Raising A Reader

Gabrielle Miller. Dr. Gabrielle Miller joined Raising A Reader as National Executive Director in December 2008. Prior to assuming her current role, Dr. Miller was vice president for programs at Reading is Fundamental, the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit literacy organization. In that role, she was responsible for all literacy and early education programs, including  Reading is Fundamental’s multicultural initiative, all special… See full bio.

Overhead Ratio: n/a

Total Revenue: $2,409,025

Gabrielle Miller Executive Director Sep 21, 2010

Thank you for taking time to learn more about Raising A Reader! We value the comments, reviews and suggestions provided through this site. Thanks to the generous support of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, donors and dedicated staff and affiliates… Read More.

Story: Raising A Reader is a national nonprofit organization that offers an evidence-based early-literacy and parent-engagement program. It currently serves 110,000 children through its 2,500 affiliate sites across the country. During the program, each child is exposed to approximately 100 books per year, and parents and caregivers are trained in interactive read-aloud strategies. This training helps parents and caregivers learn how to engage their child by sharing a book. The program works by rotating bright red bags filled with award-winning books into children’s homes on a weekly basis. Through Raising A Reader, families are connected with their local public library. At the culmination of the program, children receive a blue library bag to keep and continue the practice of borrowing books. “No other library service has the outcome-based evaluation results that Raising a Reader has,” said Nell Colburn, librarian at Multnomah County Library. “Our evaluations consistently show substantial gains in changing parent and caregiver behaviors around books and reading.” (Source: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/07152010/raising-reader-gets-children-started-early)

Evidence of Impact Summary:

Raising A Reader's impact can be understood through fifteen independent evaluations of impact or more from universities and evaluation consulting firms. They have had a significant impact on developing a love of reading in young children. And they have been instrumental in supporting families in having more literacy-related experiences with their children. They also boast a standardized curriculum across sites and they have proven to be sustainable over time.
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Organization Strengths Summary:

Experts praise the gamut of operations and leadership capabilities at Raising a Reader. Others call out strong brand recognition and general strength in improving student reading outcomes.
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Areas for Improvement Summary:

Experts first recommend that Raising A Reader diversity its board. Conversely, others recommend the organization consolidate its management to ensure program consistency across different areas.
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Dr. Gabrielle Miller joined Raising A Reader as National Executive Director in December 2008. Prior to assuming her current role, Dr. Miller was vice president for programs at Reading is Fundamental, the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit literacy organization. In that role, she was responsible for all literacy and early education programs, including  Reading is Fundamental’s multicultural initiative, all special literacy initiatives and established new, innovative programming efforts. Before joining RIF, Dr. Miller served as assistant vice president of educational programs at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD, where she held a number of positions before ultimately assuming a leadership role in the special education department. During her time at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Dr. Miller was primarily responsible for educational program development and research. Her research efforts focused on evaluating interventions for at-risk learners of all ages. Concurrently, she served as an assistant professor in The Johns Hopkins University's Graduate School of Education’s Department of Special Education. Dr. Miller began her career as a general and special education teacher in the Queen Anne's County, Maryland public school system. She earned her bachelor's degree in elementary and special education from the University of Delaware and completed her graduate studies (both master’s and doctoral) in special education and administration at Johns Hopkins University.  She has two grown step-sons and in her spare time enjoys reading, golf, gardening, classic movies, and spending time with her husband, Jeffery.

Gabrielle Miller Executive Director Sep 21, 2010

Thank you for taking time to learn more about Raising A Reader! We value the comments, reviews and suggestions provided through this site. Thanks to the generous support of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, donors and dedicated staff and affiliates in the Bay area, we have expanded from our California roots to now serve more than 100,000 children and families across the U.S. Our programs in the Bay area have been carefully evaluated and proven effective by outside experts. We would be happy to share with you summaries of the independent evaluations conducted by faculty at Stanford University School of Education and California State University, Monterey Bay and other researchers that have demonstrated how Raising A Reader makes a positive and lasting impact on helping prepare children for success in school. These evaluations document our methodology and reinforce the value of the Raising A Reader model. At an annual average cost of $35 per child over a five-year period, Raising A Reader is a high-quality, turnkey program offering communities a cost-effective way to invest in the educational success of their young children. We appreciate your support and look forward to hearing from you! Gabrielle Miller, Ph.D. Executive Director Raising A Reader 650.450.5565 gmiller@raisingareader.org