COLLECTIVE ACTION:

We’re Stronger Together!

Know Your Level:

Spring 2026 Campaign

Click on the link below to access our Parent Toolkit:

Parent Power Toolkit

THE BIG PICTURE: 

St. Louis is in the middle of a literacy crisis. In St. Louis Public Schools, only 12% of Black students can read at grade level. That means if your child is in a class of 20 students, only 2 of them are reading on track. The other 18 are already falling behind.

This crisis didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of deep, long-standing challenges in our education system. And while there’s no quick fix, we do know one thing: Real progress starts with knowing where our kids stand—and making sure families are treated as the essential partners they are. 

In 2022, Missouri passed Senate Bill 681, which requires all elementary schools to:

1) Give families regular updates about their child’s reading level and

2) Create a personal reading success plan for any student who is more than a year behind.

That law was a big step forward. But a law on paper isn’t enough. The Know Your Level campaign exists to make sure this isn’t just a requirement—it’s a real commitment that schools and families across St. Louis take seriously. Because every parent deserves to know how their child is doing. And every child deserves the chance to read—and to unlock the doors that reading can open.

2024: Taking stock of reality

In 2024, the goal of the campaign was to get a clear sense of how this new law was being implemented and the real impact on the ground for families. 

After surveying and interviewing hundreds of families, the headline was clear: most families were still in the dark. Nearly two-thirds of parents said they hadn’t received any update about their child’s reading. Even when letters were sent, many parents didn’t recognize them, missed them in the pile of school paperwork, or never got them at all due to outdated contact info.

Of the families who did get a letter, only one in four found it helpful. Most said the language was confusing or didn’t match what they were seeing at home. But there was a bright spot—parents who had a conversation with a teacher were far more likely to understand the data and feel confident taking the next step.

The takeaway? Families want to be involved. They want to support their kids. But without clear, timely information—and a way to talk it through—they’re being left out of the loop.

Click on the link below to download the PDF version of our report:

Empowering Parents to Address St. Louis’s Literacy Crisis

2025 & 2026: Bridging the gap 

In 2024, we uncovered the reasons why Missouri’s new literacy law (SB 681) wasn’t yet reaching families in the ways it was intended. In 2025, we acted on those lessons. 

We made a plan to do that from three angles – activating parents to get the info they need, supporting schools to offer it in ways that are helpful, and system/state leaders to provide the resources and accountability to make that easier.

Click on the link below to access our Parent Toolkit:

Parent Power Toolkit