WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Warner Robins Mayor LaRhonda Patrick is spearheading a new initiative aimed at improving literacy rates among Houston County’s students.
After officially launching this month, the Literacy Legends program will bring Mayor Patrick, city council members and other officials to at least 11 elementary schools across the county to read to students.
“We built Literacy Legends to reach young minds through reading,” Patrick said. “We want to show kids that reading can be fun and engaging. This initiative is about giving them the tools and encouragement they need to succeed.”
The program's goal is to combat low literacy rates in the area, where only 42% of elementary students are reading at or above proficiency levels, according to the city.
By engaging students in kindergarten through fifth grade, the city hopes to make a significant impact on their reading skills and overall academic success.
As part of the initiative, the city has set an ambitious goal to collect 1,000 new children’s books, which will eventually be housed in an innovation lab currently under development. So far, the city has secured 400 books, with an additional 600 expected to arrive soon.
The books will cater to elementary schools, focusing on providing engaging material for young learners.
“At the end of the day, you can give a kid as many books as you want, but if they don't see value in it or if they think that it's lame to read a book, then they aren't going to read it,” Patrick said. “If they can not read well enough by third grade, they are less likely to graduate high school. They are more likely to go from the school to prison pipeline.”
Funding for the program comes from various sources, including two grants. These grants are helping the city provide the resources necessary to build a robust collection of books for the innovation lab that Mayor Patrick is planning.
The program has received support from local educators, including the librarian at Quail Run Elementary, Ashley Gordon, who expressed excitement about the potential impact on her children who are students at the school.
“This initiative is a great way to encourage kids to choose books over screens,” Gordon said. “I have two kids of my own here at the school, and over the summer, my second grader became a reader. I watched him go from not reading but interacting with books to really devouring them. So I am excited to see what the program holds for these kids.”
The city’s innovation lab, where the books will be permanently housed, has not been officially announced but is expected to be in the coming months.