The Big Lift

The Big Lift’s goal is to ensure children are reading proficiently by third grade. The Big Lift serves preschool to third grade students from lower income families in seven school districts in San Mateo County.

The Big Lift improves third grade reading through a number of activities. They include:

  • High-Quality Preschool – preparing children to thrive in kindergarten with literacy enhancements in preschool
  • Summer Learning – helping children maintain skills over the summer while having fun
  • Early Elementary Literacy Instruction – high quality literacy instruction based on the science of reading from transitional kindergarten (TK) to third grade
  • Family Engagement – helping parents support children’s literacy development at home, and home-school partnerships

Please visit to learn more about all aspects of The Big Lift.

Visit our to explore data in The Big Lift districts. It’s the only dashboard of its kind in the State of California.

Diana Harlick

Coordinator, Early Learning Quality Improvement Initiatives (ELSS)

Email: dharlick@smcoe.org

Phone: (650) 802-5642

Joy Irani

Project Specialist, Family Services

Email: jirani@smcoe.org

Phone: 6508025452