United for Literacy (UFL) is a multi-pronged approach to solving Santa Barbara County’s literacy crisis over a 10 year period by increasing the number of high school graduates and the number of students reading proficiently.　 These research driven national best practice services and partnerships create an uninterrupted pipeline of year round literacy and family and community engagement services from birth to high school graduation.

The three primary components included in UFL are: bornlearning, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and Reading Plus. Each component offers educational programming that is age-appropriate and aligned with school curriculum. In addition, United Way of Santa Barbara County is providing leveraging services such as community volunteers, neighborhood engagement and reading optimization tools to maximize impact and efficiency throughout the 10-year process.

Currently, over 1000 students and community members are participating in 22 Santa Barbara County schools and community centers. The results have been impressive. For example, one group of 41 students from Carpinteria Middle School improved on average 1.14 reading grade levels in only four months!