for parents and teen tutors. These programs are located in schools and community organizations throughout Duval County and “work collaboratively to improve the literacy skills of students, teens, parents and educators,” according to Read USA.
Experienced Duval County school administrator Judy Howard has been hired as the institute’s executive director.
“We are an organization that relies heavily on professional development and coaching. It became necessary to have an internal entity to oversee this for our organization,” said Robert Kelly, President and CEO of Read USA.
The donation will also help the nonprofit “mobilize” additional funds, he said.
Michael Ward and wife Jennifer Glock continue to bless Jacksonville
“Michael and Jennifer’s generosity is game-changing for our organization and our community,” said Kelly. “They are passionate supporters of high-impact, education-focused initiatives, which underscores the impact Read USA has on students and youth across Duval County. Read USA’s receipt of this extraordinary gift demonstrates their strong belief in our mission and commitment to investing in our youth.”
The donation had been planned for several years, he said. When it was first discussed, Kelly worked for the nonprofit but was not CEO. When he took the top job, he realized the “full impact” of Ward and Glock’s generosity.
Kelly’s first awe-inspiring thought was to ask himself, “How many more kids can we support?” he said. The “incredible gift” would benefit Read USA, Duval County schools and thousands of youth and families, he said.
Ward and Glock, who married in 2016, have a long history of philanthropy. Among other gifts, in 2020 they donated a total of $1.25 million to four nonprofits supporting COVID-19 relief efforts in Northeast Florida. The following year they donated $1 million to Hubbard House, Jacksonville’s domestic violence center, and $1 million to the Jacksonville Symphony.
“Michael and Jennifer’s tremendous generosity allows us to grow, scale, and reach more students, youth, and teachers than ever before. This is critical at a time when READ USA is entrusted with increasing much-needed capacity in our school district,” said Ellen Wiss, co-founder of Read USA. “With unprecedented teacher vacancies and funding shortages, we have a daunting task ahead of us, but we stand united with Duval County Public Schools… made possible by the support of our visionary donors.”
The donation and matching funds will be disbursed to Read USA over four years “to support and expand the organization’s programs aimed at closing the literacy gap in Duval County through engaging books and high-quality instruction,” Read USA’s report said.
Read how the USA continues to bless Jacksonville
Only 46% of third-graders in Duval County are reading at grade level, compared to the national average of 50%, Read USA reports, citing data from the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking. The rate in Duval is also lower than in Florida’s six largest urban school districts.
The non-profit organization employs 14 people at its headquarters, about 75 part-time staff in schools, and 220 tutors for youth. To date, they have provided about 786,000 free books to about 273,000 students.
They host professional development workshops and seminars for teachers, reading coaches, support staff and others. The sessions “aim to increase their influence on student literacy achievement in the classroom,” according to Read USA.
“Read USA intentionally expands our district’s capacity by providing additional funding for evidence-based instructional programs,” said Paula Renfro, chief academic officer for Duval County Public Schools. This support “leads to children’s faster literacy growth,” she said.
The nonprofit also runs free literacy workshops for parents and caregivers to help children improve their reading skills at home. It also recruits, trains and pays teens and young adults to tutor elementary school students three days a week, with mentorship and support from teachers and subject matter specialists.
Performance gap widens: Duval students’ test scores lag behind those of the state, although some schools are “doing everything really well”
Last year, 1,779 students received tutoring. Results from a randomized controlled trial showed that students who received three months of tutoring improved their test scores by 68%, improved their reading accuracy, reading comprehension and language skills, and attended school more frequently on average, according to Read USA’s 2023 annual report.
According to Read USA, the intensive training that teachers, tutors and parents receive is key to helping elementary students who are struggling to reach grade-level reading levels.
“We follow the research, we follow best practices,” Kelly said.
Founded in 2011 by volunteer Wiss and educator Vanessa Tussey, Read USA focuses on state-approved Title 1 schools in Duval County, which serve many low-income children. With the help of donors and volunteers, Read USA has since served approximately 216,500 youth and distributed approximately 250,000 books.
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