The Ready To Learn content, materials and resources provide valuable opportunities to engage with the target audience. Children, parents and educators have benefited from utilizing the content both in the classroom and home setting. Families have shown great excitement during workshops for the opportunity to learn and explore science and literacy concepts. Sessions have been successful in demonstrating collaboration, problem solving skills and teamwork in family members. As a result, great examples of multi-generational learning is happening in many of our workshops. Hands on activities were designed to support the early literacy and science (STEM) learning of students using PBS KIDS® characters, resources and media. The participating audience is encouraged to engage during the learning activities; from storytelling, experimenting, and building structures. These activities provided great opportunities and resources for learning enrichment to take place amongst the entire families.

Click here for an overview of the 2015-2020 initiative including series, games, videos, educator resources, family resources and research.

The Ready To Learn RTL CC-ELM program, to date, has been focused in Jackson and conducted in cooperation with Springboard to Opportunities, which works with residents of affordable housing to help them reach their goals in school, work and life.

The program aims to develop inquiry skills of and spark curiosity in children ages 2-8 in underserved communities through engaging science and literacy content, personalized and adaptive learning, and community engagement.

Powered by the high-quality content, resources and research provided through the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn Initiative, MPB is helping young learners develop science inquiry and informational text literacy skills that can help them succeed in school and in life.

Ready To Learn funding allowed PBS stations and independent producers to build on the success of existing shows—Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Reading Rainbow, and Sesame Street—as well as to create new ones—Dragon Tales and Between the Lions. Further, Ready To Learn enabled the country’s PBS stations to distribute more than 3 million books to children from low-income families, and it allowed them to provide more than a million parents and childcare workers with training in the basics of effective literacy instruction.

Community Collaboratives for Early Learning and Media (CC-ELM) Partners:

Springboard To Opportunities

Dawson Elementary School

Medgar Evers Library

Fannie Lou Hamer Library

Funding for this initiative provided by

Families have shown great excitement during workshops for the opportunity to learn and explore science and literacy concepts. Sessions have been successful in demonstrating collaboration, problem solving skills and teamwork in family members.

MPB collaborated with STO as a sponsor for theRun For Our Community 5Kevent and used the opportunity to inform the community about RTL resources, pass out free books, highlight relevant RTL PBS KIDS® children’s programming guide, and distribute information and early childhood resource materials for participating families.

Students are actively engaged during learning activities; from storytelling, experimenting, and building structures. These activities provided great opportunities and resources for learning enrichment to take place amongst the students.

As part of MPB’s Ready to Learn initiative, MPB Early Childhood staff conducts a 4-week Parent Academy for parents residing at Springboard to Opportunities Apartment Communities. MPB and partner Springboard to Opportunities’ staff worked together to implement the Parent Academy workshops. The Parent Academy engaged parents in the early literacy learning of their children. The various themed workshops focused on family literacy, science, career discovery and much more. Parents and children were also instructed on how to use the PBS KIDS® website educational content. Participating families were encouraged to take what they had learned into their home to continue the lessons that would enhance what the children were learning in school. Additionally, parents learned important tips on how to communicate with their child’s teacher, ways to help with homework, how to handle behavioral issues, and how to help their child read on or above grade level.

A professional learning free event for all early childhood educators and caregivers. Those who attend share ideas about the learning topics that are most important to themselves and fellow educators. Edcamp is not a traditional workshop, in that is gives the participating educators the opportunity to design their own professional learning experience by determining the topic for each session. This event provides educators who work with children in schools, childcare, Head Start, or homes - with space to share, collaborate, and learn from each other.

Mississippi Public Broadcasting introduced and provided PBS KIDS® content through media, technology and hands-on activities for students in Pre-K through Grade 3 at its partner school Dawson Elementary School. The students and teachers engaged in literacy and science content as they active viewed PBS KIDS® programs selected by MPB staff during scheduled assembly program lead by MPB Early Childhood staff. The afterschool program was an excellent example of community collaboration with partner Springboard to Opportunities. The teachers at Dawson Elementary School was also encouraged to use PBS KIDS® RTL content. Through all of the efforts being implemented at Dawson Elementary School, the one most important was to increase the students reading scores. MPB provides books at every event encouraging the students to read and take the books home in hopes of building home libraries.