Frequently Asked Questions
Contact Us
Email support@newworldsreading.com or call (855) 399-1147.
Our support team is available 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (EST), Monday - Friday
Email new.worlds@coe.ufl.edu
Our team will be happy to assist!
Email new.worlds@coe.ufl.edu.
Our team will be happy to connect you with the best representative!
About the Program
The University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning is the state-appointed administrator for the New Worlds Reading Initiative. As a department of the University of Florida College of Education, the Lastinger Center improves the quality of teaching, learning, and childcare. By researching, developing and scaling educational innovations for adults and children, the center strives to put all learners on trajectories for lifelong success.
The New Worlds Reading Initiative received bipartisan support in the Florida legislature, and was signed into law in June of 2021 to serve Florida’s eligible public and charter school students.
The New Worlds Reading Initiative receives funding from the Florida legislature. Additionally, the UF Lastinger Center for Learning is a registered Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) and accepts tax credit contributions to support the New Worlds Reading Initiative. If you’re interested in making a donation, please visit our donation page or contact David Bryant at David.bryant@coe.ufl.edu.
As an institution within a public university, the UF Lastinger Center for Learning abides by all rules and regulations regarding the security of personal student information.
Step Up for Students administers a separate New Worlds Reading Scholarship program that helps eligible K-5 students in public and distrcit-sponsored charter schools who struggle with reading.
The program offers caregivers access to education savings accounts, worth $500 each, to pay for tuition and fees related to part-time tutoring, summer and after-school literacy programs, and instructional materials (including desktop/laptop computers and tablets, and curriculum related to reading or literacy.)
Visit Step Up for Students's website to apply.
Eligibility
The New Worlds Reading Initiative serves students who are:
VPK:
Not yet meeting age-appropriate standards according to FAST Star Early Literacy.
Grades K-2:
Scored below grade level as determined by FAST assessments.
OR are receiving Tier 2 or Tier 3 instructional support.
Grades 3-5:
Scored a Level 1 or Level 2 on the FAST ELA Assessment.
OR are receiving Tier 2 or Tier 3 instructional support.
You can apply early for your child! Once we receive your child’s data from the Department of Education or school district, you will get an email letting you know whether your child is eligible. If your child becomes eligible at any time before graduating fifth grade, they will receive all nine books for that school year and beyond!
Our program compares New Worlds Reading applications to the child's educational records to confirm that a student is eligible. To avoid enrollment delays, applications should list a student’s full, legal name (no nicknames or abbreviations) the student's date of birth, grade level, district, and school.
Yes! You can submit an application for any Florida child. If we receive student data that shows your child becomes eligible any time before graduating fifth grade, then we will send you an email, and they will begin to receive free books and activities for that year and beyond.
Applications & Enrollment
Caregivers may apply for eligible students at https://www.newworldsreading.com/fl/en/enrollment.html
After you apply:
1. There will be a waiting period while we verify your child's eligibility for New Worlds Reading using their education records. This process may take several months. You will not receive books until verification is complete.
2. You will receive a verification email notifying you of your child's enrollment status. After you receive an email confirming your child is eligible, they will begin receiving books after 8 weeks.
3. While you wait to be verified, use our free reading activities on our website.
Applications for the 2023-2024 school year are open as of June 7th, 2023. The enrollment deadline for the 2023-2024 school year will be May 31, 2024.
Caregivers provide:
Parent/Caregiver Information
name, phone number, email address
Full Legal Student Information
name, date of birth, grade, school district, school
Shipment Address
Book Interests
Book Language Preference
We use this information to match the child's application to their educational records to confirm if the child is eligible for our program. Without this information, verification and shipments will be delayed. As an institution within a public university, the UF Lastinger Center abides by all rules and regulations regarding the security of personal student information.
If you are seeking to add a public or district-sponsored charter school to our program application, please email new.worlds@coe.ufl.edu with your school’s name and district. We will add it to the application upon verification with the district.
Program Help Questions
Email support@newworldsreading.com or call (855) 399-1147.
Our support team is available between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (EST), Monday - Friday.
Email support@newworldsreading.com or call (855) 399-1147.
Our support team is available between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (EST), Monday - Friday.
Book Questions
The New Worlds Reading Initiative delivers books directly to students’ homes through the mail.
If circumstances such as homelessness, migrancy, or transience require an alternative delivery method, the UF Lastinger Center will work with the school and/or district to identify an alternate plan. Email new.worlds@coe.ufl.edu, and our team will be happy to assist.
After you receive a confirmation email that your child is eligible and successfully enrolled, your first shipment of books may take several weeks to arrive. After your first shipment arrives, shipments will continue monthly through June.
Books are delivered on a monthly basis. Your child’s book shipments will begin after we verify their eligibility for the program, and you receive an email confirming your child’s enrollment. This process can take several months. Our program operates during the school year from October through June.
Enrolled students will receive nine books per school year, no matter what month they were found eligible in. As a result, some students will receive shipments with more than one book and resources to ensure nine books will arrive for that school year.
Books are chosen in consultation with the Florida Department of Education’s Just Read, Florida! office, selected from the Florida B.E.S.T. Standards for each grade level. Additional titles are selected to meet the needs of students based on reading levels. Some titles will be selected that may be above the child’s reading level for caregivers to share with their children.
All books are selected in collaboration with Florida Department of Education. We work with our partner, Scholastic, to provide families with a variety of high-quality books based on children’s interests, grade level, and Florida B.E.S.T. Standards. Kids can choose both fiction and nonfiction books in a wide variety of genres and topics to appeal to their interests. You can see our full list of books here.
Students and their families will have the opportunity to select different sets of books that they would like to receive from a variety of catergories. Our book sets represent a variety of topics, characters, settings, and stories.
Books are available in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and braille.
We are working diligently to make this program as inclusive as possible. Alternative book formats will be offered as available with plans for continued expansion.
School & District Questions
Please collect student name, school, grade, and performance data indicating eligibility.
Please email support@newworldsreading.com or call (855) 399-1147. Our support team is available to assist on Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST.
Please use the marketing toolkits on our educator resources page for:
–phone scripts for use with eligible families
–email and newsletter messaging to use when communicating with schools
–email and newsletter messaging for schools and teachers to use with families
–promotional flyers
–social media assets
The UF Lastinger Center is working with a New Worlds Reading Initiative Contact in each school district to disseminate information to schools. The Lastinger Center will also communicate directly with schools to provide marketing materials, troubleshoot application processes, and assist on a case-by-case basis.
Please contact us at new.worlds@coe.ufl.edu and provide the school name, shipping address, number of flyers and flyer language (English, Spanish, Haitian Creole and braille).
Please contact us at new.worlds@coe.ufl.edu and we can check our shipment tracking to determine whether flyers were ever sent to the school. If not, we will order flyers. If a shipment was sent, we will provide the tracking information to help the school locate the flyers.