Eat. Learn. Play. Makes Historic Commitment to Advance Literacy in Oakland with $25 Million Investment
Oakland-based Charity to Raise and Invest Funds Over the Next Five Years to Provide One-on-One Tutoring and Literacy Programs for Oakland Unified School District Students with Support from Legacy Partner Workday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oakland, CA – August 29, 2024
Today, Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. announced a significant commitment to raise and invest $25 million over the next five years to bridge the literacy gap in Oakland, including providing one-on-one, professional tutoring for students two or more grade levels behind in reading. Focusing on advancing reading and writing proficiency for Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) students, this will provide approximately 10,000 tutoring spots for elementary school students who are significantly behind in reading, with the support and programs they need to thrive. Last September, Eat. Learn. Play. launched a new movement to raise and invest $50 million in additional support and resources to Oakland students by the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Ayesha and Stephen Curry reading to a group of students from Burckhalter Elementary in Oakland
Eat. Learn. Play. is dedicated to improving Oakland’s literacy rates in partnership with devoted partners, leaders and organizations, to unlock the full potential of OUSD students. Building on insights gained from the foundation’s “Advancing Literacy Efforts in Oakland” research report, combined with months of strategic planning and successful tutoring pilots at 18 OUSD elementary schools, this initiative represents the largest investment in literacy that Eat. Learn. Play. has ever made, aiming to unlock the power of reading for thousands of Oakland students who are struggling to read.
“When we launched Eat. Learn. Play. five years ago, we set out to provide opportunities to ensure every student in Oakland had the resources they need to be healthy and thrive,” said Stephen & Ayesha Curry, co-founders of Eat. Learn. Play. “This commitment is about more than just closing the literacy gap—it’s about giving these kids the confidence to succeed in all areas of life. We’ve seen firsthand the impact this level of tutoring support can have on a child’s development, and it is our hope that we can work to close the literacy gap and encourage reading for a generation of students.”
A longtime legacy partner of Eat. Learn. Play., Workday has been a cornerstone in the non-profit’s efforts to drive positive change in Oakland. Fundraising efforts from the 5th Annual Workday Charity Classic event will provide critical support and resources as the organization embarks on its ambitious journey to advance literacy in the community. To-date, Workday has provided more than $11 million dollars for these critical initiatives with more than $2 million coming from the recent golf fundraising event at Stanford Golf Course.
“Change is a team sport, and we couldn’t achieve this without the support of our community partners, donors, and school district leaders,” said Chris Helfrich, CEO of Eat. Learn. Play. “While this is an ambitious plan and we recognize that it will be a continuous work in progress, there is a real urgency to do what’s right by our students and schools alone can’t meet this challenge. Oakland students deserve the best.”
Two-thirds of U.S. students are unable to read with proficiency, and numerous studies indicate that children who do not achieve reading proficiency by third grade are likely to face lifelong challenges. According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 80% of low-income household students never reach reading proficiency, entrenching a future of struggle that is not of their own making. While this is a national crisis, literacy rates among Oakland students are alarmingly low. Nearly half of all elementary school students are performing below grade level, with a significant number falling behind by two or more grade levels. While high dosage, one-on-one tutoring is a highly effective intervention, cost barriers make it inaccessible for so many Oakland families and students.
“At Workday, we believe in the power of education to transform lives. We are proud to stand with the Currys and Eat. Learn. Play. in this historic commitment to Oakland’s students, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential,” said Aneel Bhusri, co-founder and executive chair at Workday.
This bold vision and initiative follows a successful pilot program conducted in the Spring semester of this year, where Eat. Learn. Play. provided funding for high-dosage tutoring at 18 elementary schools in Oakland. Nearly 600 students participated in the pilot, which was led by three professional tutoring providers: Hoot Reading, Ignite Reading, and Open Literacy. In preliminary results from the Ignite Reading pilot, 85% of participants, which included 122 students, closed their Kindergarten-level skills gaps and transitioned to working on Grade 1 and 2 skills.
With new programs offering quality and effective one-on-one tutoring for students with the highest and most urgent need, Eat. Learn. Play. also aims to strengthen small group tutoring as OUSD works to improve universal instruction overall. The foundation’s initial literacy investment of $10 million has supported the distribution of over a million culturally affirming books, mobilized local organizations providing literacy resources and support, conducted deep research and tested evidence-based solutions to drastically increase reading proficiency for elementary school students.
In addition to funding one-on-one tutoring, Eat. Learn. Play. will continue to support OUSD and local literacy partners with strategic planning, capacity building and technical assistance. This comprehensive approach aims to stop the literacy gap from widening and ultimately reduce the need for intensive interventions over time.
"Literacy is key to all aspects of education, and to the futures for our students," said OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell. "It's why we are laser focused on ensuring we have strong readers by the third grade. Now our incredible partnership with Eat. Learn. Play. is taking a groundbreaking new step with this added focus on literacy through enhanced tutoring. We know that one-on-one tutoring is key to improving literacy, especially among students who have fallen behind. This initiative will supercharge our literacy efforts with its extraordinary $25 million commitment, and it comes on top of last year’s $50 million commitment from Eat. Learn. Play. to upgrade school playgrounds across the city and help with literacy efforts and nutrition services. We cannot thank Eat. Learn. Play. and partner, Workday, enough for supporting our mission to help prepare our students for success in college, career, and community."
OUSD is also planning a similarly sized investment of $25 million in its small group tutoring with the goal of serving up to 4,500 students annually by 2029. Small group tutoring is provided by on-site tutors at elementary schools for 30 minutes a day in groups of eight students or less at a time.
Dedicated to improving public education for all Oakland elementary and middle school students, this commitment is a key element of Eat. Learn. Play.’s broader movement to transform the school experience for a generation of Oakland students. In addition to focusing on literacy, Eat. Learn. Play has provided over 20 million meals, transformed 14 schoolyards into remarkable play and learning spaces and built a one-of-a-kind mobile resource center—the Eat. Learn. Play. Bus—to deliver food, books and goods with joy and dignity.
Over the past five years, Eat. Learn. Play. has provided over $5 million in grants for high-dosage tutoring at more than 20 elementary schools to date; distributed $2.5 million in grants to libraries and teachers; gifted over a million books through programs like the Eat. Learn. Play. Bus and Little Town Libraries, free little libraries planted throughout Oakland; and remodeled two elementary school libraries with three more planned in the near future.
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About Eat. Learn. Play.
Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation is an organization dedicated to unleashing the potential of every child, paving the way for amazing kids and opening doors to bright futures. Founded by Stephen and Ayesha Curry in 2019, Eat. Learn. Play. launched with a focus on improving the lives of kids and families in Oakland, the Bay Area and across the country. Rooted in three of the most vital pillars for a healthy childhood—nutrition, education and physical activity—Eat. Learn. Play. is working to ensure that every child in Oakland has access to the nutritious food they need to be healthy and thrive; resources to learn and love to read; and safe places and equitable opportunities to play. Follow Eat. Learn. Play. on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
Eat. Learn. Play. Contacts:
Tom Dietz
tom@midnight-dawn.com | C: 303-506-2228
Stephen Baruch
stephen@midnight-dawn.com | C: 631-388-1367