Our Summer Leadership Academy kicked off last week and we are off to a stellar start!
The seed for the READ USA Summer Leadership Academy was planted by our READ USA Board Member Dr. Rudy Jamison, Jr. During a Literacy Tutoring training session, he asked the teens to write down their career goal or dream job. He then asked the room, “How many of you know someone who does that? How many of you have actually seen and experienced that profession in action?” Few students raised their hands, revealing a gap that exists in exposing local youth to a variety of desired career paths. Our team saw that as an opportunity to help bridge that gap for our teen tutors!
The purpose of the READ USA Summer Leadership Academy is to expose, enlighten, and engage teens and young adults in future career paths, provide upskill opportunities towards those paths, and help them make informed decisions about their future – and we’ve hit the ground running!
During the six-week Summer Leadership Academy, our teen tutors are embarking upon many new journeys. Each week, they are visiting leaders at numerous, cross-sector organizations, businesses, and civic groups who are providing a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at how their organizations operate, the path(s) that led to their current roles, and how STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) comes to life in their organizations.
Last week, our teen tutors visited Florida State College at Jacksonville’s (FSCJ) North Campus for a tour, to learn about the college application process, and to hear from leadership about the college experience at FSCJ. FSCJ’s campus is bursting with innovation and the latest technology, and our tutors’ eyes were as wide as ever! Later in the week they visited the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens, receiving a tour, a behind-the-scenes look at operations, and the opportunity to engage with team members about the different types of career pathways that led to their current positions.
Check out some photos of week one below, and we can’t wait to share more updates over the coming weeks!
Tutors participated in a number of STEAM-related activities, including experiencing the labor delivery simulation and an activity called Pipeline, where they have to work as a team to move items from end to another.
Now Available: Jeremy’s Journey Featuring Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Ph.D
Jeremy, the fictional storyteller of our Jeremy’s Journey book series, recently met with the Director and CEO of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, and her book is now available to order!
Dr. Andrea Brownlee has served as the George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens since 2020. She is one of only seven African American general art museum directors in the country, and she previously served as the director of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art for nearly 20 years before coming to Jacksonville.
READ USA Gratitude Moment: Last week, Dr. Brownlee was a guest speaker during a Rotary Club of Jacksonville event downtown, and she talked about her new Jeremy’s Journey book and READ USA! Thank you for sharing your excitement about your book and our work, Dr. Brownlee – we are honored to feature you!
While art is her passion, Dr. Brownlee has ‘cast her net wide,’ as her mentor advised her, and she is an avid reader who enjoys exploring so much of our world through books. She grew up in a reading family, instilling in her a lifelong love of literacy and learning, which she and her husband have cultivated in their daughter. Reading time has always been part of Dr. Brownlee’s days.
“Daddy’s Home, which [my parents] read to my siblings years before they read it to me, was a standout example. I remember looking forward to bedtime stories with great anticipation. I loved the inflections in my parents’ voices as they impersonated the characters and the way the pages came alive,” Dr. Brownlee told Jeremy. “Reading time is about so much more than reading words. The rewards of sharing stories every night are limitless. They include bonding, increasing vocabulary, building language skills, and cementing a lifelong love of learning. There’s simply no substitute for spending those moments together.”
And now, you can learn about all the books, art, and inspiration that have led Dr. Brownlee to where she is today!
For $20, order your copy of Dr. Brownlee’s Jeremy’s Journey book here and coordinate pickup with READ USA.
Thank you for the opportunity to share your story, Dr. Brownlee!
READ USA Participates in Young Writers’ Festival
The Friends of Brentwood Library last week hosted its annual James Weldon Johnson Young Writers’ Festival and READ USA was honored to participate and support!
The James Weldon Johnson Young Writers’ Festival was created by Mrs. Sharon Coon, founder and chair of the Friends of Brentwood Library, as a way to use poetry, visual, and performing arts as a means to impact youth academic achievement. Youths in grades 3-12 were encouraged to submit a poem or dramatic monologue, which were reviewed by a panel of judges – and a number of winners received a total of $10,000 in cash prizes!
“The model is working,” said Mrs. Coon. “Part of our goal is to give children a greater understanding of themselves and each other; it’s social-emotional development by using performing arts and the written word. To be effective in anything we do in working with children, we have to listen to their silent and verbal voices. It may not be how we want to hear it, but their voice is sending us a message.”
The multi-day festival at the Jacksonville Public Library’s Main Library downtown also included student-focused workshops on creative writing, art illustration, poetry, and performance. Nationally renowned author Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes, a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning educator, served as the workshop facilitator. Dr. Rhodes is the Virginia G. Piper Endowed Chair at Arizona State University and the Founding Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing.
A number of guest speakers also shared remarks about their own journeys with literacy and creative writing while providing encouragement for the youth in attendance, including Judge Brian Davis, Melanie Lawson, John Scott, Dr. Rudy Jamison, Jr., Vincent Taylor, and Ashley Goggins – many of whom are also READ USA advocates and supporters! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with our youth!
“We appreciate our partnership with READ USA and the resources they bring to our work,” Mrs. Coon added. “Bringing in professionals to discuss their career and how reading and writing has impacted who they are today makes a difference to our children. They can see someone who’s ‘made it’ in life and see different cultures and backgrounds.”
We were grateful for the opportunity to attend and support Mrs. Coon and the Friends of Brentwood Library during this special annual event!
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Dr. Robert Kelly Joins Leadership Jacksonville
Our CEO Dr. Robert Kelly is officially a part of the Leadership Jacksonville Class of 2025!
Dr. Kelly with James Ellout, Vice President of Community Impact for United Way of Northeast Florida, and Kenneth Darity, Chief Administrative Officer for Kids Hope Alliance, at last week’s Meet the Class Reception.
Last week, Dr. Kelly and over 50 other leaders began Leadership Jacksonville’s year-long program focused on building relationships with other leaders and to better serve as an ethical community leader.
Dr. Kelly follows in the footsteps of 4,500+ Jaxsons who came before him, including many of our READ USA Board Members: Board Chair Ellen Wiss (Class of 2021), Secretary Dr. Rudy Jamison, Jr. (2021), Treasurer Meredith Guess (2012), and Board Members Marla Buchanan (2013), Greg Burton (2011), Moné Holder (2023), Glori Katz (2017), and LaKeisha Wells-Palmer (2021).
Dr. Jamison spoke about its impact perfectly:
“Leadership Jacksonville has established itself as the ultimate space to learn about Jacksonville, construct robust developmental networks, and do ‘the work’ needed to be a better Jacksonville.”
You can learn more about Leadership Jacksonville here.
Congratulations to Dr. Kelly! We are just as excited as you about what’s to come!
Did You See Our Red Aprons?
Last weekend’s River City Readers Summer Kickoff was a tremendous success, and the READ USA team was thrilled to be a part of it!
Twenty-two READ USA volunteers provided tremendous support to execute the event, and four of our teen tutors also donned character costumes to create some kid-friendly fun! We’re not sure who enjoyed it more – the kids or the tutors! (Even with the heat!)
The community-focused event at Ed Austin Regional Park, named “Adventure Awaits,” featured 54 children’s book authors who met with families, shared their stories with children, and demonstrated to budding young writers that they, too, can become an author! And, when we say community-focused, we mean that so many community leaders and partners came out to support! From the Duval County Public Schools Superintendent to City Council members to Jacksonville Jaguars players, it was incredible to see such widespread support for literacy and our youth.
Our READ USA team and volunteers handed out River City Readers backpacks, books for children of all ages up to 12th grade, and Mayor Donna Deegan’s Jeremy’s Journey books. Mayor Deegan even joined us at our table for a bit, showing the kids that yes, it is in fact her on that book cover! Our volunteers also supported the other activity areas that featured face painters, food trucks, and more.
Thank you to Kids Hope Alliance, Jacksonville Public Library, Duval County Public Schools, and Mayor Donna Deegan’s River City Readers for making this event come to life alongside READ USA!
Children’s Book: My Daddy Rules the World: Poems About Dads by Hope Anita Smith
Written and illustrated by Hope Anita Smith
Just in time for Father’s Day but enjoyable all year round, this collection of 15 poems celebrates fathers and all the small acts that make them so important to their children.
Told through the voice of a child, Anita Hope Smith’s My Daddy Rules the World collection of poems celebrates everyday displays of fatherly love. The opening poem captures what a child might notice about his/her father: “My daddy is a porcupine / with whiskers that are prickly.” and then ending with “My daddy is a big brown bear / with arms that hug me tight.” These are actions and experiences that happen every day—a hug, a wrestling match, a shared meal—and might be overlooked as well as those special moments like dancing, playing catch, giving a guitar lesson, riding a bike, and even providing reassurance that when the child has done something wrong, his/her father still loves him/her.
There’s even a poem, “Love Letter,” that captures the feeling of a child whose father is not close by while serving in the armed forces. The poem, “My First Book,” shows the importance of the shared experience of reading between a father and his child. Appropriately, the last poem, which inspired the book’s title, “My Daddy Rules the World,” perfectly captures the respect and admiration of one child who sees his/her father as a superhero whose presence reassures him/her: “I’m not scared of anything / my daddy rules the world.” Hope Anita Smith’s illustrations are diverse and inclusive. There is a warmth to the illustrations and a folk-art element that underlines the richness of being a father and in a family.
My Daddy Rules the World is a masterful salute to fatherhood and a book that a father and child will enjoy reading together for Father’s Day and throughout the year.
Submitted by Kathi Hart, READ USA Content Specialist
Parent Education Corner: Sounding Out Words
Helping Your Child Become a Reader
The Parent Corner is continuing to provide information to parents/caregivers about how you can help young learners become readers and writers.
This week’s focus is: Why is my child sometimes reluctant to sound out unknown words? What should I do when this happens?
Through decades of research on beginning readers, Linnea Ehri developed a theory about how word-reading skills develop. Ehri writes, “An important goal of reading instruction is to enable children to learn to read most words automatically by sight so they can focus on learning from and enjoying what they are reading. As a parent or caregiver, you need to know if your child is making good progress in learning to read.”
Her research suggests that children move through four phases on their way to becoming joyful, confident readers. The phases are the Pre-Alphabetic Phase, Partial Alphabetic Phase, Full Alphabetic Phase and Consolidated Alphabetic Phase. Understanding these phases will help us recognize how to support our children when they are reluctant readers.
This week in the parent corner, we will review the first phase of Ehri’s theory and include information to support your child in transitioning to the second phase.
- Pre-Alphabetic Phase
During this phase, children recognize words using only visual or contextual cues. They may recognize signs on buildings (they can read “McDonald’s” when they see the golden arches), a name on a cereal box, or their own name. These children do not yet understand that letters represent sounds, but they are beginning to understand that words hold meaning.
👉Here are tips for supporting your child in this phase of development:
- Point out signs and words in their environment. (“Look at that red sign; that word is STOP!”)
- Engage in rhyme play. (Can You Find? – Ask your child to find an object, but instead of naming the object, give him/her a word that rhymes instead. For example, “Can you find something that rhymes with shock? Yes, block, sock, clock, etc., rhyme with shock.”)
- Read to your child every day. Children’s spoken vocabularies grow during this phase, especially when adults read to them.
- Transitioning to the Partial Alphabetic Phase
To move into the Partial Alphabetic Phase, children need to learn letter shapes, names, and sounds. They also need to learn how to detect the smallest sounds (which are called phonemes) in spoken words. For example, help has four phonemes (each letter makes a sound) and chick has three phonemes (because c and h are combined to make one sound and likewise c and k). To read and write words in the partial alphabetic phase, children apply their partial knowledge of the spelling system to connect some letters in words to sounds. For example, a child trying to spell mail might write “ML.”
👉Here are tips for supporting your child during this transition from the Pre-Alphabetic Phase to the Partial Alphabetic Phase.
- Play word games like changing the first letter of a word to make new words – mat, sat, hat, cat, bat – and encourage your child to write the sounds they hear in the words.
- Have your child practice saying and writing the alphabet and use the letter’s name during letter formation practice.
- Teach and have your child practice sound segmenting activities for a few consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. (Hop the Sounds – Start by saying a word, and then have your child hop the same number of times as there are phonemes in that word. For example, if you say cat, your child will give you three hops forward as they say the sounds /c/-/a/-/t/).
- Encourage your child to write the sounds they hear in words. After they draw a picture, help your child label their drawing. (“Tell me about your picture. Is that a house? What sound do you hear at the beginning of house? The /h/ sound, that’s right! What letter makes the /h/ sound? The letter h is correct, can you write the letter h under your house? What other sounds do you hear in the word house….?)
- Praise your child for their attempts to use sound-to-letter correspondence in their reading and writing. Remember at this phase, practice means improvement, not perfection.
We will continue with the phases of Linnea Ehri’s “Phases of Development in Learning to Read and Spell Words.” Stay tuned next week!
Submitted by Kathi Hart, READ USA Content Specialist
Do you have any questions or ideas for the Parent Education Corner? Anything you’d like to learn? Let us know here!