(PENSACOLA) --- Reading, writing, and arithmetic are all important, but reading stood out at the Escambia Children's Trust meeting.
Part of the April 14 ECT agenda included ReadyKids! Executive Director Kristy Craig detailing Ready Pals sponsored under the ECT CAREs Grant. Craig began laying out the program's mission: to maximize children's potential through increased school readiness.
(Photo: Presentation slide for ReadyKids! presentation at ECT meeting April 14, 2026)
"We want every kid who starts kindergarten ready to learn," Craig explained. "One way we do that is through our Reading Pals Program."
Designed to boost early literacy and social-emotional skills, Craig touted its success since 2011, growing from one classroom to 16 across 8 schools.
"It provides every child with a personal champion," Craig said of the one-on-one setting. "It's with someone who shows up consistently and believes in them."
Craig said, "98% of more than 250 children we served made gains on their formal assessment from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." Additionally, ReadyPals students averaged more than 50% higher readiness scores than students who did not attend the program.
"Which is huge," Craig said.
(Photo: Presentation slide for ReadyKids! presentation at ECT meeting April 14, 2026)
Why the presentation now?
To update officials on Brentwood Elementary, another location now under the Escambia Children's Trust CAREs Grant, sponsoring 25 ReadyPals Pre-K students.
"I am very proud to say every single one of them has been matched with a mentor," Craig said, adding that 450 mentoring sessions have been conducted. "That is 450 individual touchpoints, and 450 opportunities for magic and learning to happen."
(Photo: Presentation slide for ReadyKids! presentation at ECT meeting April 14, 2026)
Statewide assessment scores from the beginning of the year through the middle of the year show strong growth, with an average increase of over 40 points, according to Craig.
"That's just what we see on paper," Craig said.
The program is not just about academic growth.
"When we talk to our Kindergarten teachers, they tell us time and time again that if a student can come into the first day of Kindergarten willing to sit down and make friends, be respectful, and listen to instructions, then they are teachable," Craig said. "That's really what Kindergarten is about."
(Photo: Presentation slide for ReadyKids! presentation at ECT meeting April 14, 2026)
Real-time results show the youngest students are building confidence, according to Craig.
"They are gaining trust with more people and lighting up in the process," she added.
Craig made the presentation personal, introducing one student who stands out. At first, Tehrenzo had trouble staying still, reading, and learning.
Not now.
Over time, his reading pal, Cindy, met him where he was.
"She got on the ground with him, she matched his energy and used what he already enjoyed as an entry point," Craig said. "As they played, she weaved in small moments of learning."
(Photo: Presentation slide for ReadyKids! presentation at ECT meeting April 14, 2026)
The news platform covered the meeting and its Key Takeaways, as seen here. Along with the presentation, the ECT conducted business as usual, including extending ECT Executive Director Lindsey Cannon's contract through 2027 and approving one-year extensions for three ECT vendor contracts.
For more information on ReadyKids! programs click here.
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