51³Ô¹Ï

Published September 30, 2024

After several years of partnership with San Mateo County communities, launched its on Wednesday, September 25, to evolve its program model and organizational structure and maximize its impact on third-grade reading levels in San Mateo County.

Long before the science of reading became a national movement, The Big Lift initiative was quietly working with local preschools in San Mateo County to align instruction with the science of reading, inspired by gains observed in the La Honda-Pescadero School District.

The Big Lift is an eight-district preschool to third-grade collective impact initiative led and funded by the County of San Mateo in partnership with the 51³Ô¹Ï and the San Mateo County Library system. With its new 2023-2026 strategic plan, The Big Lift has expanded its science of reading work into TK-3 school year classrooms, providing a suite of systems-level supports and direct funding to preschools and school districts.

The County Office of Education leads monthly professional learning communities for PreK and TK-3 school and district leaders, paired with monthly classroom coaching focused on the daily habits and structures needed for evidence-based literacy. Best-in-class partners have been recruited to ensure extensive ground-level support, including coaching in the literacy frameworks for preschool and supports for TK-3.

The Big Lift’s preschool to third-grade integrated data strategy is a hallmark of the effort and remains a key lever for driving continued impact. The County Office of Education is operating what is referred to as an (ECIDS), linking student data from multiple systems over time and addressing the void of data for most young students in California. The Big Lift leverages its ECIDS to identify where and why accelerated student growth is happening and to scale successful approaches. It serves as a model ECIDS for California’s , whose mission is to build a similar approach statewide.

The Big Lift’s data recently revealed huge gains in kindergarten readiness for children served in preschool by its longtime partner, Peninsula Family Service. Between Fall 2022 and Fall 2023, kindergarten readiness for children served (as measured by the Brigance) increased by 23 percentage points, one of the single largest annual increases The Big Lift has ever seen. The Big Lift’s longitudinal data show that kindergarten readiness, in turn, is highly predictive of later third-grade reading standardized test scores among participating districts.

“The Big Lift has given Peninsula Family Service tools and support to ensure our youngest learners are ready for kindergarten. With the Big Lift, we are engaging our teachers and children in new ways and have the data to show each student's progress,” said Heather Cleary, Chief Executive Officer of Peninsula Family Service, a Big Lift preschool program

Local data also show that a more targeted focus on oral language and vocabulary – particularly for dual language learners – can reap powerful reading gains, especially when this work starts in preschool. As a result of its leadership in the curriculum and instruction space, San Mateo County’s Universal Prekindergarten Report recently adopted recommendations for curricular and data approaches modeled after The Big Lift. The Big Lift hopes to inspire other localities to begin early literacy instruction aligned with the science of reading before kindergarten, where these types of investments can make the most powerful difference.

The Big Lift invites all of San Mateo County to rally around the goal of third-grade reading proficiency. Regular community convenings bring partners together around a shared vision for reading success. Its new family-facing  website offers accessible information for families and community members on cultivating early literacy skills.