StoryCycles Impact Report

Executive Summary

Tandem was thrilled for the opportunity to partner with the Full Circle Fund in 2019 on an evaluation project that centered on StoryCycles®, our school-to-home book-sharing program that provides high-quality books to children and families; workshops in early learning topics for parents and family members; and skills-based professional development for educators.

Centered on the question of how StoryCycles fosters early learning and kindergarten readiness, the evaluation project involved:

reviewing and analyzing survey data gathered from participants over three years;
linking survey results with the research evidence in early childhood education; and
synthesizing the findings into the StoryCycles Impact Report.

Specifically, the report describes how StoryCycles tackles issues in four areas of early learning:

Access to books

Bay Area children, especially those living in low-income communities, have limited access books even as countless studies underscore the relationship between books in the home, book-sharing interactions, and numerous positive outcomes for children. StoryCycles addresses this inequity by providing families access to up to 100 high quality, multilingual, multicultural, developmentally appropriate, and engaging books for each year the family is enrolled in the program.

Encouraging interactive reading

Through StoryCycles, adults (family members and educators) learn the importance of following the child’s cues to engage in back and forth conversations and using other techniques such as incorporating movement, songs, or silly voices to make book-sharing an enjoyable, interactive experience for the child. This type of interactive reading creates ‘serve and return’ interactions that are known to promote brain development, laying the foundation for all future learning.

Establishing robust book-sharing routines

Many StoryCycles families do not have daily reading routines prior to entering the program—and both the books and the instruction around interactive reading in StoryCycles ensures that families have the knowledge, resources, and skills to set up consistent reading routines and prepare their children for kindergarten.

Sparking joy

For many parents of young children, sharing books with young children is not intuitive. StoryCycles provides parents and caregivers with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to create the joyful reading experiences which will encourage children to remember what they learn and, more importantly, to want more: more books, more stories, more learning, more fun.

For those who are interested in a more detailed look at these findings, including illustrative examples, recommendations, and detailed descriptions of outcomes, view the full-length StoryCycles Impact Report.

Tandem is grateful for funding from the Full Circle Fund and the generous support from the Early Childhood Education Circle members that made this project possible—and this report, a reality. Thank you for being Tandem’s partners!

Visit our blog for more information about Tandem’s collaboration with the Full Circle Fund. Check out our Board Member Spotlight on Lisa Olson, the fearless leader of the Full Circle Project.