Community Involvement can Improve Test Scores
by Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director – United Way of Charlotte County
When the storm clouds rolled in last September, they appeared dark and gray.
They brought wind and rain, destruction and chaos.
Fortunately, I am the kind of person who looks for the bright spots and silver linings in a sky filled with storm clouds, and I am not the only one.
July 17 – 21 is Grade-Level Reading Week, with the theme Brights Spots and Silver Linings. Each year organizations across the nation take this time to reflect on and promote the lessons learned and best practices established for early childhood literacy over the past twelve months.
In Charlotte County, Florida, we have approached grade-level reading from many angles.
Pop-Up Neighbor Through Laundry events brought books, laundry detergent and a sense of community to local families. Lizzy the Literacy Bus spent time at these events and also made its way around the county at other times, sharing free books every where it went.
2023 was the second year for Charlotte County to participate in the Suncoast Remake Learning Days, with a total of 22 free educational events for families.
One of my personal favorites is the annual stuffing of Kindergarten Readiness Bags. The bright yellow bags burst with potential for each child who receives one in the months leading up to their First Day of Kindergarten. United Way of Charlotte County (UWCC) never struggles to find volunteers who are willing to give of their time to make sure over a thousand bags each year are filled with educational goodies and distributed to our littlest citizens.
Even after the storm clouds of Hurricane Ian, I saw a silver lining of volunteerism outlining our community. As individuals were still battling insurance claims and waiting for needed home improvement supplies to be available, they willingly stepped up to give back to others. This same synergistic approach can be used to ensure students do not live under the perpetual gray cloud of poor literacy skills.
I am pleased to share that our local collaborative program, Charlotte County Reads, has been reimagined to be even more targeted and data-driven than it was in years past. Through a partnership and data sharing agreement with Charlotte County Public Schools (CCPS), students who need extra help when it comes to reading will be better recognized by after-school programs at the YMCA of Southwest Florida and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Charlotte County. Those identified will receive that extra help through a volunteer reading buddy.
Carmel Kisiday, director of Elementary Learning for CCPS, reports “our mission with Charlotte County Reads is to ensure all students are on grade level readers. This past year, our third-grade students ranked 17 out of 67 districts in the state of Florida,” she told me. “We surpassed the overall third-grade state score by 6% with 56% of our third-grade students scoring a level 3, 4 or 5 on the FAST assessment. These collaborative partnerships with our community help us build and maintain relationships that support the success of all CCPS students.”
Charlotte County Reads has set its initial bold goal that, through collaboration between Charlotte County Public Schools, community organizations, and community members, 75% of CCPS students will achieve a 3, 4, or 5 on standardized assessments by Spring 2028.
Charlotte County Reads volunteers are trained to mentor the child they are paired with to encourage reading skills, social-emotional development, and that all-important love of reading! Trainings have been taking place this summer to ensure we have sufficient volunteer reading mentors in place to help the growing number of students who need some extra support.
The level of volunteerism I have seen in our community since the hurricane has been encouraging – whether it be to help students, help neighbors or help complete strangers – Charlotte County has stepped up in the brightest of ways.
Much like a silver lining might wrap itself around a storm cloud, our Charlotte County community has wrapped around our students. If you would like to be a bright spot in the life of a child, come join us on July 21 or August 3 for training on how you can be a Reading Buddy in the Charlotte County Reads Program. Every contribution makes a difference. We all have the potential to change the world one student at a time.
Visit unitedwayccfl.org/volunteer to sign up for more information.
For more information about United Way of Charlotte County’s mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty, please contact Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.