Last year, Jacksonville’s Museum of Science & History (MOSH) welcomed a new traveling exhibition and READ USA teen tutors have been serving as docents to more deeply engage their peers in the exhibition experience.
Lives Eliminated, Dreams Illuminated (LEDI) gives viewers a unique perspective into the lives and dreams of young girls and women murdered in the Holocaust. Incorporating art, music, and animations, the multimedia exhibition features paintings situated next to historical photographs. An audio guide with music and the artists’ perspectives provides insight into the story of each person – a person who once had hopes, dreams, and ambitions…just like everyone else.
The purpose behind Lives Eliminated, Dreams Illuminated is to build empathy, compassion, and a deeper understanding of topics surrounding the Holocaust to combat hatred and antisemitism. Middle and high school students have been specifically invited to attend the exhibit to participate in engaging discussions and activities that draw upon their own personal strengths and experiences in order to positively impact their community.
Image and artwork provided by Lives Eliminated, Dreams Illuminated.
“Our teen tutors have done a marvelous job of fostering a deeper sense of connection to and understanding of the lives, hopes, and dreams of those lost during the Holocaust, and doing so in ways that are relatable to their peers,” shared Judy Howard, our Michael Ward & Jennifer Glock Literacy Institute Senior Director, who has provided supervisory and educational support to our teen tutors alongside our President and CEO Dr. Rob Kelly. “Middle and high school students experiencing the exhibit can relate more intimately to its content from a fellow youth, particularly to the stories of other youth in history. It’s been impressive to see our tutors’ passion for storytelling and their growth as leaders.”
Tutors have been serving as docents, guiding visitors through the exhibit, and leading the age-appropriate workshops for middle and high school students. To do so, they undertook intensive training in the exhibit’s content and curriculum, working closely with MOSH’s Head of Education and Lead Facilitator.
As a traveling exhibition, Lives Eliminated, Dreams Illuminated will be at MOSH through February 2, 2025. The Dr. David M. Milch Foundation sponsored and produced the exhibit, and you can read more about it here.
Thank you to our wonderful tutors, Abigail, Alexa, and Azehreya, for their enthusiasm and passion for furthering the exhibit’s impact on their peers! If you visit the exhibit and see our teen tutors, be sure to say hello and “great job!”
Spring Tutoring has Officially Commenced!
The Spring 2025 semester of Literacy Tutoring has kicked off, and – in the words of our Gen Z tutors – it’s gonna be LIT!
Literacy Tutoring at Lake Lucina Elementary School
Dozens of teen tutors, starting yesterday, reconvened with hundreds of their elementary tutees to begin their literacy lessons. Daily, one-to-one lessons will occur at six Duval County Public Elementary Schools this semester, all focused on bringing the elementary students who are the furthest behind up to grade-level reading proficiency.
“The continuity of lessons from semester to semester is so important, particularly for the students who are furthest behind,” shared our Chief Tutoring Officer Tabetha Cox. “Not only does it further support achieving the grade-level reading proficiency goal we set for each student, but it also further strengthens the relationship between the tutor and student, who stay with each other for the year. The peer-level bonds they form, we have seen and believe, magnify the curriculum’s impact when lessons are delivered through trusted relationships. We are grateful for the dedicated funding support from Kids Hope Alliance, AmeriCorps, and our individual donors who help make this continuity possible.”
Have you seen how Literacy Tutoring is closing the literacy gap? Check out the impressive results here.
We can’t wait for this semester’s magic to begin! And we look forward to sharing our students’ and tutors’ progress throughout the coming year.
Dr. Bernier Tutors a Student at Lake Lucina Elementary
Right before the holiday break, on the last day of Literacy Tutoring in 2024, Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier and his Chief of Staff Michael Ramirez visited Lake Lucina Elementary.
They originally came to view Literacy Tutoring in action and meet with our teen tutors, teachers, and students, but an impromptu opportunity arose that Dr. Bernier jumped right into. A student’s tutor was running a little late (it happens to all of us!), so Dr. Bernier and our CEO Dr. Rob Kelly sat down with her, quickly built trust, and then jumped right into the day’s lesson!
Let us just say: Dr. Bernier is an excellent tutor! And, he graciously reflected upon this experience very positively during his Superintendent’s report at the DCPS School Board meeting last night. He shared that he was impressed to see how students were connecting what they learned during the day and applying it to books and reading during tutoring.
We are so grateful for Dr. Bernier and Mr. Ramirez taking the time to meet with our students, tutors, and teachers – but we are beyond ecstatic that Dr. Bernier was able to directly experience the in-the-moment joy and deep satisfaction that our tutors do by helping a child learn to read. It really is a magical experience, and his honest, heartfelt remarks last night indicated that he felt similarly.
Dr. Bernier, thank you so much for sharing your experience with the DCPS Board Members, fellow staff, and everyone who attended, both in-person and virtually! We are immensely grateful for your support and embrace of READ USA Literacy Tutoring!
The *Perfect* Group Activity
For any club – like book clubs, rotary clubs, and other formal or informal groups – business, organization, or family, READ USA Book Fairs are the perfect opportunity to volunteer together, have fun, and make a lasting impact.
Beginning in April through May, our free Book Fairs will occur at Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) elementary schools across the district. Providing thousands of students with free books to keep requires a highly organized and collaborative effort between the elementary schools, our READ USA team, and our wonderful volunteers who generously give their time to help make the Book Fairs possible.
Volunteers wear a signature READ USA red apron and can choose from a variety of activities:
- Guiding students through the Book Fair and seeing their faces light up when they find “the ones” they want! (Truly, this is our favorite activity!)
- Organizing books by age, genre, and other categories
- Book labeling and bagging
- Set-up and tear-down
- Misc. on- and off-site support (including administrative preparations, organizing fellow volunteers, etc.)
It’s not too early to choose your school site! Email us at books@readusainc.com if there is a particular elementary school where you’d like to volunteer, and we will be releasing the full schedule soon.
Children’s Book: Frogness by Sarah Nelson
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Sammy and his trusty companion Chocolate love to go frogging in the deep marsh. They are sure that with enough tenacity and cunningness, they will find a frog soon!
Although the frogs sing and chirp, cluck and burp, they can’t spot one for anything. Searching in lumps and cracks, puddles and grass, Sammy and Chocolate plop down in the grass in defeat. In their stillness, they begin to see movement! What will it be? Will the frogs make their appearance? And if they come out, will Sammy and Chocolate be able to finally catch one to call their own?!
The pictures are engaging, and the text provides rhyme, song, onomatopoeia, and dreams of froggy fun. Complete with backmatter* all about frogs, and full of local color highlighting the marsh lands, this story is sure to provide familiarity and exploration for Florida’s newest little residents… the children. This book was a K-2nd grade finalist for the Florida Children’s Book Award for 2022-2023.
*Backmatter: “Supplementary material in the back of a book, such as a glossary, a recommended reading list, references, an index, an author’s note or biography, or information about the book.” (Peachtree Online, 2015)
Submitted by Tabetha Cox, Chief Tutoring Officer
Parent Education Corner: Benefits & Beginnings of Reading to/with Your Child
There are many benefits of reading to your child every day. Some are: helping your child bond with you, increasing his/her vocabulary, supporting great reading skills, and exposing children to topics that assist with their imagination and empathy.
Just as Mayor Donna Deegan’s River City Readers initiative encourages students across Duval to read 20 minutes a day, research shows that 20 minutes of reading or being read to can:
- Provide time for parents and caregivers to bond with children
- Expose children to as many 1.8 million words per year
- Help students reach the 90th percentile on standardized tests
- Improve listening skills
- Prepare pre-kindergartners for school
- Improve their earning potential later in life
- Lead to healthier lives
Want to learn more about the benefits of reading and access additional resources? Visit READ JAX here.
How can you get started with reading to your child?
Young readers should be free to explore books and all of their wonderful parts. You can start by talking with your child about what they notice in the pictures. Look through the book with your child and discuss what they notice before reading the words. Some questions you can ask before reading are:
- What is happening here?
- How do they feel?
- How do you know?
- Where are they?
- What time of day is it?
- What is the weather like?
- When is this happening?
- Why are they doing that?
There is a lot to discover in the illustrations before you read the words on a page. Let your discovery help you set the mood for your reading time together this week!
Submitted by Tabetha Cox, READ USA Chief Tutoring Officer
Do you have any questions or ideas for the Parent Education Corner? Anything you’d like to learn? Let us know here!