October 24, 2023
My first hundred days are about listening, learning, and connecting with people who play a role in shaping our students’ futures. Community partners are some of these critical stakeholders. It was impressive to see many of these partners recently at the WAKE Up and Read Coalition meeting. And it was powerful to hear from dozens of members of our community gathered in the same space and united behind the same goal - moving the needle forward on early literacy.
Reading has always been an important part of my life. From an early age I’ve enjoyed expanding my worldview through the pages of a book. One of my recent ‘proud dad’ moments was learning that my wife and I successfully fostered that same appreciation of reading in our own son. Recently I helped him move into a new apartment and the thing he was most concerned about transporting and unpacking safely was his personal library. It was heart-warming to see that my son values literature just as much as I do.
At the meeting, partners shared similar stories and we connected through a shared passion for helping young readers to build skills and thrive. Representatives from organizations across the county are doing critical work in our schools and in the community every day to boost students’ reading proficiency. And a big part of these efforts is also to provide families the resources they need to support their child’s learning.
I continue to be grateful that we have excellent school leaders and teachers who care deeply about our students’ success. We also have a committed school board, county commissioners, and community leaders who are dedicated to finding and providing students and their families the tools they need to reach their goals. Most importantly, we have incredible students with unlimited potential as well as families who are eager to support their learning. Together, we will continue to do great work and nurture a love of reading in young learners.
