Image courtesy Pixabay.

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” — Victor Hugo

This Friday, September 8, is International Literacy Day, a day to raise awareness of the importance of reading and the need to ensure that each and every young person can read confidently and joyfully. 

Highlighting literacy these days is as important as ever. Nationwide, reading scores across grade levels have declined or stagnated, which is also the case in Florida, where in 2022 only 53% of third graders read at a satisfactory level, down a percentage point from 54% last year. In Sarasota County, in 2022, that percentage was 63%, down from 66% in 2021 and from 70% in 2019. 

The causes of reading declines are many and complex, but for some young learners it’s as simple as not having any books at home to read in the first place. These children miss the opportunity to crack open a new book, smell the new-book smell, thumb through the pages and enter new worlds. 

In June 2021, the Florida Legislature—in partnership with the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning, the Florida Department of Education, and school districts—launched the New Worlds Reading Initiative. The free Florida literacy program provides books for VPK – grade 5 public school or charter school students who read below grade level. New books, selected based on each student’s interests and grade level, are sent directly to the child’s home each month—for free. 

Each new book opens a door to a new world, and for young readers, this program can illuminate an entire universe. If reading is made fun, if it is encouraged and nourished at home, in school, and across the community, it can change lives. As famous children’s author Kate DiCamillo said, “Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.” 

In the coming month, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, in partnership with the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, will support the New Worlds Reading Initiative. The Education Foundation will host Parent Family Literacy Workshops and Community Literacy Events. These events seek to unite the community to promote literacy and get more books into the hands of children who need to read them the most.

These events and the initiative itself embrace the idea that literacy is a collective endeavor. Great teachers can do wonders to ignite a love of words, of sentences, of books, but they can’t do it all. Literacy must be promoted and celebrated at home and in schools and across the community. 

With the new school year now underway, I hope you will recognize International Literacy Day this Friday and for the many days and months and years that will follow. If you have time to volunteer and share your own love of reading, the Education Foundation needs your support as we promote literacy and help young learners become more confident readers. Learn about our volunteer opportunities.

If you’re a parent with a child in VPK through grade 5 who reads below level, I encourage you to sign up for the New Worlds Reading Initiative. And while I know our lives are incredibly busy these days and that many parents struggle just to make ends meet, if you do have a free moment, read with your child. Encourage them to read and celebrate their accomplishments.    

Students who read, who are eager to explore new worlds and meet new characters, thrive. Communities that nourish literacy thrive. As the American journalist and critic Margaret Fuller said, “Today a reader. Tomorrow a leader.”

Jennifer Vigne is president and CEO of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County.

Image courtesy Pixabay.