What does it take to inspire a new generation of readers? For local literacy non-profit Read To Succeed,
the effort begins at a young age, with programs that target toddlers, pre-K students, and their parents
and grandparents.
Since 2003, Read To Succeed has connected MTSU education classes and community volunteers withfamilies at Section 8 housing in Rutherford County as well as city and county schools to focus on literacy.
Read To Succeed Executive Director Lisa Mitchell says that as our community continues to grow,
focusing on family literacy becomes more and more important.
Left Photo: Families read and learn together at a Family Literacy Night at Bradley Academy this April.
“Inter-generational illiteracy and poverty cannot be broken until the family as a whole begins to learn
and realize the importance of education,” Mitchell says. “Many programs focus on just the adult or just
the child. The value of Read To Succeed’s family literacy programs is its focus on the family as a whole.”
Each semester, Read To Succeed works with professors in MTSU’s education department to serve
several in-need, local schools. In the past year alone, Read To Succeed has held programs at Mitchell
Neilson Primary, Bradley Academy, Hobgood Elementary, John Coleman Elementary, Smyrna Primary,
La Vergne Primary, Black Fox Elementary, and Buchanan Elementary, along with hosting monthly
Imagination Stations for parents and their children who haven’t yet entered pre-school at Franklin
Heights and Spring Valley in Murfreesboro. These programs provide reading time and supervised literacy
activities for families, with MTSU education students or community volunteers creating and leading fun
art, music, and literacy activities related to a carefully chosen book.
The goal of these programs is to foster the enjoyment of reading in Rutherford County families. Theprograms help parents feel more confident in sharing books with their children, model "active reading"
for parents, and create a venue for family members to enjoy quality time together.
Left photo: Read To Succeed's volunteers help serve Newk's food to participants in a Family Literacy Night at Bradley Academy.
Parents are offered entrance into Read To Succeed’s one-on-one adult tutoring program or ESL classes
throughout the county if they want to continue to progress their own literacy skills. Read To Succeed
provides a meal for each participant and every family goes home with a new book, to keep, every week.
Several education professors work with their classes for weeks to prepare curriculum for families
participating in Read To Succeed’s programs. And though the main goal is to serve these families, it
benefits the MTSU students, as well.
“There is no better learning than active, hands-on service learning,” says Terri Tharp, an elementary
and education professor who has worked with Read To Succeed for years. “The pre-service teachers'
experiences with Read to Succeed and the local schools is service learning at its best. They are able to
interact with the children, family members, school personnel, and Read to Succeed staff to advocate
the importance of literacy. One of the best lessons that they learn is the importance of a strong home-
school-community connection, and that they can be a part of the solution to address the literacy needs
of our community.”
These professors—who’ve dedicated their careers to figuring out how to best educate our community’s
children—help Read To Succeed improve its programs each semester.
Professor of Reading Education Joan Boulware says that Read To Succeed’s literacy initiative is the best
she’s been involved in through her 30 years as an educator.
“Last year alone,” Boulware says, “seventy of my education students worked with underserved children
and their families as a part of Families That Read, Succeed sponsored by Read to Succeed.”
Over the past nine years, Read To Succeed’s programs have evolved into a community-wide endeavor:
each semester, hundreds of MTSU students work to help these families, countless volunteers show
up to serve food and pass out books, funders like the Predators Foundation, Charity Circle, the Dollar
General Foundation and Nissan Foundation generously support Read To Succeed’s programs, and
local restaurants donate food and staff time. It is, truly, a group effort, and it’s an effort that keeps on
growing.
