2012 Begins a New Era for Literacy in Kalamazoo

This appears in the December 2011 Excelsior.

In January, Kalamazoo enters a new era in its quest to become the first city to become a literacy community in the United States. In January, six community sites will begin to operate as part of our community literacy initiative.

New Genesis Education Center will be our north side site. Open Door Ministries and Trenches Community Church will be our east side sites. The Hispanic American Council and the Boys & Girls Club will be our south side sites. Bible Baptist Church will be our west side site. All sites will offer both parent education and family literacy classes.

For a few years, KPS has worked with a range of community partners to flesh out a literacy agenda. Literacy — early child language development, reading and writing — is critical to the success of a child. To be successful in school, children must be strong in reading and writing. Children who drop out typically have problems with text — with reading and writing — that show up early in their schooling and get worse thereafter. To make all children capable of strong reading and writing makes all children capable of high-school graduation…and college, trade school, or the military after high school. In the absence of strong reading and writing skills, children are enormously at risk of dropping out of school and struggling in a 21st century economy. 

In 2008, the Kellogg Foundation approved a $40,000 summer literacy grant proposal to pilot summer literacy initiatives with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. In 2009, the foundation gave KPS a $150,000 literacy planning grant to develop seven literacy areas:

• Parent education for the parents of newborns,
• Parent education for the parents of pre-schoolers,
• Pre-school,
• Summer literacy,
• Family literacy,
• Literacy for struggling readers, and
• Literacy in after-school programs.

Generally speaking, the purpose of these literacy initiatives is that wherever children go in childhood, at whatever age, adults work with them both inside school and outside school to become stronger in their reading and writing.

The two types of parent education classes are meant to teach parents about the intellectual, physical, and social development of their children and how they as parents can help their children develop and be successful in school. 

Family literacy classes are designed to help those parents and grandparents who need to improve their reading and writing skills. It is also for those parents and grandparents who read and write quite well, but need to learn how to work with their children and grandchildren in these areas.

In June 2011, the Kellogg Foundation supported the Learning Network of Greater Kalamazoo—on which I serve as a member—by approving a $6 million, 3-year grant to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation for a few purposes, most notably from the vantage point of this column, to develop the family literacy and two parent education areas listed above. This past summer, KPS ran pilot programs at four sites in family literacy and three sites in parent education. These pilot programs shaped the programs that will begin in January.
I appreciate the work of so many individuals who have helped out in the early stages of our work. Thanks to retired KPS Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) Pat Coles-Chalmers and current Assistant Superintendent for TLS Barbara Witzak; Yvonne Davis, retired KPS director of elementary education, who will be managing our literacy grant work this year; Wanda Burton, retired KPS elementary teacher, who will be supervising the parent education initiatives; Wendy Stafford, former Allegan County certified parent educator, who will be supervising the family literacy initiatives; and Sylvia Washington, family literacy and parent education specialist, who capably managed our pilot literacy program work this summer. Thanks also to Joyce Armstrong, Joyce Wells, Bob Ezelle, Lori Mercedes, Jacqueline Brown, Camille Burns, Roshaonda Porter, Leona Brown, Tamela Stewart, Amy Followell, Jill Angell, LaShawn Mabin, Cheryl Wright, Rosalba Roman, Phillip Cruz, Robin Meeks, and Geraldo Jaime, who helped out at the community sites this summer, and Dr. Cindy Bewick, retired KPS early childhood coordinator, who provided consulting support along the way with Yvonne Davis.

Together, we are building a literacy community in Kalamazoo…and as we do, we will have created the most important component of a college-going culture in The Promise District. Want to help? Take a child to the library over the winter school break. Make sure that he or she has a library card and knows how to use it. Check some books out with him or her and read with him or her daily. Every day that you read to a child, you help to build a better world.

Best wishes for a happy new year!

Dr. Michael F. Rice
Superintendent
Kalamazoo Public Schools

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