OCL’s Early Childhood Study Committee met with Ralph Smith, senior vice president at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, who serves as managing director for the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, a national effort to increase rates of third-grade reading proficiency, especially for children from low-income families.  The visit was co-hosted by the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County and the CNY Community Foundation.  Smith, who has been on the road to spread the word about efforts to increase rates of third-grade reading proficiency, especially for children from low-income families said “we need to close the gap between what we know and what we do” in early education.