Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation partners with Scholastic, visits Findlay

Findlay Elementary School was host to representatives from Scholastic, the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation, and the Department of Education as Gov. Bill Lee kicked off the new K-3 Book Delivery.

“It’s that kind of partnership that serves the children of Tennessee, and, at the end of the day, that is what this is about. That’s what we’re about,” Lee, speaking remotely via video conferencing, said as he thanked all of those involved in the collaboration that made the K-3B Book Delivery program possible. “Those kids are counting on us together to provide an environment for them to grow and to be successful in their lives and one of the most important components, obviously as we all know, is early literacy.”

Representatives of all three organizations met in the Findlay Elementary School library, along with Findlay principal Rebecca Ryan, director of White County schools Kurt Dronebarger, and Findlay student and teacher representatives from grades K-3.

Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn greeted those in attendance and spoke about the unique challenges that have faced individuals in the education field over the past months.

“We’ve obviously had a very challenging seven, eight months when we think about the landscape of public education in the state and across the country, but more so for our youngest learners,” she acknowledged. “We know it is really hard to teach a student to read. It is really hard to do that when you are doing it remotely.”

Schwinn went on to say that educators in Tennessee have been innovative and creative in finding ways to help children develop a love for reading and making sure that young learners across the state are benefitting from all literature has to offer.

“We’ve been innovative and creative, and we’ve worked hard, and we’ve seen that across schools, and I think this district is one exceptional example of that,” she said.

Schwinn said the timing of the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation’s K-3 Book Delivery program is important due the need to fill any gaps that may have occurred during virtual learning as well as continue to foster a love for reading.

“[We] share a common belief that we want every single child in the state reading proficiently by third grade. We know that is a shared goal,” she said about the collaboration of all the parties involved in the program as well as districts and educators and communities across the state. “We also know that our families love their children and want what’s best for their children. Every parent wants that for their child. So, the ways that we can form stronger partnerships between the state, our homes, and our school communities related to literacy will continue to be important.”

Schwinn acknowledged programs that bring change and growth for the state’s education system and opportunities for students don’t come from a single effort, and she thanked state representatives, like Paul Sherell, who was in attendance.

“Work around literacy and keeping this at the forefront of the conversation is not just something that happens in our districts,” she said. “It is something that requires incredibly strong collaboration in our legislature and with our state board of education.”

Schwinn thanked both the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation as well as Scholastic, which celebrates its 100th year, on Oct.  22, as partners in bringing books to the homes of Tennessee students.

“I want to say how we are grateful to your organization and how we’ve been able to partner so that every family has an opportunity to build their home library and every child has access to exceptional books at home and that love of reading and that love of literature and that love of learning stays strong,” she said. “We’ve been able to be creative around that in the state of Tennessee, and we will continue to lead in this space.”

James Pond, president of the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation, and Chris Headrick, vice president of sales for Scholastic, echoed Schwinn’s sentiments about the excitement surrounding the new program and the gratitude for the collaboration and efforts that made it possible.

“Our founder, former governor Phil Bredesen, had a fantastic quote. He said ‘I got a very simple view of life. The job of grownups is to make the world a better place for the next generation,’” Pond said. “We believe that [that] is absolutely true, but schools and families don’t have to do it alone. These kinds of partnerships can actually strengthen our efforts together.”

Before the representatives of the different groups left, they were joined by Clifford the Big Red Dog, Scholastic’s iconic character, and presented some of Findlay’s students and teachers with bags of books as a symbol of what is to come. The program will provide 580,000 books and resources to 58,000 kindergarten through third grade students over the upcoming weeks.

“Reading is one of the most important things that you can learn do in all of your life,” the governor told the students via teleconference. “You will learn more, know more, see more, understand more, go places in your mind that you could never go otherwise if you can read about them.”