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Governor's Early Literacy Foundation outlines statewide programs, says 50 million books distributed
Summary
The Governor's Early Literacy Foundation briefed the committee on programs including Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (serving ~284,000 children), a K-3 home-library program, book buses and storybook trails, and a research partnership with Vanderbilt/TERA to evaluate impact.
The Governor's Early Literacy Foundation presented an overview of its statewide efforts to strengthen early reading, telling the Education Committee it currently serves approximately 284,000 children through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and has distributed roughly 50,000,000 books to date.
James Pond, the foundation's president and CEO, described three pillars: building home libraries for young children, creating visible community literacy through book buses and storybook trails, and running SELECT, a collaborative of 149 organizations statewide. The foundation highlighted a K-3 home-library packet distributed each June (six books aligned to Tennessee standards plus parent guides) intended to create shared classroom equity.
Dr. Carl Wendt (COO) described a research partnership with the Tennessee Education Research Alliance and Vanderbilt University to evaluate the K-3 program; a report was expected in early 2027. Committee members asked about parent-facing tools and sustainability; the foundation said it can develop video content and partnerships but some expansions would require funding and coordination with the Department of Education.
