Footsteps 2 Brilliance logo. Big Brains for Little People.

Free Bilingual Literacy Apps for Riverside County Families

As part of the Literacy by 5th Grade Initiative, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez is providing free access to a suite of bilingual learning programs for all students in Riverside county.

We're excited to share that Riverside County students are actively engaged in improving their literacy:

  • 132,000 Students Enrolled
  • 202 Million Words Read
  • 410,000 Books Read
  • 282,00 Books Written

From pre-reading activities and read-to-you stories, to alphabet recognition songs and grammar rules games, these interactive tools from Footsteps2Brilliance are available to our youngest learners 24/7.

Just follow the steps below to get started:

  1. Register for FREE: www.myf2b.com/riverside
  2. Follow the daily lessons for your child's grade level.

Little Free Library Project

Brightly painted wooden box with a glass door displaying booksIn response to the Riverside County Board of Education’s Family Literacy Proclamation and the Riverside County Office of Education’s Literacy by 5th Grade Initiative, the Equity and Access unit joined the Literacy by 5th Grade Initiative Larger Committee to launch the Little Free Library Project.

The project removes barriers to access to books by providing small, wooden, house-shaped structures, similar to a resident mailbox, which provides free 24/7 access to books within communities.

Resources for Family Literacy

Families reading together.

National Family Literacy Month may be in November, but the benefits of families learning and reading together continue throughout the year. For resources supporting family literacy, check out the Family Literacy Month page.

If You Can’t See, You Can’t Read!

Since the start of the 2021-2022 school year, a partnership with the non-profit organization, Vision To Learn, has led to vision screenings for more than 25,000 students and a free pair of glasses for over 6,000 students in 12 districts in Riverside County.

Read the press release: More Than 6,000 Students Receive Free Glasses in Riverside County Schools

Watch the Vision To Learn highlight video recorded at Hemet Elementary School:

Early Learning and Literacy Project Grant

Woman sits with young boy who shows off open book with excitement

Thanks to an Early Learning and Literacy Project Grant secured by Congressman Mark Takano in 2021, our Early Learning Services team is working to increase early language and literacy skills via two research based strategies: building capacity of preschool teachers and early learning providers, and ensuring families have books at home. 

Research shows that preschool teachers’ use of sophisticated vocabulary during free play predicted fourth grade reading comprehension and word recognition (Dickinson and Porche, 2021) and that having books in the home increases children’s academic success, vocabulary development, attention, and job attainment (Sikora, Evans, and Kelley, 2019). 

Early Education teachers and paraprofessionals from across the county have been trained in foundational early literacy skills including language development and phonological awareness. Not only have school district staff and early childhood center staff have been trained, but RCOE has also reached out to family child care providers for early literacy training opportunities.

In addition, at community events throughout the county, families have received over 14,000 children’s book that were strategically selected to ensure they are culturally responsive, inclusive themed, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) focused, and support social-emotional learning. 

Feedback from educators and families has reinforced the positive impact of literacy training on the educator capacity in early care and education programs and the benefit of providing books to families that are engaging for our early learners.

Literacy Programs

Initiative Team

The Literacy by 5th Grade Initiative is supported by divisions and programs across RCOE to ensure efforts have a broad reach to educators and students in Riverside county. Visit their web pages to learn more about their core functions and programs: