About Reading In Motion
Our Purpose
Mission Statement
Our mission is to ensure that every student reaches or exceeds grade-level reading proficiency during their crucial early years of education. We are especially dedicated to providing targeted support to those students who require additional assistance due to their unique circumstances and challenges. By focusing on these early years, we aim to build a strong foundation in literacy that will empower students to excel academically and thrive in their future educational endeavors. Our commitment extends to addressing and overcoming barriers to learning, ensuring that each child has the opportunity to develop the essential reading skills necessary for their long-term success.
Our History
From Where We Started
Since 1983, Reading In Motion has grown from an arts-focused nonprofit into a nationally respected literacy organization. By responding to student needs, school feedback, and educational research, we’ve evolved our model, expanded our reach, and helped over 100,000 students build foundational reading skills that drive long-term academic success.
1983–2002: Foundations in the Arts
Founded in 1983 as a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, Reading In Motion has served more than 100,000 students. During our early years, we focused on teaching music, drama, and dance to young students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) from low-income households. Our instructors quickly noticed the struggle to read among those we were serving in the CPS district. By the mid-1990s, it became clear that literacy was our students’ biggest challenge, limiting not only their ability to participate in our then arts-focused curricula, but also their comprehension across academic subjects.
2003–2019: Shifting to Literacy First
After much research, experimentation, and expert consultation, in 2003 we turned our focus toward improving the literacy rates of elementary learners in CPS by offering a core-wraparound curriculum and instructional coaching for their teaching faculties. Soon after, we further concentrated our efforts on classroom literacy programming exclusively for students in PreK–1st grade. We made this move in response to our own experience in schools, bolstered by research indicating that a student’s reading skills at the beginning of their academic years are highly predictive of a learner’s future literacy capability.
Since 2003, we have partnered with hundreds of schools in Chicago’s under-resourced neighborhoods on the south and west sides, training their teachers to deliver our engaging reading improvement curriculum in their classrooms. The results have been outstanding, with consistently more students mastering early literacy skills year after year at a rate higher than their peers without our services.
After observing comparatively similar societal circumstances and literacy rates among underserved students in Nevada’s Clark County, we piloted our curriculum in Las Vegas during the 2017–2018 school year and provided our unique instructional support to 18 teachers and 450 learners. We continue to serve in Clark County today.
2020–Present: Expanding Access and Adapting to Change
In 2020, we partnered with Steans Family Foundation in their early childhood centers as part of our commitment to reaching students at the very start of their academic journey. Since then, our services have expanded significantly, and as of 2025 we are partnering with 27 schools across the city. This includes 8 schools connected to the Steans Family Foundation, where our program continues to play an important role in strengthening early literacy outcomes.
Reading In Motion’s services have grown significantly since its founding. In 2020, we adapted to meet the evolving needs of educators and students during the pandemic, introducing new program models and resources, including a virtual learning option to keep students engaged in any setting.
Since that time, we have continued to strengthen our impact. Our curriculum has been refined to align even more closely with the science of reading, and our learning management system has been upgraded to support these best practices seamlessly. We have also invested in professional development for our coaches and program staff through CORE Science of Reading training, equipping them with the latest strategies to support teachers effectively. Most importantly, all of these services are now offered completely free of charge, ensuring that schools and communities can access high-quality literacy support without barriers.
Champions of Literacy and Equity
Our Supporters
- Andrew Family Foundation
- Heineman Foundation for Research, Education, Charitable and Scientific Purposes
- McShane Family Foundation
- Polk Brothers Foundation
- Chicago Children’s Charities
- Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
- The Rundgren Foundation
- Charles and M. R. Shapiro Foundation, Inc.
- Donley Foundation
- The Albert Pick, Jr. Fund
- William Blair & Company, L.L.C.
- Illinois Arts Council Agency
- The Rogers Foundation
- Anonymous
- Associated Bank
- Jack Miller Family Foundation
- McMaster-Carr Supply Company
- Cashman Family Foundation
- Max M. McGraw Foundation
- UpMetrics
- Herb and Ann Rowe Charitable Foundation
- Delta Kappa Gamma Educational Foundation
- GCM Grosvenor
- Menasha Corporation Foundation
- 8 I A Hospitality Company
- Dermody Properties Foundation
- Henry Crown & Company
- Merchant Giving Project
- JJ Ford Foundation
- Whole Foods Market
- Dollar General Literacy Foundation
- Kovler Family Foundation