At Read to Grow, we’ve spent the past two years asking a deceptively simple question: How can we make better use of the data that already exists to strengthen early literacy work across Connecticut?
The answer has taken us into state education databases, federal directories, licensing records, and more than a dozen other public data sources. Along the way, we’ve learned that the biggest challenge isn’t necessarily finding data—it’s turning scattered, inconsistent information into something that organizations can actually use.
That’s the story we’ll be sharing during an upcoming free webinar with our longtime data partner, North Arrow, on September 22, 2026.
From Scattered Data to Usable Resources
Over the past two years, our team has worked to bring together information that exists across Connecticut’s public data systems and transform it into practical resources for the early literacy field.
We pulled together twenty years of state education data, which arrived in inconsistent formats from year to year, and created a single longitudinal file that allows us to measure our reach against student populations district by district.
We also combined more than a dozen sources to build a statewide map showing where families can access books—from public and school libraries to childcare centers, bookstores, Little Free Libraries, and Read to Grow partner sites. We then developed an index to examine how easily families can reach those resources by car and public transportation.
Rather than keeping these tools for ourselves, we created a public data hub to shared our findings so that partners, school districts, funders, researchers, and others working in early literacy can use them, too.
Join Us on September 22
During our upcoming 60-minute, free webinar with North Arrow, Read to Grow Executive Director Suzannah Holsenbeck and Data Director Paula Grimm will share what we’ve learned from this journey.
They’ll discuss how to get started with data even without a dedicated data team, how we transformed raw public data into usable resources for the early literacy field, and the role AI played along the way.
The literacy sector is our case study, but the lessons extend well beyond early literacy. If you’re a nonprofit leader, program director, funder, or other changemaker wondering how your organization can make better use of the data that already exists, we hope you’ll join us.
The webinar is free, lasts 60 minutes, and will include time for questions.
Register for the webinar here → https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nonprofits-as-data-infrastructure-tickets-1999375997430
We’re looking forward to sharing what we’ve learned—and hearing what you’re learning, too.
