by Kerry Roeder, Executive Director
We’re often met with confusion and curiosity when people discover that a 300 year old burial ground is operating their local school library or assisting in their child’s classroom. With the school year about to kick off, we wanted to share with you a bit about how we champion literacy and why.
As an organization with a history connected to abolition, we understand the enormous power of literacy and are honored to be a part of protecting the right to read. Many of the people buried in Fairhill were abolitionists and much of our work has long been focused on preserving their memories and sharing their stories. Part of that includes addressing the reasons enslaved people were denied the right to read and acknowledging that reading is freedom and power.
Both city and state-wide, we have a literacy epidemic. As the Pennsylvania for Literacy Coalition points out “Only 1 in 3 of Pennsylvania fourth graders are proficient readers, with even more alarming rates for marginalized groups—just 16% of Black students and 16% of Hispanic students reach proficiency in reading.” We know that reading unlocks new ideas, allowing students to better understand themselves and the world around them, but it is also a way to alleviate systemic injustices. Fourth grade is when students go from learning to read to reading to learn. Students who are proficient by 4th grade have a significantly higher chance of graduating from high school and as a result, a longer life expectancy. They are also less likely to be unemployed, have adverse health outcomes, or enter the criminal justice system.
At Historic Fair Hill, we work to address literacy as liberation through our School Literacy Partnership program, which this year will include: the staffing and operation of 4 school libraries, hiring 6 parents as classroom literacy assistants, training 30 volunteer reading buddies, hosting 8 family literacy workshops, giving away over 5,000 books for home libraries, hosting a reading festival, and offering literacy activities during weekend family fun days.
It all started over a decade ago when we came to understand the disparities of literacy support in Fairhill. We realized that we could honor our roots beyond the work in the burial ground and began our Reading Buddies program. These are volunteers, who meet with children weekly for one on one reading support and are able to provide coaching, confidence, and compassion.
Reading Buddies were surprised to find out that due to budget cuts, the School District does not currently fund school libraries or school librarians. Without outside partner support, many library spaces have their shelving pushed aside, little to no access to books, and are being used for other purposes. Knowing that school libraries directly contribute to literacy and educational success, we have been part of the re-opening, operating, and staffing of 4 local public school libraries. These libraries are now open daily for children to have scheduled weekly library classes, with read alouds, check out times, and literacy activities.
As we expanded our work in the schools, we realized that teachers needed extra support and developed our Classroom Literacy Assistant program. These assistants are bilingual moms that we hire from the school community to support literacy in classrooms 5 days a week. They are able to help with one on one literacy support, bring down the student/teacher ratio, and bring a wealth of knowledge from experience with their own children. They also bridge the home-school gap by providing translation services, allowing teachers to effectively communicate with Spanish speaking parents. We know that family engagement is critical to educational success and, as members of the community, we work to make sure all families are seen, heard, and valued.
Throughout the school year, we regularly set up book and resource giveaway tables at our schools, farmstands, parent conferences, and events. We will continue to host bilingual family literacy workshops, as well as local author visits. At the grounds, our annual Reading Promise Festival will take place in the spring and we’ll have story time at each of our weekly Family Fun Days.
The history of both the grounds and our organization has always been filled with people who are willing to stand up and take action for what they believe in. Contributing to a culture of literacy is a way that we can honor that legacy. We continue to be grateful to our amazing literacy staff, dedicated volunteers, and wonderful school partners and look forward to another year of working together.
