As Tennessee grapples with its reading problem, Nashville has kicked off its own literacy effort aimed at accelerating the reading skills of the city’s youngest students.
The Nashville Literacy Collaborative recently launched as a six-month initiative organized by the Nashville Public Education Foundation and the Nashville Public Library in coordination with Mayor Megan Barry’s office and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
Only 34 percent of the Nashville district’s third-graders read at grade level, compared to 43 percent statewide. Third grade is viewed as a critical reading milestone from which children can read to learn in later years.
“Reading at grade level is a major indicator for a child’s academic success, and a child’s academic success is a strong indicator for the future of Nashville,” Barry said in a statement. “The Nashville Literacy Collaborative will provide critical insights that will help us better understand and support the city’s early literacy needs.”
While Tennessee’s year-old Read to be Ready initiative focuses primarily on supporting teachers and changing the way reading is taught, Nashville is seeking to involve community members to reinforce the work of its school system.
“As a school district, we have to focus on improving first-time instruction as well as interventions when students fall behind,” Superintendent Shawn Joseph said. “But our efforts will be far more effective with a community-wide strategy to support our work.”
Lipscomb University will lead research for the campaign, mapping existing community efforts and identifying gaps in services. Organizers hope to have a clear plan for how the city can support students’ reading by this summer.
A 20-person community group began meeting in February. The collaborative will also seek input from literacy groups, faith and volunteer partners, parents, students and educators.
Members of the working group are:
- Angie Adams, PENCIL
- Elyse Adler, Nashville Public Library
- Harry Allen, Pinnacle Financial Partners and Chamber Education Report Card
- Paige Atchley, Tennessee Department of Education and Read to be Ready
- Dr. Adriana Bialostozky, Vanderbilt Hospital
- Carolyn Cobbs, Cumberland Elementary School
- Monique Felder, MNPS
- Rae Finnie, Glengarry Elementary School
- Tari Hughes, Center for Nonprofit Management
- Shannon Hunt, Nashville Public Education Foundation
- Melissa Jaggers, Alignment Nashville
- Erica Mitchell, United Way of Metropolitan Nashville
- Laura Moore, Mayor’s Office
- Kent Oliver, Nashville Public Library
- Tara Scarlett, Scarlett Foundation
- Renata Soto, Conexión Américas
- Melissa Spradlin, Book’em
- Amanda Tate, Nashville Public Library Foundation
- Denine Torr, Dollar General Literacy Foundation
- Whitney Weeks, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce