Our History
In September 1989, the first National Education Summit was held in Charlottesville, Virginia. This historic meeting, between President George Bush and the nation’s governors, was significant because it was the very first time that a meeting between a President and the nation’s governors focused on how to improve American’s educational performance. The 1989 Education Summit led to the adoption of 8 National Education Goals; the first goal states simply that “All children will begin school ready to learn.”

In 1995, PBS responded to this goal by rolling out nationally the PBS Ready To Learn Service (RTL) with the goal of helping to prepare children to succeed in school.

Through face-to-face workshops, distance learning courses, and educational outreach/events, RTL has touched the lives of 20,644 Child Care Professionals and Teachers, 78,143 Parents, and 352,255 Alabama children. 169,737 children’s books have been distributed through the RTL initiatives.