Friends of the Hennepin County Library
May 15, 2025
Amount Requested$22,000.00
300 Nicollet Mall, Suite N-290
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401
Kristi Pearson
Executive Director & CEO
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- Broaden Perspectives Through Art, Culture, Literature or Extracurricular Experiences
Program Support
As the library's nonprofit partner, Friends of the Hennepin County Library (FHCL) is a community of 10,000+ supporters whose mission is to raise awareness, appreciation, and financial resources for our nationally acclaimed Hennepin County library. FHCL:
• aspires to be an organization where everyone feels like they belong, and all perspectives are valued.
• is committed to creating a platform for individuals and communities to access and share stories that help them recognize and activate their power for the benefit of Hennepin County.
• strives to unlock the full diversity of human potential in Hennepin County, by partnering closely with the library to build equitable systems and ensure that every community's unique needs are met.
Hennepin County Library’s mission is to inspire, facilitate, and celebrate lifelong learning. Shaped by the information needs and aspirations of residents, we envision the library as a shared space for enrichment and connection. Library services are an important part of thriving and interconnected communities. We believe that every Hennepin County resident should have a library card and use it regularly.
$22,000.00
$800,000.00
$4,494,400.00
Yes
HCL’s Student Success Initiative is attacking the K-12 literacy crisis in Hennepin County by combining the reach and popularity of our 18 HOMEWORK HELP tutoring locations with in-depth, evidence-based reading interventions through the library’s new LET’S READ program.
These programs help ensure inclusivity in education by offering free afterschool enrichment opportunities to some of Hennepin County’s most under-served populations. In Minneapolis Public Schools, fewer than 33% of Black, Latino, and Indigenous students are reading at grade level, compared to more than 75% of white students. Last year, 95% of Homework Help and 86% of Let’ Read participants identified as students of color.
Homework Help is one of the region’s most popular academic support programs. Last year, more than 2,400 students met with Homework Help tutors at 18 locations. 97% of participants said Homework Help had improved their performance in school, and 98% said they felt more confident in the academic areas they came in to work on.
A Lead Tutor from East Lake Library, which serves primarily Somali students, said many families come more than once a week: “Most parents didn’t grow up speaking English and have a hard time helping their kids with coursework, especially their middle schoolers. These parents have expressed that Homework Help provides vital educational support for their children.”
Let’s Read launched in 2024 at 7 libraries. Its pilot year was such a success that 4 additional locations are being added in 2025. The program is based on research that shows the most impactful out-of-school time approach to increase child literacy is 1:1 support from volunteer tutors under the supervision of trained content experts. This approach is working! Last year, 78% of Let’s Read participants measurably improved their literacy abilities. “Being a former high school teacher and getting the chance to be involved in early interventions, I can see the difference this truly would’ve made for my students,” one tutor reported.
89% of caregivers say they are very satisfied with Let’s Read tutoring sessions, and 100% say their child feels supported. As one Lead Tutor reports: “The dad of one first grader stated that he feels a lightbulb went off for his son in October. He and his wife are so surprised and pleased that their son is reading easy books to them now and thriving in school. Conferences were drastically different from last year.”
Overall, the Student Success Initiative will help nearly 2,500 students improve their academic performance in 2025. 2,200 students will participate in Homework Help during the grant period, and 250 struggling K-5 readers will be identified by Let’s Read and receive intake assessments. Approximately 80% will meet criteria to participate in Let’s Read tutoring while 20% in need of more intensive tutoring opportunities will be referred to other free county services.
Both programs serve K-12 students. In HH, 95% are BIPOC and 89% speak a language other than English.
Hennepin County
1. In the 2025-26 school year, 90% of Homework Help participants will report via survey that support from HCL staff and volunteer tutors resulted in academic improvement and increased confidence in the topics they studied together.
2. 75% of students who began Let’s Read below grade level will make measurable gains in literacy based on “STAR” reading assessments administered before and after their participation in weekly sessions with HCL tutors trained by Twin Cities Reading Partners.
3. Student participation will increase in both programs, with over 2,200 students participating in Homework Help during the grant period and 250 registering for Let’s Read tutoring.
Homework Help and Let’s Read both employ highly trained Lead Tutors to directly serve students and supervise volunteer tutors. This approach leverages each dollar using an evidence-based model proven to be highly effective, particularly for literacy instruction. In the upcoming year, Let’s Read and Homework Help Lead Tutors will support thousands of students’ academic success.
“We have had several new families join Homework Help this month, and guardians and parents are very excited (and relieved) the program exists,” reports Plymouth Library’s Lead Tutor. “We get consistent asks for more days. There is a clear need for academic supports for students, especially in the 1:1 capacity we can offer, with the stability and regularity of the program, and familiar faces, as we can get to know the students.”
The Let’s Read curriculum is anchored in the Science of Reading, a collection of research from various fields focused on five fundamentals of reading: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension. Students meet 1-1 with one of our 105+ tutors each week to practice these skills and build confidence as they read aloud. While each session is rigorously planned to maximize learning, the impact is rooted in the relationships between students and tutors. “The program has really given our students a lot of enjoyment and a routine that is truly supporting their reading,” one Lead Tutor reports. “I see and hear so much joy and laughter alongside their reading.”
Our 2025 goal for outreach and intake is to identify and assess over 250 struggling readers for admission. Most of these students will begin Let’s Read tutoring immediately. Those reading more than 2.5 years behind grade level will be referred to a Hennepin County Education Support Specialist for long-term support, coordination with family, and intensive virtual tutoring.
Let’s Read leaders will measure program impact using the following methods:
1. Pre-, mid- and post- assessments using Renaissance STAR Reading to measure student progress toward grade level reading.
2. Student surveys to gauge student engagement in the tutoring and identify areas for improvement.
3. Caregiver interviews and family nights to share information and collect feedback for program improvement.
4. Staff and volunteer tutor surveys and debriefs to build best practices and continuously increase HCL’s capacity to support student literacy.
Homework Help leaders measure program effectiveness using surveys of students, monthly Lead Tutor reports, and attendance data. We issue several hundred surveys annually to ensure we are meeting student needs and to measure impact in key metrics of achievement. We gather quantitative data by tracking unique student attendance across all locations. Each month, Lead tutors document stories of success and program learnings.
01/01/2025
12/31/2025
Reading Partners provides an evidence-based Science of Reading curriculum to HCL Let’s Read program, as well as initial training and ongoing support for Let’s Read tutors.
HCL has joined the Minnesota Literacy Coalition to work cooperatively with education leaders to share data, metrics, and outcomes. As coalition members, we can ensure our out-of-school time tutoring aligns with academic curricula and the latest science.
HCL partners with Hennepin County’s offices of Outreach and Community Supports and Education Support Services to connect Let’s Read families with more intensive educational resources and other county services as needed.
18 Homework Help locations will be open throughout the school year in 2025. Most locations offer services 2-3 afternoons/evenings per week. Students work one-on-one with tutors, study independently, use library technology for research, and help one another with English translation and reading comprehension. Many students attend sessions at multiple libraries, making Homework Help available every day of the week.
Let’s Read is a year-round program to be offered at 8 sites in January and then expanding to 11 sites in fall 2025. Students are referred by teachers, community members, caregivers, and county workers. After an initial reading skills assessment, each child is placed at an appropriate starting point in the curriculum sequence. Let’s Read tutors can access 150+ research-validated lessons for every level of reading ability. Each 45-minute session includes reading aloud, questions and discussions, and focused skill-building exercises. Students are evaluated regularly to measure progress.
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