Kindergarten Family Literacy Initiative

Program Overview

The Ritenour School District Districtwide Kindergarten Family Literacy Initiative is a Parent and Family Engagement program designed to help families support foundational reading skills at home.

Through Paloma Learning, all kindergarten families will have access to evidence-based literacy activities, parent coaching, personalized learning experiences and family literacy resources delivered through an easy-to-use mobile platform.

The initiative helps provide parents and caregivers with the knowledge, skills and resources they need to support their child's academic success while strengthening the partnership between home and school.

The Ritenour School District is supporting the initiative with Title I Parent and Family Engagement Funds during the 2026-2027 school year.

View the Paloma flyer in English and Spanish here

Program Purpose

The Districtwide Kindergarten Family Literacy Initiative is designed to:

• Increase parent and caregiver confidence in supporting reading at home.
• Increase family participation in literacy activities.
• Strengthen communication between schools and families.
• Provide equitable access to literacy support for all kindergarten families.
• Support kindergarten literacy achievement through meaningful family involvement.

How Paloma Learning Works

Paloma Learning provides families with short, personalized learning activities that can be completed at home with their kindergarten student.

Families receive learning activities by text message that are personalized to their child's learning needs and interests.

Activities follow a simple three-step learning process:

1. I do: Parents and caregivers receive an introduction to the skill their child will practice.
2. We do: Families practice the skill together.
3. You do: Children have an opportunity to apply the skill.

Paloma activities are connected to classroom learning so families can reinforce important foundational literacy skills at home.

Paloma also creates personalized learning experiences based on students' interests. These experiences can include decodable stories designed around the literacy skills each child is developing.

Why Family Literacy Matters

Family involvement plays an important role in children's early literacy development. Families often want to support reading at home but may need additional resources, information or guidance to know how best to help.

In Spring 2026, the Ritenour School District piloted Paloma Learning with elementary families to explore how a home-based literacy platform could support family engagement and learning outside of school.

Families participating in the pilot reported that:

• Daily literacy activities helped support reading at home.
• The text-message format made participation convenient and accessible.
• Students enjoyed personalized stories and family learning experiences.
• Families were interested in continuing to use the program.

Based on family feedback and participation in the pilot, the District expanded the initiative to kindergarten families across the Ritenour School District for the 2026-2027 school year.

Our Goals

• Build Parent and Caregiver Confidence

Help parents and caregivers strengthen their knowledge and confidence in supporting foundational literacy skills at home.

• Increase Family Participation

Encourage families to make literacy activities part of their regular routines throughout the school year.

• Strengthen Home-School Partnerships

Strengthen communication and collaboration between families, teachers and schools.

• Support Student Literacy Growth

Reinforce classroom learning at home and support kindergarten students as they develop foundational reading skills.

Family Involvement and Feedback

Family input is an important part of the Districtwide Kindergarten Family Literacy Initiative. The Ritenour School District will continue to invite families to help review and improve the program.

Families may have opportunities to provide input through:

• Parent and caregiver surveys
• Title I family meetings
• Parent advisory committees
• School family-engagement events
• Program feedback opportunities throughout the school year

Feedback from families will be reviewed and used to help improve the initiative.

Communication With Families

The Ritenour School District and individual schools will use multiple methods to share information about the Kindergarten Family Literacy Initiative with families.

Communication may include:

• Text messages through Paloma Learning
• Email and text messages from the District and schools
• School newsletters
• School and District websites
• Printed information
• Kindergarten events
• Family meetings

Major communications will be available in languages represented by participating families.

Supporting Continuous Improvement

The Ritenour School District will review family feedback, participation and student literacy outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative and identify opportunities for improvement.

The Districtwide Kindergarten Family Literacy Initiative reflects the Ritenour School District's commitment to building strong partnerships between families and schools and helping students develop the foundational literacy skills they need to succeed.